Revolutionary War patriot Thomas Carney, a free African-American from Caroline County, served valiantly in the Continental Army with the Maryland Line. A survivor of Valley Forge, he fought in nine battles from Brandywine, Pennsylvania to Eutaw Springs, South Carolina, and was reportedly always among the first to charge. At the siege of Fort Ninety-Six in South Carolina, he rescued wounded Captain Perry Benson of Talbot County. The two remained lifelong friends.