Benedict, Maryland

Benedict, Maryland is a small unincorporated town in Charles County, Maryland, located on the Patuxent River in Southern Maryland, USA.

History

Originally a fishing village in the late 1600s, it was named Benedict-Leonardtown for Benedict Leonard Calvert. [citation
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=YlULnXx4ibcC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=%22history+of+charles+county%22&source=web&ots=UoGu6yYACu&sig=L7hwy7CWPCVNUSZT_FnTjYRRyW4&hl=en
title=Charles County
last=Zilliox
first=Jacqueline
pages=17
publisher=Arcadia Publishing
date=2007
accessdate=2008-04-05]

War of 1812

In the War of 1812, Benedict was the location where the British Army led by General Robert Ross landed on August 14, 1814, after having fought fierce naval battles with American naval forces in the Patuxent. From Benedict, the British began their march to Washington, D.C., ultimately burning that city before finally being stopped in the Battle of Baltimore. [cite book
last =Markham
first =Edwin
authorlink =Edwin Markham
title =The Real America in Romance Valor and Victory: The age of Vindication 1783 1824 Volume X
publisher =William H Wise & Company
date =1912
location =New York, Chicago
pages =370-382
url =http://books.google.com/books?id=foAQAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Benedict,+Maryland%22+ross&as_brr=1&pg=PA3&ci=161,378,657,162&source=bookclip
isbn = ] [cite web
url=http://www.nps.gov/fowa/historyculture/warburton.htm
title=Fort Warburton
publisher=U. S. National Park Service
date=2007-07-19
accessdate=2007-12-15]

Civil War

Benedict was the site of "Camp Stanton", constructed in October 1863 for the Maryland 7th Regiment. [citation
url=http://www.aomol.net/000001/000366/html/am366--155.html
title=Seventh Regiment Infantry, U. S. Colored Troops. Maryland Volunteers.
publisher=Archives of Maryland Online
volume=366
pages=155
date=1861-1866
accessdate=2007-12-15] Camp Stanton was also the location where the Maryland 19th Regiment of the United States Colored Troops was formed on December 19, 1863 with freed slaves who were purchased for their freedom by the United States Government to serve as soldiers. [cite web
url=http://www.csmd.edu/Library/SMSC/NPS_Soldiers/people.php
title=Hidden Identities: Southern Maryland Slaves & the United States Colored Troops at Camp Stanton, Maryland
publisher=College of Southern Maryland
date=2006
accessdate=2007-12-15] This unit distinguished itself at the Battle of the Wilderness. [cite web
url=http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/aapaxstanton.html
title=African-American Sites Along the Patuxent River: Camp Stanton
publisher=Maryland Department of Natural Resources
date=2002-09-03
accessdate=2007-12-15] Some of its members included the Rev. William Saunders Crowdy and his brother Daniel of a plantation in St. Mary's County, Maryland.Fact|date=December 2007

In addition, a school was established on the site to educate the black soldiers, most of whom had no education as slaves. The school was run by Samuel C. Armstrong. [cite book
last =Talbot
first =Edith Armstrong
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Samuel Chapman Armstrong: A Biographical Study
publisher =Doubleday, Page & Company
date =1904
location =New York
pages =page 109
url =http://books.google.com/books?id=RMxBAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22benedict,&pg=PA109&ci=225,905,388,36&source=bookclip
doi =
id =
isbn = 0837115124]

Benedict Today

Adjacent to the town is the Benedict Bridge, a half-mile long bridge where Maryland Route 231 crosses the Patuxent River from Charles County into Calvert County.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=4112 "Camp Stanton" historical marker]
* [http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=4063 Camp Stanton "Training Post for USCT" historical marker]
* [http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=4064 "Benedict" historical marker]