Early War
On June 14, 1775, upon the call for soldiers by the Continental Congress, Williams joined Capt. Thomas Price's Independent Rifle Company of Maryland as first lieutenant. The company then marched to the Siege of Boston. Soon after the company's arrival in Boston, Williams was promoted to the command of the company. By order of the Continental Congress on June 27, 1776, the rifle company was integrated into the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment, with Hugh Stephenson as colonel, Moses Rawlings as lieutenant colonel and Williams as major.
The regiment did not see much action until the Battle of Fort Washington, where Williams was taken prisoner by the British. He was taken to New York, where due to his rank he was permitted to go at large on his parole. During this time in New York, it was common for British officers to amuse themselves by insulting American prisoners with pointed questions such as "What Trade were you of before you entered the service?" When a high ranking British officer asked this question of Williams he replied:
"That he was in a profession which taught him to resist tyranny and punish insolence, and that proofs of his profession would follow a reputation towards him."It is suggested that the officer offended by this retort informed William Phillips—then in command of the New York garrison—that Williams was sending military information to George Washington contrary to the terms of his parole. Williams was promptly arrested and confined to a sixteen square foot (1.5 square meter) room without ventilation in the city's provost jail which he shared with Ethan Allen. Due to possible maltreatment by his captors and malnourishment, his health was affected to the point where he never fully recovered from his imprisonment.
After the surrender of General John Burgoyne after the Battles of Saratoga, Williams was exchanged on January 16, 1778. During his imprisonment, Williams had been promoted to colonel and given command of the 6th Maryland Regiment of the Maryland Line. Shortly after his release, he stated in a letter to the governor of Maryland that the regiment contained "...not above a hundred effective men... and that those are very indifferently clothed." He further stated: "I heartily desire to join the army as soon as possible but certainly it had better be reinforced by a regiment without a colonel than by a colonel without a regiment." After joining Washington's army shortly before the Battle of Monmouth he learned that the regiment was noted for a looseness of discipline and was unable to stand with others in the line during battle. Soon after he took effective command, the 6th Maryland Regiment became known as the equal, if not superior, to any in the whole army.
Read more about this topic: Otho Holland Williams
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