Rawlings was appointed as first lieutenant in Capt. Michael Cresap's Independent Rifle Company from Frederick County, Maryland.^[1] Shortly afterward Cresap died, and Rawlings replaced him as company commander. On June 17, 1776, the company was joined to the newly formed Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment and Rawlings was named second-in-command and promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. When the regimental commander, Col. Hugh Stephenson, died in August 1776, Rawlings took command of the regiment. The unit consisted of approximately 250 riflemen, and was often referred to as "Rawlings' Regiment".

During the Battle of Fort Washington, the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment was positioned about a half mile north of Fort Washington on Manhattan Island. From November 2 to November 14, 1776, they defended against German Hessian mercenaries, but on November 16 they were finally pushed back to Fort Washington, which surrendered a short time after.^[2] Rawlings was taken prisoner. General Washington had also requested that Rawlings be released as part of a prisoner exchange.^[3]

Throughout the remainder of his military career, Rawlings often wrote to Washington concerning pay for his soldiers and recruits, as he had difficulty paying his soldiers. Washington's response often included requests that Rawlings use his own money to pay his soldiers until more money could be obtained from Congress.^[4][5]

At the conclusion of the war, Rawlings was admitted as an original member of The Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland.^[6]

Rawlings was a delegate to the Maryland State Convention of 1788, to vote whether Maryland should ratify the proposed Constitution of the United States.^[7]

In 1779, Rawlings became the State Commissioner of Prisoners out of Frederick Town, Maryland.^[8][9]

Rawlings was married to Elizabeth McMahon. He also had a son named Moses Rawlings.^[10]

• Dandridge, Danske (1911). American Prisoners of the Revolution, Charlottesville: The Michie Company, Printers.
• Heitman, Francis B. (1914). Historical register of officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, April, 1775, to December, 1783. Washington, D.C.: The Rare Book Shop Publishing Co., pp. 459
• Pedan, Henry C. (2006). Revolutionary Patriots of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Heritage Books.
• Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements
• George Washington to Joshua Loring (January 14, 1777) Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 3e.
• George Washington to Moses Rawlings (March 7, 1779) Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 3b.
• George Washington to William Palfrey (October 17, 1779) Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 3b.
• George Washington to Moses Rawlings (December 12, 1781) Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 4.
• Metcalf, Bryce (1938). Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati, 1783-1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc.

• The Society of the Cincinnati
• The American Revolution Institute