The Battle of Great Severn

Contemporary Review, March, 1999 by Radmila May

In 1651 rumours began to circulate in Maryland that Baltimore's charter would be removed. Attempts had previously been made: for instance, in 1648 Ingle had presented a petition to Parliament to that effect. Parliament then appointed two Commissioners (Bennett and Claiborne) to make Maryland submit. In March 1652 they removed Stone as Governor of Maryland. They reinstated him in June 1652.

Developments in England contributed to Stone's problems. In April 1653 Cromwell, commander of the victorious Parliamentary army, dismissed the increasingly ineffective and chaotic Parliament. From then on, he ruled alone, but his rule was unlawful until a newly-elected Parliament made him first Captain-General (on 12 December 1653) and then Lord Protector (16 December 1653).

The relationship between Stone and the Parliamentary Commissioners continued to deteriorate. On 2 March 1654 he decreed that, although he was still obedient to the Commonwealth, all writs should 'run in the Proprietary's name as heretofore.' He insisted that the oath of fidelity to the Proprietor be taken and announced that he would confiscate the lands of all those who did not take the oath within six months. On 3 January 1654 the Puritans of Severn River objected to the oath of fidelity and communicated their objections to Bennett and Claiborne who advised them to support the Parliamentary Commissioners. But when, in Spring 1654, news reached Maryland that Cromwell had been confirmed as Lord Protector by Parliament and that all writs were to be issued in his name, he decreed (in May 1654) that all persons must submit to Parliament. This didn't do him much good, however, with the Commissioners who directed that the records of the province be removed. On 20 July Stone resigned, referring in his account to the presence of armed men.

The first general assembly under the Commissioners was held on 20 October 1654. Unlike the assemblies held under Baltimore's charter, Roman Catholics and any others who had borne arms against the Parliament (by now numbers of Royalist supporters had arrived in Maryland from England) could not be members. It passed 44 Acts, including the repeal of the Toleration Act, and enacted that Roman Catholics could not practise their faith. It levied taxes and abolished the requirement of the oath of fidelity to Lord Baltimore. Other statutes outlawed sin, vice and Sabbath-breaking.

On the 6th November 1654 a merchant ship, The Golden Lyon, commanded by Captain Roger Heamans, left England. It arrived in Maryland on 29 January 1655. On 31 January Stone went on board The Golden Lyon and told Heamans he was no longer Governor of Maryland. And at about the same time another ship, The Golden Fortune, also arrived in Maryland with a letter from Oliver Cromwell addressed to Captain Stone Governor of Maryland. Also present on board was a Mr William Eltonhead who reported verbally that Lord Baltimore's patent and lands had not been taken away. On the strength of this Stone challenged the authority of Parliament. He may also have been stung by Baltimore's calling him, in a letter written in November 1654, a coward. He seized back the records of the province which had been taken from him and ignored requests asking him by what authority this action had been carried out. His troops had already begun to move north; they sacked some houses and took at least one hostage.