Benedict, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Benedict, Maryland is a small unincorporated town in Charles County, Maryland
Charles County, Maryland
Charles County is a county in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 146,551. Its county seat is La Plata. This county was named for Charles Calvert , third Baron Baltimore....

, located on the Patuxent River
Patuxent River
The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast passing through Baltimore, and the Patuxent River between...

 in Southern Maryland
Southern Maryland
Southern Maryland in popular usage is composed of the state's southernmost counties on the "Western Shore" of the Chesapeake Bay. This region includes all of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties and sometimes the southern portions of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties.- History...

, USA.

History

Originally a fishing village in the late 17th century, it was named Benedict-Leonardtown for Benedict Leonard Calvert
Benedict Leonard Calvert
The Hon. Benedict Leonard Calvert was the 15th Proprietary Governor of Maryland from 1727 through 1731, appointed by his older brother, Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore . He was named after his father, Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore...

.

War of 1812

In the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, Benedict was the location where the British Army led by General Robert Ross landed on August 18, 1814, after having fought fierce naval battles with American naval forces
Chesapeake Bay Flotilla
For two years the United States had been fighting with Great Britain during War of 1812. The British fleet was marauding the Chesapeake Bay when Joshua Barney, a naval officer of the American Revolutionary War, assembled a motley collection of barges and gunboats known generally as the Chesapeake...

 in the Patuxent. From Benedict, the British began their march to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, ultimately burning that city before finally being stopped in the Battle of Baltimore
Battle of Baltimore
The Battle of Baltimore was a combined sea/land battle fought between British and American forces in the War of 1812. It was one of the turning points of the war as American forces repulsed sea and land invasions of the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland, and killed the commander of the invading...

.

Civil War

Benedict was the site of Camp Stanton, constructed in October 1863 for the Maryland 7th Regiment.
Camp Stanton was also the location where the Maryland 19th Regiment of the United States Colored Troops
United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops were regiments of the United States Army during the American Civil War that were composed of African American soldiers. First recruited in 1863, by the end of the Civil War, the men of the 175 regiments of the USCT constituted approximately one-tenth of the Union...

 was formed on December 19, 1863 with freed slaves who were purchased for their freedom by the United States Government to serve as soldiers. This unit distinguished itself at the Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...

. Some of its members included the Rev. William Saunders Crowdy
William Saunders Crowdy
William Saunders Crowdy was an American soldier, preacher, entrepreneur, theologian, and pastor. As one of the earliest Black Hebrew Israelites in the United States, he established the Church of God and Saints of Christ in 1896.-Early life:In 1847, William Saunders Crowdy was born into slavery at...

 and his brother Daniel of a plantation in St. Mary's County, Maryland.

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
Samuel C. Armstrong
Samuel Chapman Armstrong was an American educator and a commissioned officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War...

.

Benedict Today

Adjacent to the town is the Benedict Bridge, a half-mile (800 m) long bridge where Maryland Route 231
Maryland Route 231
Maryland Route 231 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from Olivers Shop Road near Hughesville east to MD 765 in Prince Frederick. MD 231 crosses the Patuxent River on the Benedict Bridge, which connects Benedict in eastern Charles County...

 crosses the Patuxent River
Patuxent River
The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast passing through Baltimore, and the Patuxent River between...

 from Charles County
Charles County, Maryland
Charles County is a county in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 146,551. Its county seat is La Plata. This county was named for Charles Calvert , third Baron Baltimore....

 into Calvert County
Calvert County, Maryland
Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It occupies the Calvert Peninsula which is bordered on the east by the Chesapeake Bay and on the west by the Patuxent River. Calvert County is part of the Southern Maryland region. Calvert County's residents are among the highest...

. The town also has one or two seafood restaurants, and the only church in southern Maryland to offer masses in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

.

External links

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