Taneytown began by providing support to the Continental Army in a unique way. One of its small factories, originally built to produce nails, tongs, shovels, and hoes, quickly shifted its production to firearms at the beginning of the Revolution. The facility, according to records, was located in Bunker Hill (In the original plan of Taneytown it was intended that a public square should be placed at the intersection of York Street and the Emmittsburg pike, and became to be known as Bunker Hill.) and operated by Mathias Stroyer. It continued locally until 1799, when it was destroyed by fire, and relocated to Harpers Ferry.

Records also indicate that a Mr. Knight made military implements in Taneytown. Although Knight’s first name is not known, he was the father of Dr. James Knight who was born in Taneytown in 1818 and is credited with discovering orthopedic surgery.

Taneytown also supplied a significant portion of its male population to aid the Continental Army. On November 29, 1775, the Taneytown militia company consisted of the following:

Jacob Good, captain; John Kleinoff - first lieutenant; Samuel Wilson - second lieutenant; Hugh Kerr - ensign; William Wilson - sergeant; William Pebbles – sergeant, John Jones – sergeant,

Jess Jacobs – sergeant, Malcour Wichout – corporal, Charles Fare – corporal, Isaac Runion – corporal, John Crawford – corpora, Richard Slack – fifer, George Rice- drummer, and 68 privates

(Note that the number of privates was constantly changing. On November 29, 1775, the number was 68 by October 6, 1776 the number had decreased to 62.)

Initially, officers were elected, later appointed, and they changed from time to time for a variety of reasons. Along with other companies from the surrounding countryside, it made up the 4th Regiment of Maryland Militia with Normand Bruce, of Bruceville, eventually appointed colonel and Joseph McKellip, of Taneytown, as quartermaster.

The Taneytown troops saw only two periods of extended service which was not unusual for men from communities on the edges of America’s frontier. In 1776, a portion of them went as volunteers for six months as part of a Flying Camp to aid Washington’s hard-pressed army. Jacob Good was among that number. Marching during the hot summer months by way of Head of Elk at the northern tip of the Chesapeake Bay and Philadelphia, they joined Washington in the brutal fighting in New York and New Jersey that summer and fall. Perhaps it was there that Good’s health became impaired, causing his early death at the end of the war. The other occasion for long service was in 1781 when a portion of the brigade, chosen by lot, hastened to the Chesapeake's defense but saw no fighting.

For the couple articles will provide biographies of the men from Taneytown who fought during the American Revolution, the first individual featured will be Jacob Good.

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It is unclear where Jacob Good (1748-1783) lived in Taneytown. Still, the nature of some of his business activities and the references to him "of Taneytown" suggest that from about 1769 he did live in the town, most likely at Lot 1 on the Square, the site of the Central Hotel that is now office space/apartments.

Jacob, although only about 21 years of age, acted as the local agent for the selling of the town’s original 90 lots on behalf of Edward Diggs and Raphael Taney who lived in St. Mary's County. In 1772 he bought all the unsold lots, the ground rents, and almost all the unsold portion of the "Resurvey of Brothers Agreement" tract which surrounded the town — approximately 368 acres. Between that purchase and his 1783 death, he acquired an additional ten lots.

Because Taneytown was relatively isolated from Frederick Town, it was hard to get news about the rest of the colony. The only way citizens could communicate with each other was at public meetings, usually in taverns, churches, and mills. Maryland’s colonial government sponsored the creation of several taverns along main roads for use by the public. Communities used these taverns to gather information from travelers or to publicly post new laws enacted in Annapolis. Many taverns would later serve as assembly points for the militia. Although there is no documentation to show that Taneytown’s taverns had been supported by the government, we know that brothers Jacob and Adam Good were active in the political arena, and both were tavern owners.

In January 1775, Jacob was appointed to Frederick County’s "Committee for Observation" for the Middle District. He, John McCallister, Samuel McFarren, and Abraham Key were instructed to raise money from residents in Piney Creek Hundred to buy ammunition and to list those who failed to contribute. They immediately began soliciting money. Over the following years, Jacob’s patriotic commitment increased dramatically as Maryland raised troops to support the war.

By November 1775, Good was serving as captain of a sizable militia group in his area. Under him were two lieutenants, one ensign, four sergeants, a fifer, a drummer, and 70 privates — all told, 80 men, including Good.

Frederick County’s Committee of Observation for the Middle District must have had confidence in this 27-year-old man, but the leadership of local troops grew complicated. Normand Bruce, slightly older than Good, and with important connections among Maryland’s landed gentry, was also a potential military leader. For a short while in early 1776, Good held the colonel's rank in Frederick County’s 3rd Battalion while Bruce served under him. Their roles were quickly reversed, however, with the reason a matter for speculation. Good, though a prosperous businessman, was new to Frederick County’s political life, while the Bruce family was related to the Keys and Scotts who held positions of power in Annapolis.

Following the British evacuation of Boston in March 1776, Gen. George Washington met with the Continental Congress to determine his future military strategy. Faced with defending a considerable amount of territory from potential British operations, Washington recommended forming "Flying Camps" which, in the military terminology of the day, referred to mobile, strategic reserves of troops. Congress agreed, and on June 3, 1776, passed a resolution "that a Flying camp is immediately established in the middle colonies and that it consists of 10,000 men ...." Frederick County began recruiting men to serve in Maryland’s flying camps.

A month later, Jacob Good was commissioned as a captain in the "Company of Militia for the Flying Camp of Col. Charles Greenbury Griffith's Battalion." This was one of several camps organized in the county. The American military during the war would evolve and adopt a ranking system with insignias based on the British model, which consisted of privates, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, colonels, generals, and several now-obsolete ranks like a coronet, subaltern, and ensign. Service in a flying camp lasted six months – until Dec. 1, 1776. The recruits were paid and fed like regular troops.

During that summer of 1776, George Washington and his small army occupied New York City, realizing the British troops recently chased out of Boston would likely make that their next target. Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania responded to the army’s desperate needs by sending flying camps to join him. It must have taken long, brutal marches for the troops to reach New York by late August. As summer turned to fall, the resulting New York battles were a series of defeats for the Continental Army — Long Island, Harlem Heights, White Plains.

How much action Captain Jacob Good saw is unclear, but a court-martial held in Harlem Heights in October 1776 puts him in the New York area during the right period. Good was one of nine witnesses in the trial of a New York militiaman accused of plunder and mutiny during September. Good could only have been a witness if he and his men had been fighting there.

He was probably home by December 1776, although his involvement with the local militia continued. Jacob’s life and the Revolution in which he played so many beneficial roles ended about the same time, raising the possibility that his health may have suffered in the New York campaign. He left behind a wife and daughter when he died at age 35 in March 1783. Rev. Daniel Schroeter conducted the funeral service.

Although his life was short, Jacob Good’s contributions to Taneytown as a businessman, tavern owner, and soldier deserve more recognition.

Next month’s article will feature stories of the men who fought beside Good.

David Buie is a Taneytown Resident who has a passion for
Carroll County and its place in history.

Read other history articles by David Buie

Read other articles on Taneytown history