Author: Kenneth Wayne Lawrence
Captain Levin Lawrence

Definition of a “flying camp”:

In military strategy, a "flying camp", was a small but strong army of horsemen and dragoons, to which sometimes added foot soldiers. Such an army usually was commanded by a Lieutenant General, and always in motion, both to cover the garrisons in possession, and to keep the adversary in continual alarm. This concept of a mobile reserve or rapid response force is employed by military strategists to the present day

In May 1776 the Continental Congress authorized the formation of the "Flying Camp" a force of 10,000 militia, a strategic idea conceived by General George Washington.
Washington's Flying Camp was able to turn the main component of General Howes British army away from New Jersey and Pennsylvania toward General Washington's main force in New York, without their efforts, the Revolutionary War might have had a earlier and different outcome.

My Patriot:

Levin Lawrence, was born in 1750 in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. His parents were Levin Lawrence Sr. and Susannah Dorsey. He was one of eight siblings, and grew up on the family plantation called Poplar Spring Garden.
He was appointed on September 17, 1776 as 1st lieutenant of Captain Thomas Watkins Flying Camp company, Col Weems Elk Ridge Btn.  On April 1, 1777 he was promoted to Captain in the Sixth Maryland Regiment of the Continental Line, He was involved in the Battle of Germantown, where he was wounded.


The Battle of Germantown:

After defeating the Continental Army at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777 Sir William Howe outmaneuvered George Washington and seized Philadelphia. General Howe set up his headquarters and 9,000 troop garrison at Germantown in the northwest section of Philadelphia. The battle took place Saturday October 4, 1777 when George Washington directed the simultaneous advance, under the cover of darkness, of four different units of American troops led by Generals John Sullivan and Nathanael Greene The four columns of American soldiers were to converge near General William Howe's headquarters and catch the British by surprise. The American advance started well in the early morning with some of the British retreating. However the advance faltered when one of the four American columns lost its bearings in a dense fog and smoke. Bad luck dogged the other columns who failed to coordinate effectively. The Continental Army launched furious assaults against Cliveden, the stone house of Chief Justice Chew, but the greatly outnumbered defenders beat them back, inflicting heavy casualties. The American army was forced to retire to Valley Forge, a strong place in the hills not far from Philadelphia.
Despite the defeat at Germantown it still boosted American morale and self-confidence as they believed the defeat was the result of bad luck, not bad tactics.

After being wounded in battle, on April 1, 1778, Captain Levin Lawrence resigned his Commission in the Continental Army.

On returning to civilian life he married Sarah Dorsey on August 29, 1786. Their union produced eight children. He inherited land in Illinois from his brother-in-law in 1802.

Levin Lawrence died March 31, 1805