Generation after generation, citizens of my home county – Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, founded in 1706 – have shown a willingness to serve their country.
Despite being located some distance from any frontlines, Queen Anne’s was a dangerous place
Generation after generation, citizens of my home county – Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, founded in 1706 – have shown a willingness to serve their country.
Despite being located some distance from any frontlines, Queen Anne’s was a dangerous place to be during the American Revolution. British ships sailing the Chesapeake and its tributaries kept the colonists under a constant threat of marauding depredation, so the American patriots organized militia. Eastern Shore Tories, colonists loyal to the crown, resisted independence and agitated anti-revolutionary sentiment.
Still, Queen Anne’s County’s record from this era in our nation’s history is strong. Five of Maryland’s delegates to the Continental Congress had ties to my county. Harford County’s William Paca, who also signed the Declaration of Independence, owned an estate on Wye Island and was a leader in the struggle for self-government. In August, 1776, county volunteers fought in the Battle of Long Island, the war’s first major confrontation. Washington Irving wrote about the bravery of the Maryland troops in his classic biography of George Washington.
In the War of 1812, the British Army came ashore here two thousand men strong. They erected a battery at Kent Narrows and seized four major estates on Kent Island. On August 13, 1812, British troops marching towards Queenstown and Centreville were ambushed by county militia at what is now where Bennett Point Road meets Rt.18. The encounter was bloody. The spot’s been known as Slippery Hill ever since. The place has a long history. When I was a kid Slippery Hill was a prime locatio