UNIFORMS

of the
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1775-1783, Volume 1

GR

Digital Illustrations of His Majesty’s Combat Land Forces

and
The American Continental Army and State Forces

Timothy J. Reese

2006
Introduction

At the time of the American War for Independence military costume was
undergoing a period of transition in both style and supply. Stylish fashion forms
dictated in European salons gradually yielded to the demands of far-flung climates
hot and cold, wet and dry. The period from 1750 to 1800 marked a divergence
from roomy, almost gratuitous garments toward a classic tight-fitting style
prevalent well into the 19th Century.

Moreover, the demands of continental campaigning from Canada to the West

Indies hastened the process. The rigors of forest, swamp and steamy savannah
compelled regimental officers to adopt local clothing concessions, to strip down
equipment, and to hybridize both clothing and accoutrement to accommodate
fast-moving campaigns over great distances. The Revolution spurred wider
employment of light infantry and riflemen, roving punitive detachments, dramatic
restructuring, and novel deployment of elite troops. America was a vast chess
board. The game would be won through arrangement of the strongest pieces at
the most advantageous and timely locales.

Here too a strained system of procurement and supply further taxed uniformity.
The complexities of late 18th Century uniforms and gear quickly adapted to
whatever was available in sufficient quantity. A military standard was maintained
whenever and wherever possible, determined only through a quartermaster’s
ingenuity or desperation as the case may have been.

For British troops the American scene was no stranger. The French and Indian
War had underscored many shortcomings. However this new conflict would
greatly magnify those experiences in highly mobile campaigns covering many
more miles. The Revolution would be won and lost more by shoe leather than by
weapons. To some degree costume adaptation would speed its conclusion.

For the infant United States this would be a war equally against time and scant
supply. Clothing, equipment and weapons would only materialize through
combing every possible resource. In the end these necessities were largely
furnished by France and Spain, both of whom had old scores to settle with Great
Britain. In the final analysis, material wants and the freedom to utilize them would
tip the balance. Without the unflinching assistance of Britain’s traditional foes, the
thirteen colonies would have stood little chance for independence.
The British Army

At war’s commencement British Army uniforms were tightly regulated by the King’s
Clothing Warrant of 1768 by which all forms of dress were laid out with allowances
for flank companies and specialized needs.

As always, the most striking and individualistic uniform trait was a regiment’s
facings, that is the color and hue adopted for coat collar, lapels and cuffs. To this
can be added the type and array of lace buttonhole loops applied to the coat,
these being every bit as distinctive.

Clothing regulations for the period would have been rather streamlined were it not
for the myriad regimental peculiarities and practices jealously guarded as
regimental identity. Costume had always been a tug of war between the King’s will
and a colonel’s preference. The farther a regiment served from home, the more
likely deviation from the former, this despite generous concessions made in
regulations. Many of these will be closely examined throughout.

Generally speaking, uniforms and equipment were held to a certain standard with
modifications for a unit’s flank companies, one each per regiment of grenadiers
and light infantry. Carriage of cartridge pouches and bayonets on shoulder belts or
waist belts was still a matter of unit preference, often determined by supply.

American service urged the cutting down of coats, the jettisoning of extra gear,
and a decided trend toward the foe’s appearance and adaptations. Indian
influences had made themselves felt in the French and Indian conflict, revived in
this new encounter.

Fighting so far from home, the British soldier increasingly made do with whatever
materiel reached him via long sea voyage to distant ports. Often “disappointed” in
supply, routine economy measures found wider utilization as the norm. In time
only the red of his coat would distinguish him, and his officer would all too often be
recognizable only by his crimson sash, a prudent concession to the ubiquitous
Yankee sharpshooter.

Though the Revolutionary War was ultimately lost to him, the British soldier came
away with a masters degree in solid campaign adaptation well prepared for empire
building. The Duke of Wellington later asserted that “the battle of Waterloo was
won on the playing fields of Eton.” More prosaically, the army with which he
pacified Napoleonic Europe had come of age in America pitted against gathered,
intractable foes.
American Forces

It has been fairly argued that the American colonies embarked on war against their
mother country with little or no idea of how to accomplish it. The Continental
Congress was in effect a token body with no real influence over individual colonies
for procurement of scarce resources. Clothing, weapons, food, ammunition, and
leadership were all in short supply among disparate states long accustomed to
dependence on Britain for nearly everything.

Be that as it may, it was the shared experiences and practices of the French and
Indian War which served as solid groundwork for a hastily created army. George
Washington himself was a byproduct of that conflict, as well the cadre around
which he struggled to erect an American military edifice in the midst of war.

From the start conflicts arose between Congressional and state authority and
supply. Both levels of government often worked to cross-purposes, duplicated
effort, or withheld resources awaiting contingencies. Some states were overly
generous, even self-denying in their generosity, while others husbanded their
resources in case they became a singular target for British expeditionary forces.
This climate made uniformity of clothing and equipment almost unachievable by
even the most rudimentary standard.

Congress did not venture to establish clothing regulations for the Continental Army
until 1779 by which time foreign alliance had soundly bolstered prospects for true
independence. In the meantime regimental colonel’s had been forced to adopt
whatever uniform appearance they could for their soldiers as resources would
allow. This proved to be a competitive endeavor because states and the Congress
concurrently raised their own regiments in direct conflict for clothing and weapons.
Some American units went off to war wearing red coats, others dressed more like
civilians or even frontiersmen.

Though the 1779 regulations laid down a blue coat as a standard, a veritable
rainbow of colors already in use continued in wear. America’s embryonic woolen
industry could not have met the demand in any event. What emerged was a
peculiarly localized perception of the soldier’s appearance, its vagaries so broad
and mismatched as to defy anything approaching recognition.

What little we do know of this mélange comes down to us primarily from deserter
descriptions appearing in period newspapers wherein at least a soldier’s coat and
facing colors are described, occasionally headdress. But even these often mislead
due to inconsistencies within a regiment.
In truth the standard for American military uniformity was, more often than not,
confined to company level or lower. Add to this the influx of foreign materiel and
we find it nearly impossible to illustrate the American soldier with any certainty.
Extrapolation from common usage then of necessity becomes our guide. A
regiment’s clothing and turn-out fluctuated between the well-appointed to the near-
naked. In time failure of supply and hard campaigning rendered all into rags.

If it is indeed true that “clothes make the man”, then the Continental soldier most
certainly broke the mold with a vengeance. Garbed in whatever came to hand,
toting his gear in whatever contrivance he could bear for dreary weeks at a time,
often barefoot, frequently hefting a British, French or Spanish musket, eating
things no civilian would touch, he persevered and ultimately overcame. At the
Yorktown surrender British officers were appalled at his gaunt, disheveled
appearance, and so tried to yield their swords to the French instead without
success. How could this rabble have beaten them? Their own shortcomings had
been their undoing, ably abetted by unyielding American will.

The figures depicted in this compact disc are a generous sampling of the
regiments committed to the American conflict. It is by no means a survey of all.
Some license has been taken in instances where specifics of uniform and
equipment are marginally known. Scholarly research is ongoing in primary sources
to further define our knowledge of the subject.

The use of digital diagrammatic illustration—in all its crispness and clarity—allows
portrayal of intricate detail in all its complexity where contemporary paintings and
drawings all too often leave doubt.

By these means we come ever closer to the ideal, a reasonably accurate graphic
portrayal of all soldiers’ appearance which remains too often the purview of the
written word alone.

In gratitude, a snappy present-arms goes to “Ouatach”, Peter D. Albertsen of

Baltimore.

Timothy J. Reese
Sources

Lawson, Cecil C.P., A History of the Uniforms of the British Army, Vol. 3 (1961).

Mollo, John and Malcolm McGregor, Uniforms of the American Revolution (1973).

Elting, John R., ed., Military Uniforms in America: The Era of the American
Revolution, 1755-1795; from the series Produced by the Company of Military
Historians. (1974).

Troiani, Don, Earl J. Coates, and James K. Kochan, Don Troiani’s Soldiers in
America, 1754-1865. (1998).

(web site) The American Revolution, 1775-1784.

http://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/index.htm
 III

Senior Officer Corps

As one would expect, senior British officers were clothed in an elegant style far
superior to the rank and file.

The humble private soldier’s red coat was made of wool dyed to a Madder or dark
red shade. Sergeants’ coats were made up in slightly finer and brighter material
befitting their rank. Flaming scarlet best wool goods were reserved for officers,
generously trimmed with gilt buttons and gold lace.

Some latitude of dress among officers was typical, usually determined by branch
of service or theater of operations. Leg and footwear were gauged by these
factors as well.

Distinctive badges of rank were the ubiquitous crimson sash, a walking cane
usually strung with gold tassels, and a gorget or metal throat piece, this a last
holdover from the days of suit armor. Senior officers in fact often dispensed with
the gorget as a nuisance.

The figure second from right is based on the uniform of Lt. Gen. Thomas Gage
bearing all the consummate trademarks of high office. Other figures depict various
ranks of staff and field officers wearing uniform variations in keeping with their
assignments.

Unlike junior officers, senior ranks retained a bevy of personal assistants or

“batmen” to look after their clothing and kit.
 III

1st Foot Guards

The vaunted 1st Foot Guards were active from early operations around New York
down to Yorktown. They were in fact loosely formed into a composite Guards
regiment of two battalions made up of 15 picked men from each company—
approximately 1100 officers and men—while the balance of each regiment
remained in the British Isles.

Royal blue facings were trimmed out in diamond or “bastion”-shaped lace loops in
single or regular array denoting the First Regiment. The grenadier at left has
swallowtail epaulettes, the mark of flank companies, and wears the grenadier’s
bearskin fur cap. A match case is attached to his cartridge pouch belt, formerly
encasing a lit saltpeter match to ignite hand grenades, by then of obsolete use but
still a badge of distinction.

The ensign second from right bears the regimental colors. In Line Regiments the
King’s color was of the Union pattern, the regimental color of the unit facing color
with a small Union in the upper corner nearest the staff. In Guards Regiments this
usage was just the opposite, the Union flag serving as regimental color while a
dark red field with Union canton served as the Sovereign’s color. This practice
continues today.

Note the ensign’s gorget, gold lace and epaulettes. Ensigns were traditionally
chosen from the youngest subalterns, they being far heartier to carry the unwieldy
colors in a stiff breeze. Colors measured 6 feet by 6 feet 6 inches affixed to a 9
feet 10 inches pole.
 III

2nd (Coldstream) Foot Guards

Though second in order, the Coldstream Guards were and are in fact the oldest
continuously serving regiment in the army, only giving organizational place to the
1st Guards, hence the regimental motto, Nulli Secondus (Second to None).

Buttons and lace loops were worn in pairs signifying the Second Regiment of
Guards. The loops themselves were of straight pattern with a pointed end in plain
white worsted. Musicians of Guards and Royal regiments had elaborate lace
livery on their coats and wore shorter versions of the familiar grenadier cap. His
drum bears the Royal arms in full color.

While the 1st Guards used a shoulder bayonet belt, the 2nd opted for the waist
belt bearing a unique custom buckle bearing the letters “CG”, specimens of which
have been excavated from wartime campsites.

The officer second from right is a prime example of campaign dress, his coat tails
shortened to light infantry standard. A felt brim hat is worn in place of the cocked
hat, and he carries a musket. Brigade orders required officers to leave pole arms
behind while serving in America. Gold lace was removed from coats and replaced
with common white worsted like that of the men. In many instances officers wore
no lace at all in an attempt to dress down their identification at long range. His
sword belt now serves to carry a bayonet.

