A Puritan Colony in Maryland by Daniel R. Randall, published in 1886 outlines how Puritan migrants from Virginia settled in the Providence area (modern day Annapolis) during the 17th century, briefly seizing control of the proprietary Catholic colony during the English Civil War.
Settling along the Severn River, the Virginia Puritans were seeking relief from the dominate Anglican Church which the new Governor, Sir William Berkely enforced when he took his seat in 1642. As a result, the Puritan preachers were expelled, with their followers joining them in Maryland by 1650.
Emboldened by the victory of Oliver Cromwell and backed by the English Commonwealth, the Puritans revolted against the Catholic proprietary government of Lord Baltimore. Seizing political control, they won the bloody Battle of the Severn near Providence on 25 March 1655 against deposed Governor Stone and his proprietary force. Commanded by Puritan leader William Fuller, the local militia routed Stone’s forces in a swift conflict considered the last land action of the English Civil War, resulting in the suspension of Catholic toleration before proprietary rule was restored in 1658.
