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.”