At Guilford Court House, North Carolina in 1781, the composite Guards

contingent became so desperately locked in hand-to-hand combat with the
Maryland-Delaware Line, Lord Cornwallis was forced to turn his guns on the
frenzied mass to break it up before his losses became crippling.
 III

3rd Foot Guards

In keeping with a theme, the 3rd Guards wore their buttons and loops in threes as
the Third Regiment of Guards. Loops were straight with pointed ends, but these
not crimped in bastion fashion as with the 2nd Guards.

Specimens of a waist belt buckle similar to that worn by the 2nd Guards have
been excavated, but bearing no lettering save a small “Gds 3” stamped above
and below the void.

Note the difference between red and scarlet wool worn by soldier and officer
respectively. Hat lace was white worsted for other ranks, gold bullion for officers.

Hair was universally whitened with tallow and flour for inspection and dress
parades, worn natural at all other times.

The soldier’s equipment belts were made of stout, thick water buffalo hide
imported from the Indian subcontinent. As a matter of routine these where liberally
whitened with pipe clay for a smart turn-out. A “black ball” was standard issue to
each soldier to blacken his shoes, cartridge pouch flap, and bayonet scabbard.

While the demands of American service urged other regiments toward some laxity
in these fastidious requirements, the Guards resolutely clung to them as an army
role model regardless of circumstances.

Like its sister regiments in the composite brigade, the 3rd Guards had to submit to
ignominious surrender at Yorktown.
 III

3rd (East Kent, The Buffs) Regiment of Foot

The 3rd Foot more than deserved its unique nickname, setting a precedent for
other regiments to come who would imitate its style.

Though white was the universal color of compliment throughout the army, “The
Buffs” steadfastly stood this precept on its head. To begin with they wore light buff
facings—sometimes described as an ashen shade of buff, or as “flesh” with a pink
tint—complimented by the wearing of buff colored small clothes (waist coat and
breeches).

All belting and strapping, ordinarily whitened with pipe clay, was left the natural
buffalo leather color, hence the familiar term “buff leather”.

Button loops were straight in pairs. All regiments adhered to a metallic preference,
either gold or silver, as embellishment primarily to officers’ dress. The 3rd used
silver reflected in the officer’s buttons and gorget.

The Buffs served minimally in North America, not arriving from Ireland until 1781.
They aided the relief of Ninety-six, South Carolina and engaged at Eutaw Springs,
escaping the Yorktown capitulation while with the garrison at Charleston, South
Carolina. In December, 1782 it took ship with 15,000 Carolina loyalists for
Jamaica in a flotilla of some 300-400 ships, among the last British Regulars to
depart the theater of war.
 III

4th (King’s Own Royal) Regiment of Foot

The 4th Foot had been in place at Boston since 1774 when fighting broke out. Its
flank companies were engaged at Lexington and Concord, again at Bunker
(Breed’s) Hill, then active around New York, notably at Brooklyn (Long Island) and
Fort Washington. Their last actions as a whole were at Brandywine and
Germantown before its light company was detached to accompany Sir Henry
Clinton to the siege of Charleston, South Carolina. The regiment entire was
among the ten regiments moved to New York, then the West Indies in late 1778
to counter the French alliance with the United States.

Being a Royal regiment blue facings were worn, buttons in regular array. Extant
specimens of a brass shoulder belt plate bearing the numeral “IV” have been
found.

A 1774 inspection return reveals that the regiment’s light company wore cocked
hats in place of the customary light infantry cap, but they having un-whitened belts
as token concealment. All hats within the 4th were bound with white scalloped
worsted tape, certainly a novelty at the time and definitely contrary to regulations.
Officers wore silver lace on their hats, but not scalloped.

The 1768 Clothing Warrant did not specify how knapsacks were to be marked. It
appears however that a loose standard prevailed employing a painted oval in red
or the facing color within which appeared the Royal cypher over the regimental
number in Roman numerals.
 III

5th (Northumberland) Regiment of Foot

The 5th was also an early arrival, its service paralleling that of the 4th with the
addition of Brandywine. The 5th suffered terrible losses at Bunker Hill. It too
numbered among the ten regiments displaced to the West Indies in 1778. It
distinguished itself at La Vigie during the attempt by the Comte de Grasse’s to
relieve the island garrison of St. Lucia. On that occasion the 5th plucked the white
plumes from the caps of French grenadiers they had defeated, long thereafter a
uniform trademark.

Long known as “The Shiners” by merit of its smart turn-out, the 5th was unique in
two other respects, first among these their “gosling green” facings, a dull, elusive,
nearly light olive hue difficult to pin down precisely.

A previous distinction came from the battle of Wilhelmstahl, Germany, 1762,

where the 5th captured a French flag and its parent grenadier regiment nearly
entire. In reward the 5th was permitted to wear the grenadier caps taken from
their French foes seventy years before the 5th was officially designated The
Northumberland Fusiliers (grenadiers and fusiliers wore the same pattern cap).
Thereafter it always wore bearskin caps save the light company. A 1782 report of
supplies however cites the wearing of cocked hats suggesting that steamy West
Indian service had long since rotted away the caps.

A beautifully preserved example of a 5th light infantry cap has survived to this
day, perhaps officer grade, on which are displayed the regimental badge of St.
George slaying the Dragon and a ribbon bearing a light infantry horn and Arabic
numeral, all in cast metal. Its crest has a lion in relief and red horsehair plume, a
red turban at its base.
 III

7th Royal Fusiliers

The 7th Fusiliers served within climatic opposites. It was posted to Upper Canada
in 1773 and saw duty at Montreal, Quebec and the Great Lakes region on the
frontier. Nearly half the regiment was made prisoners when several minor border
garrisons were hastily surrendered during the insipient American invasion. Raw
recruits fleshed out its diminished ranks. One company, mostly recruits from
Norfolk, aided the successful defense of Quebec against Gen. Benedict Arnold’s
attack. At this time fusilier caps gave way to the more traditional cocked hat.

The regiment was then transferred to New York, joining generals Clinton and
Cornwallis for subsequent campaigns to the south, notably at Monmouth Court
House.

At the battle of Cowpens, 1781 the 7th, in company with other units, was lured
into pursuing an American feigned retreat, then violently countercharged in front
by the Maryland-Delaware Line and driven from the field, their colors a prize of
war. The remnants were surrendered at Yorktown.

As the army’s premier fusilier regiment the 7th early on displayed all the uniform
earmarks of their status, notably the bearskin cap. Facings were Royal blue,
buttons and loops in regular configuration. The figure at left appears as in
Canada, the second from left as in the Carolinas. The officer carries a musket and
wears winter gaiters with reinforced kneecaps as did his men. The drummer
wears Royal livery allowed to all Royal regiments. The Royal Warrant of 1768
prescribed that 7th drums should bear the crowned garter and motto within which
was painted the English Rose, the regimental number appearing beneath.
 III

8th (King’s) Regiment of Foot

The 8th Foot or “Kingsmen” fought on the Canadian-American Great Lakes

frontier well apart from the main armies. Posted to the region in 1768, the 8th was
utilized as a solid core around which Gen. Henry “Hair Buyer” Hamilton built an
irregular frontier force. Hamilton’s sobriquet derived from his liberal purchase of
scalps from Indians set upon American settlers.

His nemesis, Col. George Rogers Clark, was equally active in seizing former
French posts in the Illinois country, prompting Hamilton to move a substantial
force from Fort Detroit to Fort Sackville (Vincennes) on the Wabash River lying on
the present-day Indiana-Illinois border. In the dead of winter, 1779 Clark made a
surprise march against the fort and by ruse and terror forced its capitulation. But
only one company of the 8th Foot was surrendered to Clark, the balance widely
posted throughout many border garrisons. The “Hair Buyer” was duly installed in
the Williamsburg, Virginia goal, a thoroughly detested, much sought after prisoner
of war.

Harsh Canadian duty dramatically altered the 8th’s uniform appearance from the
norm, they taking into use many of the cold-weather trademarks typical of frontier
forces. Regimental coats gave over to the blanket coat or capote made up from
trade blankets or homespun fabric. The Indian mode of dress also lent itself to far-
ranging forays in all weather conditions.

Officers and non-commissioned officers frequently were only identifiable by their

rank sashes. The sergeant at right wears his with a middling stripe of regimental
facing color as prescribed by the 1768 Warrant. Regulation dress, as depicted in
the figure second from left, was only worn in warm weather at fixed garrisons
nearer to civilization.
 III

9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot

In this plate several typical non-regulation uniform affectations are portrayed,

though not necessarily attributable to the 9th Foot.

The left-hand battalion company figure wears his cocked hat front to back, a not
unusual practice in America which likely afforded better vision when firing at will.
His coat has been cut down to light infantry length, lace loops removed as scant
concession to personal visibility at distance. His waist coat is trimmed in red as
occasionally done by light infantry units. Cuff buttons are arrayed in vertical
pattern.

The 9th wore light yellow-orange facings, buttons in pairs. As always the facing
color was best displayed to advantage in the regimental color held by the ensign
second from right. Officers frequently dispensed with tape binding on their cocked
hats.

Following a brief spell in Ireland, upon the outbreak of war in the American
colonies the regiment was sent to Canada as a part of an expeditionary force
under Maj. Gen. John Burgoyne calculated to divide the New England colonies
from their neighbors to the south. The Saratoga Campaign that followed ended
with the surrender of his entire army. The 9th Foot then spent 3 years as
prisoners of war as part of a static “Convention Army”. It finally sailed for home in
1781.
 III

10th (North Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot

The 10th Foot was posted to Boston in 1767 and was in place to take part in the
much heralded running skirmishes at Lexington and Concord. It then suffered
heavily in the front line at Bunker Hill.

No slouches for combat duty, the 10th participated in the battles of Long Island,
White Plains, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and all operations about New
York and New Jersey. Its final encounter was in the defense of Newport, Rhode
Island. Grossly under-strength, its enlisted personnel were transferred to other
regiments. Its officers returned home in 1779.

The light infantry company officer second from right is based on a period portrait,
more or less per regulations for that type. His cap conforms to the nearest
approach to a regulation pattern, a black leather skull cap with front plate or turn-
up edged in black, in this instance bearing an indistinguishable star ornament.
Dress regulations prescribed that caps should display the Royal cypher and
regimental numeral. His waist coat is red with fly edges trimmed in white lace, the
buttonholes laced as well. Black leather belts are worn instead of whitened buff
leather.

Facings were yellow with regular, straight lace buttonhole loops.

The 10th earned the short-lived nickname “The Springers” as a result of the
notable alacrity with which they pursued their colonial foes in retreat.
 III

15th (Yorkshire, East Riding) Regiment of Foot

In 1776 the 15th Foot was deployed from Ireland as a reinforcement to Sir William
Howe, then British commander-in-chief in America.

Before embarking for America the regiment was furnished with cut-down, single-
breasted jackets or “roundabouts” with plain yellow ochre collar and cuffs as
depicted in the left-hand figure. Cocked hats were also cut down into a novel
version of cap with both front and rear turn-ups bound in traditional white worsted
tape. Breeches and gaiters quickly gave place to gaiter-trousers or overalls. For
once the rigors of American service had been wisely anticipated well ahead of
time. In this fashion the regiment took on more of a light infantry appearance.

