My wife and children (my daughter is Susan Carroll Crowley-Szabo) are descendants of Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, and John Carroll, the first Catholic Archbishop in America.

My father-in-law, Joseph J. Connolly, was born to Margaret Carroll Connolly. 

Some of the Crowleys are also descended from Irish settlers (Barry) in Maryland.

This August is the 230th Anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn (1776), the first big battle between the Continental Army (led by General George Washington) and over 20,000 British regulars and German mercenaries. Washington split his troops between Ft. Washington in upper Manhattan and the heights of Brooklyn (~3,600) in order to defend against the British attack which would emanate from Staten Island. The British were poised to land troops in either Manhattan or Brooklyn.

The British had experience, better equipment, better military discipline, and control of the waterways. The fledgling Americans were a distinct underdog and the future of the United States depended on repelling an attack by superior forces.

But, Washington had the Maryland 400, a regiment of Irish immigrants from Maryland that included my paternal grandmother’s (Agnes Barry) ancestors and my father-in-law's great grandfather and great grand uncles. The 400 held off ~5,000 British/Germans, while the rest of Washington's Brooklyn troops withdrew to Manhattan by rowing across the East River in the pouring rain and darkness.

Like the Spartans in ancient Greece, the Maryland 400 was nearly wiped out in the rear guard action. Many of the survivors remained in Brooklyn, settling in the area now known as Carroll Gardens.  In fact, my father-in-Law grew up on Carroll Street.

The rest of the few remaining Maryland 400 returned home, becoming first the 5th Maryland Regiment, then the 1st Maryland Regiment CSA (Civil War), then the 175th Infantry Regiment (WWI), and part of the 29th Infantry Division (WWII), which landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. Coincidentally, my Uncle Jack McNamara (his mother was Kate Barry) was in the 2nd Ranger Battalion that landed with the 29th and climbed the cliffs (he was nearly 34 years old at the time) to destroy the German artillery overlooking the Beach.