{"id":256620,"date":"2026-06-05T18:08:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T18:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/256620\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T18:08:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T18:08:48","slug":"the-battle-of-brooklyn-catholics-role-in-the-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/256620\/","title":{"rendered":"The Battle of Brooklyn: Catholics’ Role in the Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"These playing cards, part of an exhibit in the Old Stone House, depict caricatures of opposing armies in the Battle of Brooklyn. The soldier in the light-colored uniform wears the uniform of the 1st Maryland Regiment. That unit included the 5th Independent Company of Pvt. Charles Thompson, who was 15 when he enlisted. (Photo: Bill Miller)<\/p>\n

PARK SLOPE \u2014 Pvt. Charles Thompson, a farm worker from St. Mary\u2019s County, Maryland, marched with his company\u00a0on\u00a0Aug. 27, 1776, toward deafening artillery fire\u00a0near Gowanus Creek.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Musket balls and shrapnel\u00a0zinged\u00a0past; some hit\u00a0flesh with a\u00a0loud\u00a0smack. Men and horses screamed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Acrid gun and cannon smoke swept the western tip of Long Island on this hot, humid day, during what history now calls the Battle of Brooklyn.\u00a0By day\u2019s end, the\u00a0British forces handed the Americans a staggering defeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is impossible,\u201d wrote Pvt. Michael Graham of Pennsylvania, \u201cfor me to describe the confusion and horror of the scene \u2014 our men running in almost every direction, and\u00a0any\u00a0which way they would, they were almost sure to meet the British or Hessians.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thompson\u2019s own recollections of this chaos are not mentioned in\u00a0his\u00a0well-documented service record kept by the Maryland State Archives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED: How One of the Founding Fathers Elevated Catholics in the New Republic<\/a><\/p>\n

Still, this soldier was unique for a couple of reasons. The archives\u00a0state\u00a0that he was 15 when he enlisted a few months before the battle, making him \u201camong the youngest known soldiers in the Maryland Line.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And\u00a0as the\u00a0archives confirm,\u00a0he was\u00a0a Catholic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anti-Catholicism\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thompson and his family, as members of the Church, endured cultural and religious disadvantages \u2014 the result of more than 250 years of anti-Catholic hostility that festered in England and its colonies since the Protestant Reformation in 1517.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"In 1634, Maryland became the only colony where Catholics could settle, but still with scant hope of gaining political influence or representation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By 1776, Catholics were still a small minority in the American colonies \u2014 no more than about\u00a040,000 people, concentrated mostly in Maryland and Pennsylvania,\u00a0where they faced fewer restrictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED: How the Seeds of Religious Freedom Were Planted in the Hard Ground of Colonial America<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBritish patriotism was very much connected to anti-Catholicism,\u201d said Timothy Milford, a history professor at St. John\u2019s University\u00a0who specializes in colonial America.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think today\u2019s population is something like 20% Catholic,\u201d he noted,\u00a0\u201cbut it was definitely under 2% in the colonial period.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Historians\u00a0speculate, however,\u00a0that the desire\u00a0among Catholics\u00a0to break from England fueled\u00a0their\u00a0overwhelming support for the war.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Burning with Patriotism\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maura Jane Farrelly, in her book, \u201cPapist Patriots: The Making of an American Catholic Identity\u201d (2021),\u00a0wrote, \u201cThe Catholic population\u2019s commitment to the Patriot cause was there from the very beginning.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She\u00a0described\u00a0muster rolls, veteran pension applications, and supply records from St. Mary\u2019s County\u00a0that show\u00a0\u201csupport for the Revolutionary War was greater among Catholics than it was among Protestants.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Farrelly, a journalist, also wrote that Catholic men in St. Mary\u2019s County swore their allegiance to the cause by donating\u00a0money and serving in the Continental Army or the county\u2019s militia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED: Thanksgiving & Tolerance | Washington\u2019s Support for Early American Catholics<\/a><\/p>\n

