Maryland 400 heroes get musket salute

September 9, 2022 Theodore General

The musket salute at the Old Stone House. Photo: Ted General

Share this:

The Battle of Brooklyn and the heroism of the Marylanders were cited at ceremonies at the Old Stone House in Washington Park and at the monument to the Maryland 400 in Prospect Park on Aug. 27.

The event also marked the 246th anniversary of the historic battle in which reportedly 256 were captured, missing or killed defending the Old Stone House. They were part of the 1,000 casualties the Americans took during the bloody encounter with British and Hessian soldiers.

Parks Commissioner Marty Maher, Assemblymember Robert Carroll, Kim Maier and Society of the Cincinnati members from Maryland. Photo: Ted General

Despite the losses, two nights later Gen. George Washington’s Army was able to retreat safely from the Brooklyn Heights waterfront to fight on and eventually win the American Revolutionary War.

The commemorative program started with a welcome from Old Stone House Board Chairman Nancy Rosenberg and then was emceed by Kim Maier, OSH executive director. Next was the Massing of the Colors by Michael A. Rawley, Jr. American Legion Post and the Atlantic Middle States Color Guard, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

The wreath-laying in memory of the Maryland 400. Photo: Ted General

A group of people took turns reading the roster of the Maryland 400, which included members of Maryland’s chapter of the Society of the Cincinnati. Guest speakers included Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Marty Maher and Assemblymember Robert Carroll. The proceedings at the Old Stone House concluded with wreath-layings, a musket gun salute and “Taps.”

The field of flags at the Old Stone House. Photo: Ted General

Following the commemoration, Maher and Maier, along with a small group of travelers from Maryland, then placed wreaths at the 27-foot-tall Maryland 400 Monument in Prospect Park.

Earlier the same day, the Society of Old Brooklynites held its 114th memorial tribute to the Revolutionary-era Prison Ship Martyrs at the base of the 149-foot-tall monument on the hilltop in Fort Greene Park. Forty feet under this towering monument designed by famed architect Stanford White are the remains of 11,500 American patriots, America’s first POWs.

Theodore General, the society’s first vice president, emceed the memorial service, with the FDNY Ceremonial Unit Color Guard and the FDNY Emerald Society Pipers providing the opening fanfare.

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by society board member Rickie James, the national anthem by opera star Madison Marie McIntosh, and the invocation and blessing of the monument and later benediction by Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, president and executive director of the Seamen’s Church Institute.

A Colonial-era wagon in front of the Old Stone House. Photo: Ted General

The keynote speaker was Janet Skinner, member of the Fort Greene Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The proceedings concluded with “Taps,” eight slow bells and the playing of the “Navy Hymn,” as the wreath was brought forward and laid by Skinner and society Treasurer Sherman Silverman.