Mordecai Gist, born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1743, was descended from
some of the earliest English settlers in that State. Though trained for
a commercial life, he hastened at the beginning of the Revolution to
offer his services to his country, and in January, 1775, was elected
to the command of a company of volunteers raised in his native city,
called the “Baltimore Independent Company,”--the first company raised
in Maryland for liberty. In 1776, he rose to the rank of major,
distinguishing himself whenever an occasion offered. In 1777, he was
made colonel, and on the 9th of January, 1779, Congress recognized his
worth by conferring on him the rank of brigadier-general.
It is with the battle of Camden, South Carolina, that Gist’s name is
indissolubly linked. The British having secured the best position,
Gates divided his forces into three parts, assigning the right wing to
Gist. By a blunder in an order issued by Gates himself, the centre and
the left wing were thrown into confusion and routed. Gist and De Kalb
stood firm, and by their determined resistance made the victory a dear
one for the British. When the brave German fell, Gist rallied about a
hundred men and led them off in good order. In 1782, joining the light
troops of the South, he commanded at Combahee--the last engagement in
the war--and gained a victory. At the close of the war he retired to
his plantation near Charleston, where he died in 1792. He was married
three times, and had two sons, one of whom he named “Independent” and
the other “States.”