Such was the case with Thompson\u2019s enlistment in the 5th\u00a0Independent Company, which was added to the 1st\u00a0Maryland Regiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A 19th-century historian, Thomas Field, wrote in \u201cThe Battle of Long Island\u201d (1869), that the Marylanders were \u201cburning with patriotism, and the desire of distinction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis body of young men,\u201d he continued, \u201csons of the best families of Catholic Maryland, had been emulous of the praise of being the best drilled and disciplined of the Revolutionary forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Re-enactors marching in the 2026 Brooklyn St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade accurately display the uniforms and kit worn by American soldiers who fought at the Battle of Brooklyn. The man in the foreground wearing the light-colored linen hunting shirt is especially representative of the 1st Maryland Regiment. (Photo: Bill Miller)<\/p>\n

Into Battle\u00a0<\/p>\n

After spending much of 1775 besieged by\u00a0rebel\u00a0colonists at Boston, the British\u00a0withdrew\u00a0to\u00a0Canada to\u00a0retrofit, resupply, and reinforce their army. They\u00a0intended\u00a0to open a new front\u00a0in the Atlantic colonies\u00a0and crush the\u00a0rebellion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came roaring back to New York,\u201d Milford said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The British\u00a0sailed south\u00a0on June 9, starting\u00a0with\u00a0400\u00a0warships, supply boats, and troop carriers. The\u00a0craft\u00a0began\u00a0filling\u00a0New York Harbor on June\u00a029.\u00a0More ships and troops followed\u00a0until the troop strength reached\u00a032,000 men.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED: How a Group of Catholic Patriots Helped Shape the Birth of the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

By July 2, two days before the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, the British force was\u00a0completely ashore on Staten Island. From\u00a0there,\u00a0the invasion of Long\u00a0Island\u00a0started\u00a0on Aug. 22, with about two-thirds of the total force, but still outnumbering the 10,000 Americans with a two-to-one advantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first shots of the Battle of Brooklyn sounded during a brief skirmish around 10 p.m. on Aug. 26, when Pennsylvania troops opened fire on redcoats stealing from a watermelon patch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a chunk of the British force was on a deceptive night march through the Jamaica pass,\u00a0and around the American troops, Milford explained.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

When fighting intensified the next morning, Washington soon realized his force was outnumbered and outmaneuvered by the British troops\u00a0at his front and left\u00a0flank.\u00a0Disaster ensued.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Members of the \u201cThe Maryland 400\u201d are shown in the background fighting a rearguard action that helped the rest of Gen. George Washington\u2019s army to escape disaster at the Battle of Brooklyn. Other Marylanders aided in the evacuation, shown here in the foreground. (Photo: 1858 painting by Alonzo Chappel via Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n

Fought Ferociously\u00a0<\/p>\n

Consequently, Washington ordered his army to fall back, Milford said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the so-called Maryland 400 was asked to remain behind as a rearguard,\u201d he added. \u201cThey fought ferociously to let the rest of their fellows escape north towards Brooklyn Heights.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

An estimated 256 Marylanders died\u00a0in the rearguard effort of\u00a0assaulting the British and their allies \u2014 German Hessians and Scottish Highlanders \u2014 at the\u00a0Vechte\u2013Cortelyou House.\u00a0The\u00a0building\u00a0\u2014\u00a0on present-day 3rd\u00a0Street between 4th\u00a0and 5th\u00a0Avenues\u00a0\u2014\u00a0was\u00a0about\u00a01,300 feet\u00a0east of\u00a0the marshy creek, which has since been converted into the Gowanus Canal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Washington, at Cobble Hill, near present-day Court Street and Atlantic Avenue, used a spyglass to watch Maryland troops assault,\u00a0die, regroup, and assault again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The future first president\u00a0reportedly cried, \u201cGood God, what brave fellows I must this day lose!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

At a Slog\u00a0<\/p>\n

Graham\u00a0wrote that\u00a0the creek\u00a0was \u201ca swamp or marsh through which a great many of our men were retreating.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of them,\u201d he added, \u201cwere mired and crying to the fellows for God\u2019s sake to help them out.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thompson and his 5th Independent Company were in Manhattan when fighting intensified on the morning of Aug. 27, but they crossed the East River and arrived at Gowanus Creek around midday, in time to see the chaotic carnage and retreat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The company helped other troops evacuate, albeit at a slog, through the swampy terrain lining the creek.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Foggy Flight\u00a0<\/p>\n