The regiment was part of the abortive expedition against Charleston, South
Carolina, then fought well at Long Island, Fort Washington, Brandywine and
Germantown. It was among the ten regiments sent to the West Indies in 1779,
helping to seize St. Lucia and St. Eustatius (Statia) from the French. It then
helped form the garrison of the latter island for some time.

Archeological excavations at Statia occupation sites subsequently uncovered

brass, eight-pointed-star cap plates bearing the engraved number “15” in the
center.

The 15th returned home from the West Indies in 1782 aboard the captured
French vessel Ville de Paris, a prize ship taken by Admiral Sir George Rodney.
 III

16th (Bedfordshire) Regiment of Foot

The 16th Foot had been assigned to Florida in 1767 and took part in Gulf Coast
operations largely as detachments. In that capacity it found little opportunity to
distinguish itself, but nevertheless appears to have been a solid regiment.

It fought in the successful 1779 defense of Savannah, Georgia, only countered by

its near total capture with the surrendered garrison at Pensacola achieved by
Spanish forces under Gov. Gen. Bernardo de Galvez of Louisiana.

Its light company however had been earlier detached to form a light infantry
battalion with the light companies of the 1st and 2nd battalions, 71st Foot
(Fraser’s Highlanders) and that of the Prince of Wales's Volunteers, a provincial
unit. In this capacity the 16th carried on in token until captured en masse in the
vicious fighting at Cowpens, South Carolina.

The figure second from right illustrates a light company soldier in brown overalls,
red waist coat, black belting, and cap.

The 16th Foot seemed singularly destined to be the odd men out. Following its
ignominious American service they earned so few battle honors—lowest recorded
tally for any British regiment—that an unofficial nickname was pinned on them
against their will: “The Peace Makers”
 III

17th (Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot

Facings of the 17th Foot were a pleasing pearl-gray or grayish white. It’s buttons
and loops were in pairs. The ensign shown holds the regimental color which for
regiments having white or red facings was white with a red Cross of St. George.
Note that officers’ coats frequently deviated from regimental button practice.

The regiment landed at Boston on New Year’s Day, 1776, what was in fact a
curtain call of French and Indian War service. Campaigning for the 17th held both
superlative highs and lows. Almost a year to the day of their arrival (Dec. 31) the
17th found itself nearly surrounded during the American surprise attack at
Princeton, New Jersey. Undaunted the regiment cut its way out with the bayonet
pausing only to impale anyone foolish enough to attempt stopping them.

It was present at Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth Court House.

The 17th holds the dubious distinction of having been captured twice during the
conflict, first at Stony Creek, 1779, then with Cornwallis’s Yorktown forces in
1781. On the latter occasion it was quickly exchanged and moved to New York for
transport home the following year.

Light infantry waist belt cartridge boxes held eighteen rounds of ammunition and
bore the King’s cypher stamped in gold on the flap. The twin chained contrivance
pictured on most ammunition belts is a picker and brush set, the former used to
clean out a musket’s ignition hole, the latter to sweep away burnt powder debris
from the priming pan.
 III

18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot

The Royal Irish of course wore Royal blue facings with buttons in straight looped
pairs. Drummers were required to wear ornate Royal livery with multi-colored
fringe on the musician’s epaulettes. Within the British Army the “Six Old Corps”
and Royal regiments were permitted to display special regimental badges on their
colors and drums, in this instance the harp of legendary Irish hero Brian Boru.

Whatever pattern of colored lines a regiment might adopt for its lace, its sergeants
always wore plain white worsted tape as a further distinction of rank, this in
addition to the sergeant's waist sash bearing a central stripe of the unit facing
color. The grenadier company sergeant at left illustrates this point, as well the
epaulettes worn by flank companies.

The 18th made up part of the Boston garrison when war erupted and was
therefore on hand for Lexington and Bunker Hill. However it did not remain long in
America. Later that year it moved to Nova Scotia, from thence home in July, 1776
and was routed to the Channel Islands where it suppressed a mutiny of a locally-
raised militia on the island of Guernsey in 1783.
 III

19th (1st York, North Riding) Regiment of Foot

The 19th was a late arrival, disembarking at Charleston, South Carolina in 1781,
but did not join Cornwallis’s command or endure its subsequent demise at
Yorktown.

Instead the regiment was chiefly employed in mobile harassing actions throughout
South Carolina, primarily in the affair at Monk’s Corner and the relief of Fort
Ninety-Six. It’s largest engagement was at Eutaw Springs after which it continued
rearguard harassment operations to cover the removal of other Regular and
Loyalist troops to December, 1782 at which time the 19th was itself removed to
Barbados, then to Jamaica. Brief though its stay, the regiment saw its fair share of
sharp action.

Facings of the 19th were green, buttons in pairs. The regiment was widely known
as “Howard’s Greens” or more commonly “The Green Howards” after their former
colonel, Sir Charles Howard circa 1740.
 III

20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot

The 20th Foot was among those ill-fated regiments sent out to the relief of
Quebec at war’s commencement and which were subsequently surrendered at
Saratoga by Gen. John Burgoyne. It remained idly interned with the “Convention
Army” until 1781 when it glumly sailed for home, a sad end for one of the army’s
better infantry regiments.

The 20th wore yellow facings and paired buttons with straight loops.

The figure second from right is a regimental pioneer, one of several assigned to
each regiment to attend to minor engineering tasks which presented themselves
on the march, in combat, or in camp. They were equipped with axes, saws and
their trademark leather apron.

The pioneer’s bearskin cap was shorter than those worn by grenadiers and
musicians, bearing a front plate with red background and depicting tools of his
trade alongside the Royal crest.

Another traditional distinction for pioneers was the wearing of full beards,
ordinarily an unacceptable practice in a universally clean-shaven army. Pioneers’
beards were worn both before and after the Revolutionary period, but to date no
written or pictorial evidence has surfaced to indicate that this practice still held
sway at this time. Logic however dictates that it probably did.
 III

21st Royal North British Fusiliers

In the 18th Century “North British” was a disingenuous way of saying Scottish, the
case with the stalwart 21st Fusiliers. Still, the Crown saw fit to make them Royal
from their creation in 1678.

Facings were Royal blue, button loops straight and in regular array. The 1768
Warrant prescribed that drums be painted with the Garter bearing the ancient
motto of Scotland: Nemo Me Impune Lacessit, or No One Assails Me With
Impunity. Within the garter appeared the Thistle of Scotland in full colors, the
regimental numeral below the whole.

Brigade orders specified that coat tails were to be shortened and hats cut down
into light infantry-style caps. However the 21st, ever jealous of its status, retained
its fusilier caps, bringing into question whether or not coats were actually
shortened. Their caps were reported as new in 1774, bearskins not lending
themselves to reduction as did cocked hats.

Blankets were frequently rolled en banderolle and worn over the right shoulder
beneath equipment. In America officers customarily traded spontoons for muskets
which was the usual commissioned weapon within fusilier regiments in any event.

The regiment arrived in Quebec May, 1776 aiding in its relief. It also participated
at Lake Champlain. It was also among those units surrendered by Burgoyne at
Saratoga and finished its war marking time toward exchange.
 III

22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot

The Cheshires spent two years on the Gulf of Mexico after Florida was ceded to
Britain in exchange for Cuba by Spain. From there the 22nd went to Boston at
war’s commencement and fought at Bunker (Breed’s) Hill. Thereafter it was
engaged in minor actions in Rhode Island and other near locales before assuming
a permanent slot in the New York City garrison. It quietly returned home in 1782
without firing another shot.

The 22nd had yellowish buff facings and all the corresponding buff appointments
of a regiment so endowed. Lace loops were bastion in pairs.

Curiously, the regiment earned the fleeting nickname of “The Red Knights” circa
1795 due to their wearing red small clothes. Whether this was the case thirteen
years earlier in America is debatable.

Another more lasting nickname was “The Acorn Boys” because it was generally
remembered that at the battle of Dettingen, 1743, King George II had taken
refuge beneath a large oak tree, his person guarded exclusively by The
Cheshires. This became the inspiration for use of an acorn and oak leaves as
their well known regimental badge, not made official until 1881. Dettingen was the
last combat occasion upon which a British monarch took the field with his troops,
certainly worth remembering to The Cheshires.
 III

23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers

Premier regiment of the Principality, the Royal Welsh were long considered to be
of Guards caliber. Thinking likewise they routinely acted the part.

Turn-out in this regiment was consistently impressive, their costume freely decked
out with the ubiquitous Prince of Wales’s feathers wherever opportunity afforded.
As a fusilier regiment all ranks wore the fur cap, but by war’s close their cap-
maker had “disappointed” them. As a substitute it was ordered that a spray of
three white feathers was to be worn in the cocked hat in imitation of the POW’s
badge. Officers were responsible for purchasing their own uniforms which at times
were extremely lavishly appointed.

A unique feature of this regiment is the wearing of the “Flash”, a spray of five
black ribbons worn at the back of the collar to prevent the powdered queue bag
from soiling the coat. The 23rd was always overseas more than at home and
failed to learn that the queue had been abolished. Royal dispensation was
however procured by their colonel in 1834 for officers to continue its use as a
distinction for a distinguished regiment. Later it was granted to all ranks and is still
in use today. At the time of the Revolution it was commonly worn by all officers as
shown with the grenadier officer in front.

The 23rd was engaged at Lexington, Bunker Hill, Brooklyn, New York,
Brandywine, and then saw service as marines in 1779. It then returned to the
southern field army and fought at Camden. It withdrew to Yorktown with
Cornwallis's army and during the siege forever lent its title to “Fusilier Redoubt” in
the waning days of defense. The regiment was interned in New Jersey until the
cessation of hostilities.
 III

24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot

In 1776 the 24th Foot sailed with other regiments as reinforcement for Quebec
and perforce surrendered with the rest of Burgoyne’s army at Saratoga.
Thereafter it endured seemingly unending internment until a peace treaty was
signed in 1783, an ignominious end for such a brief deployment.

Ironically it was again sent to North America in 1789 and spent many years
garrisoning Canadian posts near to its former theater of operations and
adversary.

Facings were willow green. Lace coat loops were straight and in pairs. Officers’
metallics were silver.

The ensign is shown bearing the King’s Color which traditionally bore a floral
spray at center within which appeared the regimental number or a special badge
for certain regiments.

However un-noteworthy its American service, the 24th much later earned the
chilling distinction of being nearly exterminated twice in combat, first at
Chillianwala in India, 1839, then forty years later at Isandhlwana, South Africa.
 III

26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot

The 26th Foot had been in Canada since 1767, and when war broke out left
Montreal to take part in the successful defense of Quebec. It skirmished on the
frontier for some time before being captured at the fall of St. Johns and
subsequently exchanged December, 1776. It then joined the main army at New
York.

It participated in the actions at forts Montgomery and Clinton on the Hudson River
and elsewhere until 1780 as a mobile strike force out of New York. The regiment
was also engaged at Monmouth Court House.

The Cameronians served briefly in the Carolinas with the southern army before its
personnel were broken up and sent to other regiments due to its being severely
under-strength. Its officers returned to the British Isles to recruit in December,
1779.

