Gunby, John
Gunby, John
GUNBY, JOHN. (1745–1807). Continental officer. Maryland. Born 10 March 1745, Captain Gunby, the son of a Loyalist, organized an independent company on 14 January 1776, devoting himself primarily to attacking Loyalists. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Seventh Maryland on 10 December and colonel on 17 April 1777. Serving in Smallwood's First Maryland Brigade at Camden, he took no part in the battle. On 1 January 1781 he took command of the First Maryland Continentals, acclaimed as one of the best units in the Continental army, and led them with distinction at Guilford, North Carolina, on 15 March 1781. At Hobkirk's Hill South Carolina, on 25 April 1781, he commanded the First Maryland, whose premature retreat is generally blamed for Greene's defeat. He served the rest of the war. On 30 September 1783 he was brevetted brigadier general, and on 15 December 1783 he left the army. He died on 17 May 1807 at his farm in Snow Hill, Maryland.
SEE ALSO Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina; Hobkirk's Hill (Camden), South Carolina.
revised by Michael Bellesiles