Meet the Ancestor: John Day Scott

John Day Scott  (1748-1776)

John Day Scott was born in Stepney Parish in Somerset County, one of eight children. Both of his parents died while he was young, and the family farm was left to his oldest brother. He joined the Revolutionary army on January 3, 1776, and was commissioned as a captain in the Seventh Company of the First Maryland Regiment. He fought in the Battle of Brooklyn in August of 1776, where his company was surrounded by the British and then ambushed by British soldiers as they retreated. The bravery demonstrated by them earned them the name the “Maryland 400.”

In October of 1776, John Day Scott fought in the Battle at White Plains. The British were able to cross the Bronx River and attack the company, which suffered under heavy fire. Captain Scott was mortally wounded in this battle.