12 Facts About Horatio Sharpe

Horatio Sharpe was the 22nd proprietary governor of Maryland from 1753 to 1768 under the restored proprietary government of Maryland.

Horatio Sharpe was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England in 1718 to parents William Sharpe Sr.

Horatio Sharpe was one of 16 children, of whom nine brothers and four sisters survived their father.

Horatio Sharpe was commissioned in the King's forces in 1745 as a captain and fought in the Jacobite rising against the Jacobites.

Horatio Sharpe served with the 20th Regiment of Foot and the Marines.

Horatio Sharpe served until his appointment by Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore as the proprietary Maryland colonial governor.

Horatio Sharpe was a capable civil and military administrator, gentleman-farmer, enslaver, horse collector, hospitable host, and friend of George Mason and George Washington.

Horatio Sharpe built Whitehall on the outskirts of Annapolis.

Horatio Sharpe returned to England to attend to family matters in 1773 and remained there until he died in 1790.

Horatio Sharpe is named explicitly in the Maryland Confiscation Act of 1780.

Horatio Sharpe was encouraged by the new state of Maryland to return from England to Maryland and reclaim his lands.

Horatio Sharpe sold or gave his Maryland properties to his long-time secretary, John Ridout, who had stayed in Maryland during the Revolutionary War to protect his former employer's property.