Mountjoy Bayly

Mountjoy Bayly. . , Born in 1755 in Virginia, Mountjoy Bayly moved to Western Maryland in his youth. He was serving as an officer in the Maryland Militia when the Revolutionary War began in 1775. He fought in several battles in 1776, including Harlem Heights and Ft. Washington. Following the expiration of his enlistment in December, he was recommissioned into the 7th Maryland Regiment of the Continental Army., He participated in the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, an unsuccessful effort to defend Philadelphia from British capture. Following this defeat, the Continental Army retreated to Valley Forge, where Bayly and his regiment endured a harsh winter while training for the spring campaign., In June 1778, Bayly suffered heat stroke at the Battle of Monmouth Court House. Although a draw, the Battle proved the mettle of the new American army. After a long recuperation, he spent the remainder of the war guarding Hessian prisoners near Frederick, Maryland where his largest challenge was keeping them from merging into the general population of German farmers., After the war, Bayly continued his public service as an original founder of the Maryland Society of the Cincinnati, a Brigadier-General of the Maryland Militia, and as a member of the General Assembly representing Frederick County. During the Whiskey Rebellion of the early 1790s, Bayly was pivotal in suppressing the insurrection., In 1811, Bayly and his family moved to Washington, D.C. when he was appointed sergeant-at-arms and doorkeeper of the U.S. Senate. His home still stands across from the Senate office buildings and the U.S. Supreme Court at 122 Maryland Avenue NE. He died March 22, 1836, at 82., Born: 1755 , Died: March 23, 1836.