26th facings were pale yellow, its loops straight and paired. Mettalics were white
metal or silver.
 III

27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot

The Irish 27th or “Skins” joined the forces of General Howe on Staten Island in
July of 1776 and fought at Long Island, White Plains and throughout that theater.
It was then chosen among the regiments hastily displaced to confront the French
in the West Indies following France’s alliance with the United States. There it first
helped capture then successfully defend St. Lucia.

In July, 1779 it was ordered to the relief of Grenada and was present in the naval
action off that island between the Count D’Estainge and Admiral Byron. The relief
of Grenada failed, prompting the regiment’s return to St. Lucia. It then pitched in
at the capture of St. Eustatius. In 1785 it returned home.

As a buff-faced regiment the buff scheme was naturally carried over to small
clothes and belting. Buttons were in regular array with straight lace loops. The
ensign holds the regimental color, buff with a Union in the near canton.
 III

28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot

The 28th had a reputation as a rough-and-tumble regiment. While stationed in

Montreal, 1764, the regiment endured repeated ill treatment from a brutal local
magistrate who turned the regiment’s women out of quarters in the dead of winter
without provocation. One night 28th men in disguise broke into the magistrate’s
home at dinner, beat him up, and sliced off part of his ear. The culprits were never
caught, but the 28th was ever after known as “The Slashers”.

The regiment first spent a dismal winter blockaded in Boston, then accompanied
the ill-conceived expedition to Charleston, South Carolina. It next took part in
operations about New York. At the battle of White Plains they were compelled to
slash their way through tall grass to get into position, adding a subordinate
justification for their ferocious nickname. They used the bayonet freely in charging
American positions at both Brandywine and Germantown.

At Germantown Lt. Martin Hunter recorded: "We charged them twice, till the
battalion was so reduced by killed and wounded, that the bugle was sounded to
retreat. This was the first time we retreated before the Americans, and it was with
great difficulty to get our men to obey our orders. By this time General Howe had
come up, and seeing the battalion retreating he got into a passion and exclaimed
'For shame, light infantry! I never saw you retreat before. Form!' "

In 1778 the 28th sailed, in company with the 15th, 46th and 55th Foot, for the
West Indies and participated in the seizure of St. Lucia. It spent the next three
years at St. Kitts and at Antigua, returning home in 1783.

Facings were yellow, buttons in pairs. Officers wore silver mettalics.

 III

29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot

The Woosters played a memorable role prior to the actual breaking out of
hostilities. American colonists had long been discontented, and their growing
hatred for mother country was freely extended to British troops stationed in
Boston, a focal point of discord, and on several occasions there had been free
fights between the townsfolk and members of the regiment. On March 5, 1770,
the 29th furnished a guard for the Customs House, where a certain amount of
cash was kept. A mob of rioters tried to rush the offices, and the sentry called out
the guard. The guard fixed bayonets and kept the crowd at bay taking no more
violent action, though subjected to a running fire of jeers and insults.

Words led to blows, and one of the mob leaders struck Captain Preston,
commanding the guard, and knocked down a Private Montgomery. Scrambling to
his feet, Montgomery heard someone shout: “Why don’t you fire?” and, thinking
that this was an order to fire, he did so. Others followed him; three of the rioters
were killed and several wounded. The rest of the mob then ran away. Bostonians
dubbed this incident “The Boston Massacre”. The first to shed the blood of the
colonists, the 29th was nicknamed ”The Vein-Openers.” A popular alternative was
“Blood-suckers.”

The 29th gratefully returned to England in 1773, but was redeployed to Canada in
1776. Its flank companies were swept up in Burgoyne's ill-fated Saratoga
campaign and finished their war as interned prisoners.

At the surrender of Guadeloupe in 1759 eight to ten black boys were purchased
and trained up as drummers, a regimental hallmark well into the 19th Century. At
least three of them were still active with the regiment in America.
 III

30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot

The 30th Foot was stationed in Ireland during early phases of the American
Revolution. It sailed from Cork with other reinforcements in 1781 and served in
one fleeting retrograde campaign in the Carolinas. When the Carolina Loyalists
quitted their old homes, in December, 1782, the 30th accompanied part of the
convoy to Jamaica where it remained until 1800.

30th Foot facings were yellow with buttons in regular array, bastion lace loops.
Officers wore silver.

It is worth noting that the 30th, like all other regiments which served in the
American Revolution, were not granted any battle honors whatsoever. Loss of the
colonies was considered a shameful affair from which virtually no redeeming
value could be assessed.
 III

31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot

The 31st Foot was dispatched to Canada in 1776. Its battalion companies served
in the defense of Quebec and remained posted throughout the St. Lawrence
region for another eleven years. Like the 29th, flank companies of the 31st
accompanied Burgoyne’s campaign to Saratoga and suffered accordingly.

Facings were buff as were small clothes and belts. At the time they were raised
(1702) the regiment adopted the style of the 3rd Foot or “Buffs” and were quickly
branded “The Young Buffs”, the 3rd now more precisely labeled as the “Old
Buffs”.

Musicians of regiments having buff or white facings wore red small clothes
 III

33rd (1st York West Riding) Regiment of Foot

The 33rd was an extraordinarily well disciplined regiment and found ample
opportunity to demonstrate it.

The 33rd accompanied Lord Cornwallis to America from Ireland in 1776 and was
first involved in the hang-fire siege of Charleston, South Carolina. Thereafter its
flank companies were detached as part of the 1st Battalion of Grenadiers, but saw
little action until Brandywine where, despite heavy casualties, they helped break
the American line and pursued it for nearly two miles. At Monmouth it again fought
well despite high losses and heat exhaustion.

In company with its battalion companies, 33rd grenadiers aided the second
successful siege of Charleston after which the grenadier company was sent to
New York. Battalion companies served throughout Cornwallis’s southern
campaign, compiling an impressive battle record. Bottled up at Yorktown it too
was forced to surrender in October, 1781, its grenadiers at least escaping
captivity. The regiment was interned until exchanged, then sent to Halifax in
September of 1783.

33rd Foot facings were red like the coat material, this bare simplicity offset by
bastion lace loops set in pairs. Officers wore silver. A regimental belt buckle of a
pattern similar to that worn by the Guards was excavated near Saratoga where a
50-man contingent surrendered with Burgoyne in 1777.

Following the Revolution the 33rd was dubbed “The Pattern” as a nickname for
their high standard of discipline.
 III

34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot

The 34th Foot was yet another of those reinforcement regiments destined for
Canada and hard service largely as frontier outpost backwoodsmen.

As with other regiments, its grenadier and light companies were detached for
service with General Burgoyne and went into captivity after Saratoga. This
abruptly closed minimal participation in the American war. Battalion companies
remained in Canada until 1786 when they returned home with their reunited flank
companies.

Facings were yellow, button in pairs with straight lace loops. Officers wore silver.
 III

35th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot

Arriving at Boston towards the end of May, 1776, the 35th's flank companies were
ordered by General Gage into composite light and grenadier battalions to defend
heavily besieged Boston. It was heavily engaged at Bunker (Breed’s) Hill where
its light company finished the action with all its officers killed or wounded, the
regiment commanded by an ordinary veteran. The 35th's grenadiers finished with
only 5 unwounded personnel.

After a short period of building defenses at Halifax, Nova Scotia, the 35th
embarked with a 9,000-strong force (which grew to some 32,000 men) and
headed for New York. Brigaded with the 5th, 28th and 49th Foot it took part,
though not heavily engaged, in the battle of Long Island, a preliminary to the
attack on New York itself. All companies of the 35th were involved in heavy
fighting at White Plains where the 35th was mentioned for gallantry in General
Howe's dispatches. The entire regiment was again involved in heavy fighting
during the capture of Fort Washington, its light company among massed light
infantry first into the assault.

The 35th spent 1778 inactively garrisoning New York and in consequence
became earmarked for operations against the French in the West Indies. Landing
on St. Lucia the 35th helped force the island’s surrender. It remained in the West
Indies until the end of the American Revolution, posted in place until 1786.

Facings were a novel orange, hence its nickname, “The Orange Lilies”. All too
often it proved difficult to achieve this color in unbleached material, appearing
instead more as a brownish-yellow. Lace loops were straight in pairs. Officers’
appointments were in silver.
 III

37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot

Facings of the 37th Foot were a bright or full yellow, its coat loops straight and of
regular spacing. Officers wore silver. Standing regimental order of 1775 specified
that old waist coats were to be returned to stores for use as backs for new ones.
Watch coats were provided for each company made of blue cloth turned up with
red of the hussar style.

The 37th Foot was ordered to America about October, 1775 and found itself
posted to a brigade alongside the 10th, 38th and 52nd Foot landing at Long
Island. One 37th man being wounded reveals that they were hardly engaged
there. It was in the second wave at Kipp’s Bay

The regiment was among troops displaced to Rhode Island where they landed on
December 8th and secured their objective. The 37th was then brigaded with the
17th, 46th, and the 64th Foot. Its grenadiers went to the 1st Battalion of
Grenadiers, its light company detached to the 2nd Light Infantry Battalion in time
for Brandywine where both distinguished themselves. Several battalions including
the 37th's grenadiers were then sent to deal with enemy shipping in the Delaware
River and to erect batteries to obstruct the river’s navigation.

At Germantown the 37th incurred moderate losses and pitched in on the steamy
field at Monmouth Court House. Thereafter it found itself committed to an
interminable defensive war around New York and in June, 1783 quietly embarked
for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
 III

38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot

The 38th Foot was among the first units sent to America from the Ireland
garrisons, arriving in Boston in July, 1774. Like other regiments, its flank
companies were detached early on for amalgamation into composite grenadier
and light infantry battalions, in essence heavy strike forces.

Either whole or in part the regiment was engaged throughout the 1776 campaign
about New York, then transferred for the defense of Newport, Rhode Island in
1778, returning to the New York garrison the following year.

It took part in Lexington and Concord, Breed’s Hill, Long Island, Fort Lee,
Chestnut Neck, Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth Court House, thereafter
constituting a portion of the semi-permanent New York establishment. It was also
committed to an incidental raid on New London, Connecticut.

38th flank companies were surrendered with Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown and
endured internment. Upon the cessation of hostilities the regiment moved to Nova
Scotia and returned home in 1783.

Facings were bright yellow, lace loops bastion-shaped in regular spacing. Officers
wore silver metallics. Note that the light infantryman at right wears a red vest
trimmed in lace as was common among light companies.
 III

40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot

Arriving in Boston in 1775, the 40th Regiment of Foot participated in the Battle of
Long Island and, as part of General Howe's army, was active in the Philadelphia
campaign of 1777-1778. Both battalion and light Infantry companies fought in
Pennsylvania at the battles of Brandywine Creek, Paoli, Germantown, and
Monmouth Court House, New Jersey.

The 40th was then reassigned to the West Indies, but returned to North America
to participate in the British raid of New London, Conn. in 1781. The Regiment was
then garrisoned in New York City until its departure for England in 1783.

A 1783 painting depicting the battle of Germantown shows men of the 40th
entering the Chew House which, with the 55th Foot, they tenaciously defended
against all attacks. They are shown wearing short roundabout jackets without
facings, officers having plain buff facings. The light company wears black belts;
battalion men have white leather. Lieutenant Colonel Musgrave had medals
struck to commemorate the house’s defense.

By regulation the regiment wore its buttons in twos with straight loops.
 III

42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot

The widely renown 42nd or “Black Watch” arrived in New York in July 1776. It
fought at Long Island, Harlem Heights and Fort Washington, Brandywine, Paoli,
Billingsport, N.J., and Whitemarsh. It returned to New York, 1778, then took part
at Monmouth Court House.

