1. William Smallwood was an American planter, soldier and politician from Charles County, Maryland.
19 Facts About William Smallwood
1. 2.
William Smallwood served in the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of major general.
3.
William Smallwood was serving as the fourth Governor of Maryland when the state adopted the United States Constitution.
4.
William Smallwood's parents sent the boys to England, for their education at Eton.
5.
William Smallwood's great-grandfather was James Smallwood, who immigrated in 1664 and became a member of the Maryland Assembly in 1692.
6.
William Smallwood served as an officer during the French and Indian War, the North American theater of the Seven Years' War, and was elected to the pre-Revolution colonial-era provincial assembly for the Province of Maryland.
7.
William Smallwood led the regiment in the New York and New Jersey campaign.
8.
Shortly thereafter, William Smallwood led what remained of his regiment to fight "alongside soldiers from Connecticut, Delaware, and New York" in the Battle of White Plains, when he was twice wounded but "prevented the destruction of the entire Continental Army".
9.
William Smallwood continued to serve under George Washington in the Philadelphia campaign, where his regiment again distinguished itself at Germantown.
10.
William Smallwood was then quartered at Foulke House, which was occupied by the family of Sally Wister.
11.
William Smallwood briefly commanded the militia forces of North Carolina in late 1780 and early 1781 before returning to Maryland, staying there for the remainder of the war.
12.
William Smallwood resigned from the Continental Army in 1783 and later that year was elected to serve as the first president of the newly established Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland.
13.
William Smallwood had the misfortune of serving as governor during one of the most difficult periods in the history of the nation.
14.
In spite of the country's unsettled affairs, William Smallwood was responsible for several major accomplishments, including convening the state's convention that ratified the United States Constitution, despite strong opposition to the proposed document in the State.
15.
Local historical signs in Calvert, Maryland, note that General William Smallwood occupied the "East Nottingham Friends House" at the intersections of Calvert Road and Brick Meetinghouse Road about 6 miles east of Rising Sun, Maryland.
16.
William Smallwood frequented the "Cross Keys Inn", at the time a several-room inn and bar.
17.
William Smallwood's restored plantation home, Smallwood's Retreat, and burial site is located in Smallwood State Park in Marbury, Maryland.
18.
William Smallwood Church Road leads from the State Park toward Old Durham Church, where he was a vestryman.
19.
The William Smallwood Collection is housed at the Maryland Center for History and Culture.