5th Maryland Regiment


The 5th Maryland Regiment is a designation which has been held by several units over the years, not all of which necessarily share the same lineage and honors. Although the first unit to carry the "5th Maryland" designation was organized in 1776 from volunteers in rural Maryland, the designation has been most often associated with militia units in Baltimore. The "5th Maryland" designation is the officially recognized traditional designation of the 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard. This entry refers to the rural 5th Maryland, whose lineage is separate and distinct from the Baltimore 5th Maryland perpetuated by the 175th Infantry Regiment.

American Revolution

The first 5th Maryland Regiment was organized on March 27, 1776 composing of eight companies of from the counties of Queen Anne's, Kent, Caroline, and Dorchester of the colony of Maryland and was authorized on September 16, 1776 for service with the Continental Army. It was assigned to the main Continental Army on December 27, 1776. On May 22, 1777, it was assigned to the 1st Maryland Brigade and re-organized on May 12, 1779 to nine companies. It was reassigned to the Southern Department on April 5, 1780. The regiment was reassigned from the 1st Maryland Brigade to the Maryland Brigade on January 1, 1781. The regiment would see action during the Battle of Long Island, the Battle of Brandywine, the Battle of Germantown, the Battle of Monmouth, the Battle of Camden, and the Battle of Guilford Court House. The regiment was furloughed January 1, 1782, at Round O, South Carolina and disbanded on January 1, 1783.

War of 1812

Difference From the Modern Fifth Regiment

Another 5th Maryland, nicknamed "The Dandy Fifth," was formed in 1867. The lineage of this unit is carried on today by the Maryland Army National Guard's 175th Infantry Regiment. This 5th Maryland also traces its lineage back to the American Revolutionary War, but ironically, its lineage does not include the Revolutionary War 5th Regiment. Instead, it traces its ancestry to militia raised in Baltimore, and its battle honors differ from those of the Revolutionary 5th Regiment. The 175th Infantry's lineage and honors does include the 5th Maryland Regiment of the War of 1812 and 1st Maryland Infantry, CSA of the American Civil War.