The 42nd was also present at the relief of Newport, Rhode Island, September,
1778 before relocating to East Florida November, 1778. It fought in the second
siege of Charleston, South Carolina December, 1779, then in the raid on
Portsmouth, Va., 1780. It was finally withdrawn to Nova Scotia in 1783, before
returning to the British Isles in 1789.

Being hardened veterans of the French and Indian War, kilts and shoulder plaids
wisely and quickly went into store for American service, replaced by trousers.
Facings of this Royal regiment were of course blue, lace loops in bastion
configuration singly. Pipers wore Royal Stewart tartan (Prince Charles Edward
sett), all others the dark Government sett.

Officers’ sashes were worn over the shoulder in Highland regiments. Highland
pistols, dirks, and sporrans (purses) were retained only so long as they did not
become a nuisance during hard campaigning, largely by commissioned ranks.

Waist belt cartridge boxes appear to have been used concurrent to shoulder
pouches as the war progressed. Bonnets for officers inclined toward the higher
pattern common in later eras. Those of the men were still quite low conforming to
dimensions of a modern beret. Bonnet dicing was blue/white/red. All other
regiments had green/white/red.
 III

43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot

Posted to Boston July, 1774, the flank companies of the 43rd Foot were first
heavily engaged at Lexington and Concord, the entire battalion at Bunker
(Breed’s) Hill. The Light Company of the regiment was one of several engaged at
Concord Bridge under the command of the 43rd's Capt. Walter Laurie. If, as it
seems, no actual command to fire was given at Lexington Green earlier in the
day, Laurie was the first British soldier to order his troops to fire on Americans.
The first three British dead of the Revolution were from the Light Companies
under his command.

The regiment as a whole fought at Long Island and Fort Washington. It was next
engaged at Newport, Rhode Island, then returned to New York. It was on hand for
raids into New Jersey, 1781.

The 43rd was with Cornwallis's beleaguered Yorktown garrison and surrendered
with the rest, remaining interned until 1783 when it left for home. The strength of
the regiment at the capitulation on was 94 rank-and-file, with an additional 168
men sick and wounded. The 43rd was one of the very few British military units to
serve on the continent for the entire length of the American Revolution.

A white-faced regiment, the 43rd wore its button in pairs with straight lace loops.
The corporal at left wears shoulder knots on his right shoulder indicative of that
rank. Officers'’ metallics were silver.

The front half of drum shells was required to be painted in the facing color with the
crown, King’s cypher, and regimental numeral thereon. Rims were painted red.
 III

44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot

The return to America held bitter memories for the 44th Foot, for it was during the
opening engagement of the French and Indian War that this regiment was nearly
annihilated at the battle of the Monongahela, 1755, near present day Pittsburgh,
this affair better known as Braddock’s Disaster.

The regiment landed at Boston June, 1775. Its flank companies were detached for
participation in the first siege of Charleston, South Carolina. Meanwhile its
battalion companies fought at Long Island, Brandywine, Paoli, Germantown and
Whitemarsh. It returned to New York in 1778 and accompanied the army into New
Jersey for the battle of Monmouth Court House. It took part in the raid on
Danbury, Connecticut and the relief of Newport, September, 1778.

The uniform of Capt. Eli Dagworthy, brother of General Dagworthy, is preserved

in the National Museum at Washington. He was commissioned to the 44th in July,
1755. The coat is red, with yellow facings, silver buttons and embroidery. Buttons
of the regiment have been found at the West Point Redoubt, in the old fort at
Kingsbridge, New York, and at Richmond, Staten Island. The greater number,
however, have been discovered at Fort George, New York City, where the 44th
occupied huts.

The regiment was sent to Canada in 1779 where it remained until 1786. Always a
had-luck regiment, in 1842 the 44th was again annihilated—this time entirely—in
the barren mountains of Afghanistan.

44th facings were bright yellow, its buttons in pairs with straight loops.
 III

45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot

The 45th Foot arrived in Boston in July of 1775. In 1776, during the battles for
New York, the regiment saw action at Long Island. Detachments of the 45th took
part in the expedition to Philadelphia in 1777, seeing action at the battles of
Brandywine and Germantown.

In November of 1778 the officers of the 45th returned to England while the
soldiers were drafted into other regiments due to the regiment being extremely
under-strength. This marks one of the shortest stays in America for any British
regiment.

Facings were a dark, bluish-green, buttons and lace loops in bastion pairs. Their
lace was unique in that it bore a “green sprig” woven throughout.

An inspection return for September, 1780 notes that light infantry caps were not
according to regulation, but rather more like those worn by light dragoons.

After the war the 45th, reduced to less than 100 all ranks, returned home to
Nottingham. The citizens of Nottingham requested that the regiment should be
called "The Nottinghamshire Regiment" and His Majesty agreed, providing 300
men were recruited in the county. With volunteers from the Nottinghamshire Militia
and the influence of local landowners, the stipulated number was soon obtained.
In most cases, county titles for infantry regiments were not in fact officially
adopted until after the American War for Independence.
 III

46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot

The ever pugnacious 46th landed at Cape Fear, N.C. 1776 and participated in the
first siege of Charleston, South Carolina. Its light company was detailed to a
composite Light Infantry Battalion. It then fought at Long Island, Brandywine and
Germantown, then returned to New York in 1778. It next took part in Monmouth
Court House and Quintan's Bridge, New Jersey. It next accompanied the relief
expedition to Newport, Rhode Island September, 1778. Thereafter it was detailed
as marines with Admiral Byron's fleet November, 1778.

The Americans having vowed vengeance for the Paoli "massacre", September
20, 1777, and that they would in future give no quarter, the soldiers of the Light
Battalion declared that in order to prevent anyone not engaged in that action from
suffering on their account, that they would dye their cap feathers red as a
distinguishing mark and, no doubt, to taunt the Americans with a reminder of the
blood that had been shed. Another less apocryphal version recounts a direct
verbal exchange with some of Washington’s cavalry to the same effect.

Whether the gesture was brave, or merely arrogant, the light company of the 46th
retained it for many years after the Light Battalion was discontinued. The “Red
Feathers” became an officially-sanctioned mark of distinction for the light
company of the 46th in 1833, which was extended to the entire regiment on the
abolition of light companies in 1858. It was retained by the Duke of Cornwall's
Light Infantry, on the creation of that regiment by the amalgamation of the 32nd
and 46th Foot in 1881.

Facings were yellow, buttons in pairs with straight lace loops.

 III

47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot

The 47th Foot landed in New Jersey in 1773. The regiment was shortly redirected
to Boston in October of 1774 and took part in the fight on Bunker Hill on June 17,
1775.

It was among reinforcements sent for the relief of Quebec in 1776. Serving with
the force under General Burgoyne on the Great Lakes and more notably at Lake
Champlain, the 47th was compelled to surrender at Saratoga on October 17,
1777, being imprisoned until duly exchanged in 1781 when it returned home.

The 47th Foot wore white facings with buttons and straight lace loops in pairs.
Officers’ metallics were silver.

Lt. Thomas Anburey of the 21st Foot, with which the 47th was brigaded, recorded
that his entire brigade was ordered to shorten its coat tails to light infantry length
and to cut down its cocked hats into caps as depicted in the left-hand figure.
Various colors of crest hair are mentioned, but not how it was affixed.

Presumably grenadiers retained their bearskins, but this is nowhere stated.

Appearance wise this would have made the grenadier company the odd men out.
Inspection returns are silent in the matter.

The sergeant second from left wears his sash of rank with a central white stripe of
the facing color.
 III

49th (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot

The 49th foot embarked from Newfoundland and landed in Boston June, 1775. It
was engaged at Long Island, White Plains, Fort Washington, Brandywine and at
Germantown.

Regimental tradition closely parallels that of the 46th Foot regarding red cap
feathers. The 49th's light company, which was attached to the 2nd Battalion Light
Infantry, made a night attack with the bayonet under cover of rain. A force of 1500
Americans encamped in a wood were taken completely by surprise, some 300
being killed or wounded with minor loss to the 49th. Humiliated, the Americans
accused the British of killing their wounded and vowed to give no quarter when
they again met in battle. The light companies reacted to this threat by dyeing their
distinguishing green feathers red so that they would be easily recognized. This
action continued to be commemorated by the wearing of the red “Brandywine
Flash” behind the cap badge by the Royal Berkshire Regiment, the Duke of
Edinburgh's Royal Regiment and now by the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire
and Wiltshire Regiment.

It is also asserted that for distinction in America (1776) the grenadier company
commenced using a white plume with a black tip.

The 49th moved to New York and departed for home in 1778.

Facings were a deep, full or Lincoln green. Lace loops were bastion in regular
array. Officers wore gold appointments.
 III

Marines

Marines are sea soldiers. In the days of sail they provided security on the ship,
defended the captain and other officers and fought with both small arms and
ordnance.

They provided amphibious landing parties as required and were especially

responsible for the defense of the quarterdeck in sea battles.

Originally a part of the Army, the first regiment of marines was raised in 1664.
For the next nine decades a number of marine regiments were raised and
disbanded according to need.

In 1755 the Regiment of Marines was established with fifty companies, the
equivalent of five battalions. Marines served in all rated ships of war, the size of
the contingent depending of course on the size of the ship. There were never
quite enough to meet the Royal Navy’s needs and many line regiments also
served as marines throughout the remainder of the 18th century.

Marines were a part of the relief column at Lexington and Concord, served at
Bunker Hill, Fort Washington, the relief of Quebec and the siege of Newport.

All of the Regiment of Marines was recalled to the Home Fleet in March, 1778.
Thereafter, regular line regiments provided marine support to Royal Navy in
American waters.
 III

50th (West Kent) Regiment of Foot

Personnel of the 50th Foot arrived in New York from Jamaica in July, 1776,
largely handicapped by tropical fever. The remaining well men were transferred to
other regiments August, 1776 to offset losses in regiments decimated at Bunker
Hill. Officers and sick men returned to Salisbury, England, November, 1776.

Following modest recruitment at home the reduced regiment returned to America,

serving as marines with the fleet aboard H.M.S. Centaur, Vengeance, Defiance,
Thunderer, and Vigilance.

Sometime in 1778 this contingent was dismissed and returned to Exeter at home
to rebuild a regiment largely shattered before it ever fairly entered the American
conflict.

Facings were black, alleged in several apocryphal traditions as a mark of

mourning for one notable personage or another without substantiation. Black
facings quickly earned the regiment the nickname of “Dirty Half-Hundred”.

Buttons were in pairs with straight lace loops. Officers wore silver.
 III

52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot

The 52nd Foot was posted to Boston in October, 1774 and its flank companies
were active at Lexington and Concord.

Bunker Hill nearly destroyed the regiment. Advancing against entrenched

Americans atop Breed’s Hill in line of battle, the 52nd suffered extremely heavy
casualties when American fire was patiently withheld until they could see “the
whites of their eyes”. Losses among the “hatmen” of the battalion companies were
appalling, and among the grenadier company every officer and man save eight
was killed or wounded.

The remnants were present at Long Island, Fort Washington and the New Jersey
campaign, also the relief of Newport, Rhode Island in November, 1776. They
wearily returned to New York as an under-strength regiment where the men were
broken up and transferred to other regiments. Officers returned to the British Isles
in August, 1778 to rebuild the unit.

