5th Maryland Regiment

The 5th Maryland Regiment is a designation which has been held by several units over the years, not all of which necessarily share the same lineage and honors. Although the first unit to carry the "5th Maryland" designation was organized in 1776 from volunteers in rural Maryland, the designation has been most often associated with militia units in Baltimore. The "5th Maryland" designation is the officially recognized traditional designation of the 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard.

American Revolution
The first 5th Maryland Regiment was organized on 27 March 1776 composing of eight companies of volunteers from the counties of Queen Anne's, Kent, Caroline, and Dorchester of the colony of Maryland and was authorized on 16 September 1776 for service with the Continental Army. It was assigned to the main Continental Army on 27 December 1776. On 22 May 1777, it was assigned to the 1st Maryland Brigade and re-organized on 12 May 1779 to nine companies. It was re-assigned to the Southern Department on 5 April 1780. The regiment was re-assigned from the 1st Maryland Brigade to the Maryland Brigade on 1 January 1781. The regiment would see action during the Battle of Long Island (1776), the Battle of Brandywine (1777), the Battle of Germantown (1777), the Battle of Monmouth (1778), the Battle of Camden (1780), and the Battle of Guilford Court House (1781). The regiment was furloughed 1 January 1782, at Round O, South Carolina and disbanded on 1 January 1783.

War of 1812
The 5th Maryland Regiment saw action during the War of 1812 at both the Battle of Bladensberg and the Battle of North Point. At Bladensberg the regiment was defeated, along with the rest of the army, by the advancing British, but at North Point they proved more effective. There, the Maryland Volunteers under General John Stricker bore the brunt of the British attack, holding off the enemy long enough for the defense of Baltimore to be successfully shored up. The battle formed part of the larger Battle of Baltimore and proved a turning point in the War of 1812.

Not all the militia regiments performed with equal distinction. The 51st, and some members of 39th, broke and ran under fire. However, the 5th and 27th held their ground and were able to retreat in good order having inflicted significant casualties on the advancing enemy.

Corporal John McHenry of the 5th Regiment wrote an account of the battle:
 * "Our Regiment, the 5th, carried off the praise from the other regiments engaged, so did the company to which I have the honor to belong cover itself with glory. When compared to the [other] Regiments we were the last that left the ground...had our Regiment not retreated at the time it did we should have been cut off in two minutes."

Civil War
With the outbreak of the Civil War, most members of the 5th Regiment travelled south to join for the Confederacy. The unit combined with the 53rd Maryland Infantry to reform as the 1st Maryland Infantry (CSA) and served under Stonewall Jackson.

Modern Fifth Regiment
Another 5th Maryland, nicknamed "The Dandy Fifth," was formed in 1867. The lineage of this unit is carried on today by the Maryland Army National Guard's 175th Infantry Regiment. This 5th Maryland also traces its lineage back to the American Revolution, but ironically, its lineage does not include the Revolutionary War 5th Regiment. Instead, it traces its ancestry to militia raised in Baltimore, and its battle honors differ from those of the Revolutionary 5th Regiment. The 175th Infantry's lineage and honors does include the 5th Maryland Regiment of the War of 1812 and 1st Maryland Infantry (CSA) of the American Civil War.