Maryland 400 to be honored at Old Stone House

August 16, 2021 Theodore W. General

The Maryland 400 signpost at the American Legion’s Rawley Post on Ninth Street.

Share this:

On Saturday, Aug. 21, Kim Maier, executive director of the Old Stone House in Washington Park, will preside over the 245th remembrance ceremony for the Maryland 400 starting at noon. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a busload of members of historical societies from Maryland would travel to Brooklyn each year to help commemorate the event. This year, while the outside proceedings are taking place in person, they will also be televised via Zoom so they can be available to Marylanders in their home state.

The program will include an invocation, a narrative, a reading of the Maryland 400 roster, a wreath-laying at the park’s flagpole and a rifle salute by American Legionnaires from the McFadden Brothers Post No. 1380.

The monument in Prospect Park, which was donated by the state of Maryland.

According to historical records, the men of the Maryland 400 militia fought heroically to defend the Old Stone House, but they were repelled by the overwhelming British contingents after several hours of fierce fighting and the loss of 256 Marylanders. However, their valor and fortitude were enough of a diversion to give Gen. George Washington and his continental troops cover and a chance to escape across the East River from the Fulton ferry pier. The Stone House was originally known as the Vechte-Cortelyou House.

From 6 to 7 p.m. local historian Greg McMurray will be outdoors on the lawn at the Old Stone House with a skit called “Yankee Doodle Defeat – The Story of the Battle of Brooklyn.” From 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Dylan Yeats will present a short play, “The Battle of Brooklyn: A Farce of Two Acts.”