At Bunker Hill and on numerous other occasions the 52nd and 43rd had fought
side by side. When regimental numbers were dropped and the two were
amalgamated in 1881 as 1st and 2nd battalions, The Oxfordshire Light Infantry,
the union seemed a foregone conclusion.

Facings, small clothes and belting were all buff. Buttons were in pairs with straight
loops. Officers’ metallics were silver.
 III

53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot

Another red-faced regiment—hence its nickname “The Brickdusts”—the 53rd Foot

also wore its buttons in pairs with straight loops. Another common nickname was
“The Old Five and Threepennies” indicative of both the regimental number and of
an ensign’s monthly pay. Officers wore gold appointments.

The regiment sailed from Minorca to Canada in 1776 as reinforcement after

Arnold’s ill-fated assault on Quebec. The regiment remained broadly dispersed
among various border garrisons throughout the war.

53rd flank companies were detached to serve with Burgoyne’s expedition into
New York and as a result were surrendered at Saratoga. They remained interned
with the “Convention Army” until 1783 when they ignominiously returned home.
 III

54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot

The 54th embarked from Cork, Ireland in May, 1776 and landed at Cape Fear,
North Carolina. It was posted to the New York garrison where it remained for most
of its tour of duty.

It accompanied the expedition for the relief of Newport, Rhode Island, then
returned to New York for the duration. Salient incidental operations were raids into
Connecticut during 1779.

In September, 1782 the regiment relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, remaining in

Canada for many years.

Facings were a bright “popinjay” green, buttons paired with straight loops.
Officers’ metallics were silver.
 III

55th (Westmoreland) Regiment of Foot

The 55th Foot arrived in Boston December, 1775 and was subsequently engaged
at Long Island, Princeton, Brandywine and Germantown. It returned New York in
1778. Its light company was detailed to the 2nd Battalion of Light Infantry.

The following General Orders were issued relative to the action at Princeton:
"General Howe… desires his thanks may also be given to the officers and soldiers
of the 17th Foot, part of the 55th Regiment, and other detachments on their
march who on that occasion supported the 17th Regiment and charged the
enemy with bayonets in the most spirited manner.“

In November, 1778 the regiment removed to east Florida and afterward assisted
in the reduction of St. Lucia and St. Kitts July, 1779. It then garrisoned St. Kitts,
St. Christopher and Antigua for the duration. Officers then returned home to
recruit followed by the men after the peace.

Facings were a dark Lincoln green, buttons paired with straight loops. Officers
wore gold appointments.
 III

57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot

The 57th Regiment of Foot embarked from Cork, Ireland in May, 1776 with
reinforcements under Lord Cornwallis and landed at Cape Fear, North Carolina. It
was on hand for the first siege of Charleston, South Carolina. After taking part in
the battle of Long Island it was then posted to the New York garrison where it
remained for the balance of its tour of duty.

The light company had been detached to the 2nd Battalion of Light Infantry and
so served separately.

In September, 1783 the regiment removed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, thence home
to the British Isles.

Facings were yellow with paired buttons. Officers wore gold appointments.
 III

59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot

The 59th Foot wore novel light crimson facings—certainly an eyeful—with straight
loops applied to buttons in singular array. Officers wore silver.

The regiment was posted to the Boston garrison from Louisburg, Nova Scotia in
1772. Its flank companies were engaged at Lexington and Concord. Being an
under-strength regiment the men were transferred to other regiments, the officers
returning to England to recruit in late 1776.

The reconstituted regiment was posted to Gibraltar in 1782 and saw no further
service in America.
 III

60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot

The 60th Foot was in fact American by birth, having been raised 1755 in
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia during the French and Indian War, enlisting
mostly German and Swiss immigrants.

Of its four battalions only three weak companies of the 2nd served in North
America, the rest posted to the West Indies. These scant elements arrived in
Charleston, South Carolina in 1779 and fought at Sudbury and Augusta, Ga., Port
Royal Island, S.C., Briar Creek, Ga., and generally in the defense of Savannah,
all in 1779. The contingent was then moved to the island of Antigua, but was
subsequently present at the fall of Baton Rouge and that of Mobile in Gulf Coast
operations. Eight companies were also on hand for the fall of Pensacola, Florida.

In the West Indies some 400 men surrendered at St. Vincent June, 1779. Other
elements were sent for the invasion of Honduras and Nicaragua, and the capture
of Fort St. John February, 1780. Survivors of these disparate campaigns were
sent to St. Augustine, Fla., November, 1782, thence to New York where the men
were broken up and dispersed to other regiments. The officers departed for
England in 1782.

Blue facings were standard for a Royal regiment. Buttons were regular with
straight loops, and officers wore silver appointments. Though not recorded,
regimental dress very likely made abundant concessions to their hot-weather
theater of operations.
 III

62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot

Arriving in Quebec May, 1776, the 62nd Foot was predominantly deployed
throughout Lower Canada and aided in the relief of Quebec.

The regiment largely acted in the role of light infantry and was involved in the
advance from Canada into New York under General Burgoyne. They won great
praise for their steadfastness and fortitude in a number of actions and at Saratoga
where they earned the nickname "The Springers“, a sobriquet shared with the
10th Foot.

Nevertheless, the regiment was compelled to surrender at Saratoga and was

sequentially interned first at Cambridge, Mass. (Nov. 6, 1777), then Rutland,
Mass., (to Nov. 1778), then Charlottesville, Va. (to June 1781), then Lancaster,
Penn. (to April 1783).

Facings were a pale yellowish-buff, buttons paired with straight loops.

Portrayed in the figure second from right, a period drawing of a battalion company
man depicts the wearing of a cap cut-down from the hat which bears strong
resemblance to a light dragoon helmet. The badge at front is indistinguishable. All
the usual trademarks of light infantry are in evidence.

With this drawing appears another depicting their Canadian winter dress with
blanket capote, fur-trimmed cap and animal tail as shown on the sergeant at right.
 III

63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot

The 63rd was among reinforcements sent to America and arrived in Boston June,
1775. Its flank companies were detailed for the assault on Bunker Hill. The
regiment as a whole fought at Long Island, its flank companies at Fort
Washington.

It then joined the expedition for the relief of Newport, Rhode Island November,
1776, and returned to New York May, 1777. Again as reinforcement it relocated to
Philadelphia in the winter of 1777-1778, and returned to the New York garrison
the following spring. The 63rd fought at Brandywine, Germantown, and at
Monmouth Court House before being detailed for the second siege of Charleston,
South Carolina December, 1779.

Various detachments were active at Fishdam Ford, S.C.; Blackstock's Hill, S.C.;
Hobkirk's Hill, S.C., and at Eutaw Springs, S.C. While in the south several
companies were mounted and patrolled in the capacity of light dragoons.

The regiment left Charleston for home in the spring of 1782, but was instead
posted to the West Indies. After the peace it finally returned home in 1783.

The 63rd’s facings were Lincoln green, buttons paired with straight loops.
 III

64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot

A prime candidate for most extensively engaged of all regiments, the 64th landed
in Boston and joined its garrison in January, 1769. It was a large two-battalion
regiment which in large measure accounts for its long war record. It was brigaded
with regiments of its equal, the 23rd, 44th, and 57th Foot.

The 64th fought at Long Island, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth Court

House, and took part in the Danbury, CT raid of April, 1777. It also accompanied
the relief expedition to Newport, Rhode Island in September, 1778.

Returning to New York, it was next engaged at Old Tappen, N.Y., in engineering
work at Stony Point, N.Y., then at Paulus Hook, New Jersey.

Transferred to the southern theater, it took part in the second siege of Charleston,
South Carolina in December, 1779 and fought heavily at Eutaw Springs, S.C.
The regiment departed Charleston for Jamaica in October of 1782 where it
remained for two years.

Facings were black, buttons in regular array with straight loops. Officers wore gold
appointments.
 III

65th (2nd York North Riding) Regiment of Foot

The 65th Foot joined the Boston garrison in January, 1769.

Its flank companies were engaged against Bunker Hill, this being the last combat
duty any portion of the regiment would see in America. Its numbers seriously
depleted like so many other units of the pre-war garrison, the remnants were
drafted to other regiments and its officers sent home to re-form in May, 1776.

Facings were white, buttons paired with straight lace loops.

 III

70th (Glasgow Lowland) Regiment of Foot

The 70th Foot arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in August, 1778. Battalion
companies remained there throughout the American war.

The flank companies alone were detailed for the early southern campaigns,
fighting in composite organizations. These were eventually returned to Halifax, the
reunited regiment sent home for duty in the south of England to counter various
French invasion alarms which never materialized.

Facings were black. Buttons were in regular array with straight lace loops.
 III

71st (Fraser’s) Highlanders

The 71st was raised as two full battalions in 1775-6 and sailed from Scotland with
over 2300 officers and men. The belted plaid was reserved for the rare full dress
occasion, but the kilt was standard camp dress in garrison. In the field the
regiment seems to have usually worn gaiter trousers which were provided in
white, blue, brown and in 1779-80 even tartan.

One of the most hard-fought British regiments, it fought in every major campaign
from Long Island to Yorktown and even had one company sent from New York on
the unsuccessful relief of Burgoyne’s column. During the Philadelphia campaign
they were even briefly re-formed into three battalions.

The Light Companies were assigned to the famed 2nd Light Battalion while in the
Northern campaigns and became an semi-independent Light Corps in its own
right in the Carolinas. Originally brigaded with the Hessians, they eventually
became one of Cornwallis’ most trusted regiments, frequently serving as his
reserve.

A formidable force, they were rarely defeated in battle, but the 1st Battalion was
decimated at Cowpens and the 2nd Battalion campaigned on into Virginia and
were with the forces captured at Yorktown. Elements of the 71st also served as
mounted infantry with Tarleton’s British Legion and Simcoe’s raids in Virginia.

The un-captured troops were a part of the Charleston, SC garrison until early
1782 and then finished the war as a part of the New York garrison. The Regiment
was disbanded in Scotland in 1783.
 III

74th (Argyllshire or Campbell’s) Highlanders

Campbell’s Highlanders were raised in 1778—half in Argyllshire and half in

Glasgow and the Lowlands—and were immediately sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia
where they became a semi-permanent fixture of that garrison.

The regiment’s battalion companies were briefly loaned for the seizure and
subsequent defense of Penobscot, Maine in July, 1779. These then returned to
Halifax.

Flank companies were detached for service in the southern theater, primarily in
the siege of Charleston, South Carolina. They too eventually returned to Canada
from whence the regiment returned home in 1783 and was disbanded at Stirling
the following year.

Facings were yellow, buttons paired with straight loops. Full Highland attire was
worn. Kilts were made up in Government tartan. Note that officers’ and sergeants’
sashes were worn over the left shoulder.
 III

76th (MacDonell’s) Highlanders

Then 78th was raised 1778 of seven companies from the Western Isles, two of
Lowland Scots, and one Irish. Sent to New York in August of 1779, its light
company was detached for service with the 2nd Light Infantry Battalion.
Grenadiers remained in New York.

Sent to Virginia the regiment fought mostly as mounted infantry in 1781 at

Petersburg (light company), Osborne's, Green Spring, and at Yorktown where it
surrendered with Cornwallis’s army.