The rearguard action\u00a0enabled the survivors\u00a0to quietly evacuate\u00a0on\u00a0the night of Aug. 29 \u2014 some say with a \u201cmiraculous\u201d fog \u2014 across the East River.\u00a0While the British had a vast Navy, Washington relied on a mini armada of ferry boats to get his army to\u00a0Manhattan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey got kicked out of there,\u00a0too,\u00a0but at least they weren\u2019t\u00a0captured whole,\u201d Milford said. \u201cEventually,\u00a0they made their way to Philadelphia, from which they could fight back. And they did so.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED: Exploring Catholic History In Pennsylvania, N.Y., & N.J.<\/a><\/p>\n

From Pennsylvania, the Continental Army launched successful attacks into New Jersey, followed by victories in upstate New York and the southern colonies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But, historians contend, had it not been for Maryland 400s\u2019 sacrifice, and the surviving army\u2019s successful evacuation to Manhattan, the Revolution could have ended right there on Long Island.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Survivors of the Battle of Brooklyn from the 1st Maryland Regiment are shown here in a painting by artist H. Charles McBarron, Jr., as they appeared in battle later in the American Revolution. (Photo: via Wikimedia Commons)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back in the Fight\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Thompson was not among the celebrated \u201cMaryland 400,\u201d he\u00a0fought\u00a0in several\u00a0battles in\u00a0New\u00a0York\u00a0in 1776\u00a0before the army moved to Pennsylvania. According to the state\u2019s archives, he saw action at Harlem Heights, White Plains, and Fort Washington.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thompson\u2019s enlistment ended,\u00a0and by early 1777, he was back home in St. Mary\u2019s County. But even after all he had seen\u00a0in New York, the teen\u00a0farmer\u00a0returned to service in July of 1777 with the 2nd Maryland Regiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By August,\u00a0he was fighting\u00a0the British again, this time\u00a0on Staten Island. He\u00a0was taken prisoner and held aboard one of the many prison ships anchored around Long Island, according to the archives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prison Hulks\u00a0<\/p>\n

Milford said incarceration on the so-called \u201cprison hulks\u201d could be a death sentence\u00a0due to\u00a0the\u00a0lack of\u00a0food and water,\u00a0and diseases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Officers\u00a0were routinely released in prisoner exchanges, and enlisted troops could be ransomed if their families had enough money.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thompson\u2019s solution was to desert the patriots\u2019 cause and agree to fight for the British, but it was a ruse.<\/p>\n

RELATED: \u2018This is Sacred Ground\u2019: Event Pays Tribute to The First POWs<\/a><\/p>\n

Once released from the hulk, he simply returned to Maryland, according to the archives. Along the way,\u00a0he told American officers that he intended\u00a0to\u00a0rejoin the\u00a0cause,\u00a0and they told him which unit to report to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, that group deployed before Thomson could reach it. Now he was accused of desertion by American officials, but his former commanding officer from the 5th Independent Company vouched for him, according to the archives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The hopeless conditions aboard the HMS Jersey, a prison ship, are depicted in this image created in the 1800s. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n

Without Hesitation\u00a0<\/p>\n

Capt. John Allen Thomas, a Protestant, testified about Thompson\u2019s exemplary service in 1776, and to his\u00a0subsequent\u00a0efforts to return to active duty, and crafty escape\u00a0from the British.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thomas\u00a0said that if any other officer asked for Thompson to join his unit, \u201che would without hesitation have done it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The archives\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have a record of how the case was\u00a0adjudicated, but other data show\u00a0that\u00a0Thompson did fine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He became a farmer of his own 150-acre plot\u00a0and enjoyed decent success over the next few decades, the archives show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Families enjoy a warm Mother\u2019s Day afternoon at the Old Stone House in Brooklyn, where nearly 250 years ago, the property was strewn with the bodies of 256 Maryland soldiers who died fighting a rearguard action during the Battle of Brooklyn. (Photo: Bill Miller)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"These playing cards, part of an exhibit in the Old Stone House, depict caricatures of opposing armies in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-256620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}