rights and on 5 March 1770, British soldiers opened fire and killed twelve Bostonians. While there were wildly different accounts of the situation, with one anonymous person stating that the shooting was deliberate, and Captain Preston – the commanding officer - stating the shooting was an accident, the result was the same. The Boston Massacre solidified American hatred of the British, and paved the way towards independence. The American Revolutionary War began in on 19 April 1775, when the Massachusetts Militia engaged the British army at the battles of Lexington and Concord, in Middlesex County. This prompted the newly formed first Continental Congress to authorized and appointed General George Washington to both take charge of the existing militia and for the creation of an entirely new Continental Army. History In June 1775, the Second Continental Congress authorized the formation of a "Maryland Line", an entire militia composed and financed by Maryland to be incorporated into the newly formed Continental Army. On 18 January 1776, the Maryland government carried out the orders of the Second Continental Congress and created the following regiments: • 1st Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1783 • 2nd Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1783 • 3rd Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1783 • 4th Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1783 • 5th Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1783 • 6th Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1781 • 7th Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1781 • German Battalion (counted as half a regiment against the quota), disbanded in 1781 • Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment (counted as half a regiment against the quota), disbanded in 1781 • 2nd Independent Maryland Company - Somerset County absorbed into the 2nd Maryland Regiment in 1781 Once Maryland met its required quota of composing and equipping eight regiments, the units were formally incorporated into the Continental Army to fight aside militia from the twelve other states. The 6th Maryland Regiment was incorporated into the Continental Army on 27 March 1776. Action seen Battle of Brandywine Fought on 11 September 1777 at Chadds Ford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the large-scale military battle saw action between the Continental army led by General George Washington and the British army led by General Sir William Howe. The overall objective for the American forces was to stop British advancement and prevent the takeover of Philadelphia. Despite both armies having similar strength - both around 15,000 men – General Howe was able to flank