After their surrender the 76th was marched in detachments as prisoners to

different parts of Virginia where they met many of their emigrant countrymen by
whom, as well as by the Americans, every endeavor was used, and many
tempting offers made, to prevail on the soldiers to violate their allegiance, and
become subjects of the American government. Yet not a single Highlander
allowed himself to be seduced by these offers.

They were ultimately embarked for New York, sailed thence for Scotland, and
were disbanded in March, 1784 at Stirling Castle.

Facings were deep green, buttons paired with square loops. Kilts were likely
made in Government tartan and given up early on during mounted service.
Officers probably had gold appointments.
 III

80th (Royal Edinburgh Volunteers)

Regiment of Foot

Raised 1778 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the brief career of the 80th Foot largely
parallels that of the 76th MacDonell’s Highlanders, the two units serving in
tandem for the most part.

The regiment arrived in New York August, 1779 and shared an equally short list of
engagements. However, only its grenadier company was captured at Yorktown
because the battalion companies were with the garrison at Charleston, South
Carolina.

The 80th left for home in 1783 and was also disbanded in Scotland.

Facings were yellow with regular button array and straight lace loops.

Though raised in the heart of Scotland, English influences prompted them to be

clothed as standard troops of the line.
 III

82nd Regiment of Foot

The 82nd was raised in Lanarkshire, December 16, 1777, and sailed for Halifax,
Nova Scotia in August of 1778. It relocated to the New York garrison in August,
1779 and was detailed to the defense of Penobscot, Maine, July 1779.

It next deployed to Wilmington, North Carolina, April, 1781. Its flank companies
were detached for service with Lord Cornwallis’s command and were duly
surrendered at Yorktown.

The balance of the 82nd took post at Charleston, South Carolina in October of
1781, then removed to Halifax where it was disbanded. Its flank companies
however were lost at sea off the New Jersey coast in April, 1782. Regardless of
fate, the 82nd had ceased to exist.

Facings were black with straight lace loops in regular array. Officers appointments
were gold.
 III

84th Royal Highland Emigrants

The 84th RHE raised two battalions in Canada and the Carolinas from veterans of
earlier disbanded French and Indian War Highland regiments and were taken onto
the regular establishment January, 1779.

The 1st Battalion was chiefly engaged in raiding on the Canadian border and into
New York. It surrendered with Burgoyne at Saratoga and was disbanded 1784 in
Upper Canada.

The 2nd Battalion was posted to Charleston, South Carolina and fought well at
Eutaw Springs, South Carolina. It then returned to New York April, 1782 and was
disbanded in Nova Scotia in 1784.

Facings were Royal blue with straight, paired lace loops. Officers wore gold
trimmings. Enlisted men’s bonnets had no dicing.
 III

16th (Queen’s) Light Dragoons

The 16th Light Dragoons arrived in New York September, 1776. They fought at
White Plains, Brandywine, Paoli and Germantown, returning to New York in 1778.
The 16th then saw more action at Monmouth Court House in New Jersey, its final
battle on American soil.

During the American retreat through New Jersey a patrol of the 16th under Lt.
Col. Earl Harcourt surprised and captured Gen. Charles Lee at his headquarters
where 2,000 American infantry were encamped, certainly among the more daring
exploits of the war.

As an under-strength regiment, effective men and horses of the 16th were

transferred to the 17th Light Dragoons in 1778, the cadre of the 16th returning
home to recruit up to strength.

Abandoning their old-pattern dragoon caps, new leather caps were purchased in
1776 before embarking, these having iron-chain reinforcements to the crown, a
bearskin crest or roach, and cloth turbans painted to resemble leopard skin. Both
styles are shown in the plate.

Facings were Royal blue, buttons paired with straight loops. Waist belt cartridge
boxes were standard issue when mounted. Much of the regiment was detailed as
an infantry escort working in tandem. These were issued infantry accoutrements
and short brown marching gaiters. Boots were naturally traded for shoes.
 III

17th Light Dragoons

The 17th Light Dragoons were raised in 1759 by Lt. Col. John Hale who had
personally witnessed the death of Gen. James Wolfe at the moment of victory at
Quebec. It was Hale who brought the news of Wolfe’s death to the King. Hale
wished to emulate Wolfe’s example, and obtained Royal authority for his regiment
to bear on its standards and appointments the Death's Head, with the motto “Or
Glory“. The unit nickname quickly came after: “The Death or Glory Boys”.

This badge and motto appeared prominently on the front of the 17th’s dragoon
helmets. Facings were white, lace white edged in black, also a mark of mourning
for the gallant Wolfe. Officers wore silver appointments.

The 17th arrived in Boston May, 1775 and took part in Long Island, Fort
Washington, Princeton, Whitemarsh and Monmouth. Elements served at forts
Clinton and Montgomery, 1777. After spending the summer of 1779 in upstate
New York, the 17th were transferred to the Carolinas. The ships transferring the
unit there were caught in a severe storm in which most of the horses died. They
landed at Savannah and were attached to the British Legion throughout the
southern campaigns. As such a large portion of their force served as foot troops
and were issued brown overalls, infantry arms and equipment, but retained their
cavalry swords.

At Cowpens a vain effort by Col. Banastre Tarleton and the 17th Light Dragoons
to save their guns was repulsed. Retreating furiously, the British infantry (7th and
1st/71st Foot) were cut to pieces. This was the near end of the Legion. Guilford
Court House was its last significant action. The 17th surrendered near Yorktown
and left for home in 1783.
 III

Royal Artillery

It would be an understatement to say that the omnipresent Royal Artillery

appeared on nearly every field of the American war. It was largely represented by
its 4th Battalion which arrived in 1773 well before hostilities broke out. Batteries
were dispersed as needed to various corps and commands.

More often than not RA guns made the difference when their fire was brought to
bear at a critical moment, not the least of which was the harrowing melee at
Guildford Court House, North Carolina in 1781 between The Guards and
Maryland-Delaware Line.

Uniforms consisted of blue coats faced in red with plain yellow lace edging and
straight lace loops to the button holes which were in common array. Royal Artillery
buttons were of brass, those of officers in gilt. Distinctive yellow binding was sewn
to their hats, gold for officers.

The gunner at left holds a sponge rammer for cooling the cannon’s bore and for
loading cartridges. The figure second from left bears a worm for removing burnt
debris from the bore after discharge. The sergeant at right holds the linstock with
which a gun was fired. Note his powder horn for priming the gun’s vent or touch
hole, and the priming wire held in a sleeve on his shoulder belt. The latter was
used to open the cartridge after ramming by inserting the priming wire deftly into
the touch hole to break open the powder bag inside the gun. This allowed the
primer to ignite the main charge.

Artillerists were issued hangers (short swords) as a personal defense weapon in

the event their gun was overrun.
 Commander-in-Chief at Headquarters

General George Washington’s headquarters was the nerve center of the

Continental Army wherever it was found. As one might expect, conditions there
usually far outstripped those of the rank and file billeted in field and hollow in all
manner of weather. So too dress and deportment always rose above the general
appearance of the army.

The commander-in-chief and most senior officers wore the uniform of their class,
blue coats faced in buff with buff small clothes. Riding boots were standard wear
when mounted. The figure depicting Washington is based on the well-known
portrait painted by Charles Wilson Peale in 1776. Another portrait, that of Gen.
Benedict Arnold, is the basis for the left-hand figure.

The headquarters guard was formed in March, 1776, and was normally of
company size made up of hand-picked men noted for their bravery and loyalty.
They seem to have been primarily Virginians as Washington might
understandably want.

Though documentary discrepancies abound, the guard’s dress appears to have

largely conformed to that of their commander-in-chief but of lesser quality. A
distinctive trademark red vest is cited, likely restricted solely to their use.

Evidence suggests that cocked hats were at first worn, at a later date replaced
with fur-crested caps of the style common to Continental light dragoons. One
source cites blue and white plumes to these. Contingents from one of the four
regiments of light dragoons were in fact periodically detailed as headquarters
escort.

USA
 Minutemen of 1776

The “Minutemen”, or Massachusetts Alarm Companies, were not professional

soldiers though some were undoubtedly veterans of the French and Indian War,
hence their familiarity with firearms.

By prior agreement each kept weapons, ammunition and modest marching rations
in readiness for the hour of need. They would then quickly assemble at a pre-
arranged locale and await orders.

The men who gathered on Lexington Green well knew what they were up against
and tarried no longer than was necessary to make their presence felt. So too at
Concord Bridge where bottleneck aided their stand. It was during the retreat of
British troops to Boston that Yankee determination made itself felt, amply
demonstrating that American belligerence was no fleeting phenomenon.

The tradesmen and farmers who made up these Minute companies were garbed
in ordinary civilian dress. Three-corner hats, trade caps and felt hats were the
norm as were coats and small clothes. Largely citizens of modest means, they
inclined toward darker colors because these were less likely to show wear and
dirt.

Weapons were the hoarded surplus of earlier conflicts augmented with the
occasional pistol or long rifle. These could only be effective until British bayonets
drew near. Much has been made of their hit-and-run tactics. Eventually their
Continental brethren would defeat the British Redcoat by his own methods on his
own battlefield terms.

USA
 Early War Militia

Pre-war militia organizations universally acted as stopgap troops for short-term

conflict, they exhibiting varying degrees of proficiency according to practice.

Militia companies were customarily armed from local weapons stocks maintained
in primitive armories under the auspices of a colony or local magistracy. Dolled
out in an emergency, off-the-cuff instruction in their use was sometimes
necessary at the last moment.

However once issues had been fairly joined, the militia became more adept at
their second calling and readily leant themselves as a numerical extension of
Regular fire power. Nowhere was this more in evidence than in the Southern
campaigns of Virginia and the Carolinas.

Uniforms were virtually nonexistent save whatever local authority could provide.
Officers frequently resorted to old uniforms they had worn in the French and
Indian War. Urban militia companies might be gaily decked out in fine dress, while
their rural brethren more closely resembled the Minute companies.

Primarily the difference between the Minutemen and militia was training and the
additional length of time militia would stand their ground and fire back without
cover. On many occasions militiamen were steeled to pour a volley or two into the
advancing British Regulars, then melt away to let the Continental Line finish the
job. Here lay their intrinsic value and principal contribution.

USA
 1st Continental Regiment

On January 1, 1776 General Washington reorganized the Continental army into

twenty-seven infantry regiments. Premier among them, the 1st Continentals were
raised exclusively of Pennsylvania troops. The regiment was formed from Col.
Edward Hand’s Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment.

Uniformly attired in frontier dress, fringed hunting shirts and Indian-style leggings
were the norm. Brim hats were characteristic of riflemen and irregular troops.
Despite being taken onto the Continental establishment, the 1st appears to have
retained its rugged dress throughout the war.

The unit was engaged at siege of Boston, New York City, Trenton, Princeton,
northern New Jersey and the defense of Philadelphia, and at the battle of
Monmouth Court House.

At Trenton the 1st turned back an entire Hessian regiment with but one casualty
among its own, indicative of the superiority of rifle fire against that of musketry.

USA
 6th Continental Regiment

The 6th Continental Regiment was raised in Massachusetts and served with the
northern army on Lake Champlain. It served there and took part in the siege of
Boston, Saratoga, in the defense of Philadelphia, at Monmouth Court House, and
in Rhode Island.

Deserter descriptions cite brown coats faced red and sometimes white.
“Seamen’s clothing” is also mentioned which suggests the use of striped ticking
trousers or overalls.

