Thomas Lancaster Lansdale

Thomas Lancaster Lansdale
Born(1748-11-10)November 10, 1748[1]
Died(1803-01-19)January 19, 1803[1]
Buried
Bowie, Maryland
Years of service1776-1783[2]
RankMajor
Unit3rd Maryland Continental Infantry.[3]

Major Thomas Lancaster Lansdale (November 10, 1748 – January 19, 1803)[2] was an American soldier who served as an officer in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

Military service

Portrait of Cornelia Van Horn Lansdale (Mrs. Thomas Lancaster Lansdale) by Rembrandt Peale

He served in the Continental Army from 1776 through 1783 as an officer[2] in the 3rd Maryland Continental Infantry.[3]

On January 25, 1783, Lansdale was berated in writing by George Washington for the shabby appearance of the troops under his command while encamped on the banks of the Hudson River.[4][5] Lansdale redeemed himself two weeks later with Washington who then wrote:

It gave me very sensible pleasure to observe at the

Review yesterday the very great alteration for the better in the appearance of the Maryland Detachment ... I anticipate the day when this Detachment will rival if not surpass in

excellence the oldest & best Troops in the American Service.[5]

At the conclusion of the war, Lansdale was admitted as an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland.[6][7]

Business

Outside of military service, he was a merchant with the firm of Lansdale and Claggett in the port town of Queen Anne[1] and owned a sizeable tobacco plantation in Prince George's County.[5] He made his home at Hazelwood, overlooking Queen Anne.[8]

Family

His father was Isaac Lansdale who died in 1777.[8] His wife was Cornelia Van Horn Lansdale.[9]

Legacy

His grave in Collington, Maryland (now Bowie) is marked by a municipal park and a boulevard named in his honor.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Dorman, John Frederick (2005). Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1624/5: Families G-P. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 183. ISBN 9780806317632.
  2. ^ a b c d "Major Thomas Lancaster Lansdale Park". Museums. The City of Bowie. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  3. ^ a b Maryland Historical Magazine, Volumes 41-42. Maryland Historical Society. 1946. p. 61.
  4. ^ Ford, Worthington Chauncey (1891). The writings of George Washington, Volume 10. G.P. Putnam' Sons. pp. 143–145. Thomas lansdale.
  5. ^ a b c Schulz, Emily L. (2009). Maryland in the American Revolution (PDF). The Society of the Cincinnati. p. 35.
  6. ^ Register of the Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland. Baltimore, Maryland: Order of the Society. 1897. pp. 78. lancaster Lansdale.
  7. ^ Metcalf, Bryce (1938). Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati, 1783-1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., p. 191.
  8. ^ a b Lavoie, Catherine C. (March 1991). "Hazelwood" (PDF). Historic American Buildings Survey. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. pp. 2–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  9. ^ Larson, Judy L. (1994). American paintings at the High Museum of Art. Hudson Hills Press. pp. 28, 170. ISBN 978-1555950941.