Officers traditionally carried a pole arm called a spontoon more as a badge of

rank than used as a weapon. In British service sergeants carried a bladed form of
the spontoon called a halberd, but most of these gave place to muskets which
were of far greater utility in America, this precept applying equally to non-
commissioned officers of both sides.

Brim hats were in fact far more common than the familiar tri-corner or cocked hat,
both of which were fashioned by turning up the brim of a circular brimmed hat.

The soldier second from left carries a “New Invented Knapsack-Haversack”

combination then coming into vogue. The outside flap had an interior opening
accessing an envelope in which the soldier could store foodstuffs and personal
utensils. The main bag was used to carry extra clothing and incidentals. The
outside surface was painted as a form of weatherproofing, sometimes bearing a
regimental mark.

USA
 8th Continental Regiment

Col. Enoch Poor’s 2nd New Hampshire Regiment became the 8th Continental
Regiment in January of 1776. Its men came from Strafford and Rockingham
counties.

The regiment presenting something more akin to regular appearance in blue

coats faced red with buff small clothes (waist coat and breeches). Northern states
had more ready access to woolen mills and stores of clothing, and more often
appeared more uniform as a result.

The 8th fought in the siege of Boston, at Lake Champlain, Trenton, Princeton,
Saratoga, Monmouth, against the Iroquois in 1779, and remained in the Northern
Department with the exception of its detached light company which was present
at Yorktown.

It was assigned to the New Hampshire Brigade, an element of the Northern

Department and was under command of Colonel Nathan Hale, who was taken
prisoner with the entire regiment at Fort Anne, Hubbardton, Vermont. It was then
Reorganized December 23, 1778 to consist of 9 companies.

USA
 12th Continental Regiment

The bulk of Continental infantry regiments hailed from Massachusetts, among

them Col. Moses Little’s Regiment of State troops. Converted to the 12th
Continental Regiment in early 1776, it was among the few early units uniformed in
brown coast turned up with red as prescribed in seminal clothing regulations.

The figure second from left shows how coat lapels could be buttoned over in cold
weather for greater warmth. Though the cocked hat was standard wear
throughout the army, a unit’s theater of operations or rapid deployment would
determine whether or not sufficient time was available to properly cock all the
men’s hats. Hard service often un-cocked them as quickly as they had been et up.

The 12th took part in the siege of Boston, operations around New York City,
fought at Trenton and Princeton, then was assigned to duty in northern New
Jersey.

The regiment was disbanded during February, 1777 at Morristown, New Jersey
and Peekskill, New York.

USA
 14th Continental Regiment
(Col. John Glover’s Marblehead Regiment)
Massachusetts
Few units of the American Revolution were as heralded—or as short-lived—as
Glover’s Marblehead “Marines”, who were in fact mostly Gloucester fishermen
given over to land service.

First prominent in the siege of Boston, Glover’s flinty boatmen on several

occasions saved Washington's army from capture or destruction through their
rowing his troops to safety, notably at New York and Trenton. Emanuel Leutze’s
famed painting of “Washington Crossing the Delaware” clearly depicts Glover’s
mariners resolutely shoving their way across the ice-choked river enroute to the
surprise attack against the Hessian garrison at Trenton.

Grossly overworked and perhaps utterly burnt out with fatigue, the 14th was
disbanded on December 31, 1776 in eastern Pennsylvania.

To some extent the regiment adhered to regulation brown coats faced with red
insofar as supply would allow. The balance appeared in seamen’s jackets and
smocks, their routine civilian wear. Sailors’ caps were common as one would
expect.

A unique garment common to these and other troops raised on the seaboard was
skilts or slops (both terms are interchangeable), referring to short, loose over-
trousers worn by sailors and some tradesmen to protect their much more costly
breeches or sailor pants worn underneath. Length was largely determined by a
man’s trade and could extend as far down as the ankle in some cases.

USA
 18th Continental Regiment

The 18th Continentals were formed out of Col. Phinney’s Massachusetts

Regiment. It was first committed to the siege of Boston, and upon marching into
the city was supplied with coats and jackets hastily made up of un-dyed cloth
straight off the loom, apparently with buff facings, certainly a bellwether of
materiel desperation in those early days.

With three other regiments they were selected to reinforce the Northern Army at
Lake Champlain. Thereafter the 18th fought at Saratoga, in the defense of
Philadelphia, and at Monmouth Court House. It was reorganized May 12, 1779 to
consist of 9 companies and re-designated August 1, 1779 as the 12th
Massachusetts Regiment. This was disbanded January 1, 1781 at West Point,
New York.

USA
 Col. William R. Lee’s
Additional Continental Regiment

Sixteen additional regiments were authorized and added to the Continental

establishment in January of 1777. Lee’s regiment was formed mostly from
Massachusetts recruits, and in April of 1779 was amalgamated with Col. Henry
Jackson’s Additional Continental Regiment to beef up its numbers.

The regiment served at Philadelphia and fought at Monmouth Court House, as

well as in Rhode Island, before being consolidated April 9, 1779.

A news item in the Continental Journal for December 1777 cites some of the men
wearing red-faced brown coats and felt hats. Latter evidence indicates that these
were replaced with blue coats faced likewise, perhaps with cocked hats as well.

USA
 Col. David Henley’s
Additional Continental Regiment

This unit was authorized January 12, 1777 in the Continental Army as Henley's
Additional Continental Regiment and assigned May 23 to the Eastern Department
consisting primarily of Massachusetts men. It was organized in the spring and
summer of 1777 at Boston to consist of 5 companies from Middlesex, Essex,
Suffolk, and Worcester Counties, Massachusetts and Hillsborough and
Rockingham Counties, New Hampshire. On April 9, 1779 it too was consolidated
with Col. Henry Jackson's Additional Continental Regiment.

It formed part of the Philadelphia garrison, briefly fighting only at Monmouth Court
House and in Rhode Island.

A deserter description of March, 1778 mentions a red coat faced in light blue in
company with a light infantry cap.

USA
 Col. Thomas Hartley’s
Additional Continental Regiment

Hartley’s Regiment was composed of Pennsylvania and Maryland recruits formed

in January of 1777 and soon afterward was authorized as the 11th Pennsylvania
Regiment.

The regiment as a whole saw its first major action at Brandywine, taking heavy
casualties. The regiment was in combat again when, with the rest of Anthony
Wayne's division, it was surprised at Paoli. Due to poor tactics, the unit took the
heaviest losses in that engagement which quickly became known as the “Paoli
Massacre”. The 11th Pennsylvania then fought at Germantown. Its total losses
during the campaign were substantial, for by November 1, 1777, it had present for
duty only eight officers and eighty enlisted men. Another sixty-six enlisted men
were sick, and thirty-one were on detached service.

After spending the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge with other regiments of the
Pennsylvania Line, the 11th took part in the campaign across New Jersey which
followed. At the battle of Monmouth it was one of three Pennsylvania regiments in
the force which Aaron Burr led in a late-afternoon assault on the flank of a British
counterattacking column. Less than a week later the unit was dissolved, its
remnants merged with elements of the 10th Pennsylvania.

Blue coats with white facings were worn. Moccasins were frequently substituted
for scarce shoes.

USA
 Col. Samuel B. Webb’s
Additional Continental Regiment

The focus of much romance and lore, Webb's Additional Regiment was organized
in the spring of 1777 at Wethersfield, Connecticut, to consist of 8 companies from
New London, New Haven, and Hartford Counties.

In November of 1776 Capt. John Paul Jones and others seized a large armed
British ship named the Mellish off the Canadian coast which was conveying a
large cargo of military supplies to the Canadian garrisons. Among these was a
substantial allotment of red uniforms faced yellow probably destined for either the
9th, 20th, 29th or 34th Regiment of Foot then serving in Canada. Colonel Webb
caught wind of this before the prize arrived into Boston Harbor. He solicited and
obtained General Washington’s reluctant permission to clothe his regiment with
these spoils. Without waiting for Washington’s reply Webb scooped up the
uniforms while enroute through Connecticut, weathering Washington’s stinging
rebuke.

Snappy appearance fostered equally snappy drill and discipline among Webb’s
troops, what turned out to be a crack unit. The red coats were stubbornly retained
down to 1780 when the regiment was adopted by Connecticut and re-designated
the 9th Connecticut Regiment. In January of 1781 Webb’s men were merged with
the 2d Connecticut Regiment.

The regiment served in Connecticut 1777, throughout the Hudson Highland's, and
in Rhode Island and New Jersey to 1780.

USA
 Col. Henry Sherburne’s
Additional Continental Regiment

Service of Sherburne’s Additional Regiment closely parallels that of Webb’s

Connecticut redcoats of the previous slide. It was raised as an odd mix of
Connecticut and Maryland men, the latter likely early, zealous arrivals from the
South looking for action.

Sherburne’s unit served simultaneously in the same theaters and actions as

Webb’s and in May 1780 was broken up, many of its soldiers grafted to Webb’s
command.

Abundant deserter descriptions all describe brown coats faced yellow and blue
breeches.

USA
 Col. Oliver Spencer’s
Additional Continental Regiment

Spencer’s Regiment was composed exclusively of New Jersey troops often styled
the “5th New Jersey Regiment”, there being but four regiments on the New Jersey
Regular establishment.

It was disbanded in January of 1781 having taken part in most of the intervening
actions.

An April 1777 deserter description refers to a deserter wearing a “blue coat with
red facings, blanket trousers buttoned down his legs”. This suggests some form of
universal issue or at least in part.

The figures second and fourth from left show a soldier wearing a tumpline. This
was an expedient in substitute for a knapsack by which a man’s kit was rolled in
his blanket, the tumpline strung through it beforehand, and worn across the
shoulders for support. Tumplines were far easier and faster to manufacture then
were knapsacks.

USA
 2nd Canadian Regiment

Congress raised a Canadian battalion in November 1775, then a second “at large”
in January 1776. The 2nd Canadian was organized February 10, 1776 at
Montreal to consist of 4 battalions (20 companies) from the Richelieu and St.
Lawrence valleys. Presumably these extra-national recruits were dissidents also
at odds with Britain. New Englanders fleshed out the unit.

Initially assigned to defense of the Canadian border region, the regiment served in
New Jersey 1780, New York 1781, and fought at Trois-Rivières, Brandywine,
Germantown and in the siege of Yorktown. It maintained an above average record
throughout despite having most of foreigners in the army.

It had a light company as early as 1776 distinguished by an unusual cap which

bore the motto Pro Aris Et Focis: For our altars and hearths, i.e. for our homes.
Due to its not being associated with any specific state the regiment bore the title
“Congress’ Own Regiment” signified by the letters “C.O.R.” on its light company
caps. It was also widely known as Col. Moses Hazen’s regiment after its
commander.

Coats were brown faced white. All but the light company wore the usual cocked
hat.

The regiment was disbanded November 15, 1783 at West Point, New York.

USA
 Light Infantry Companies

The value and utility of light troops had made themselves soundly manifest during
the French and Indian conflict a generation before. By 1777 most regiments were
creating and training light companies for each of their regiment for rapid
deployment in front, scouting, and generally quick-footed work. In time whole
regiments of these troops would be raised to meet increased need.

As with line infantry organizations, light company dress tended to vary

dramatically between states according to style and supply. At left appears a black
Rhode Island light infantryman decked out all in white as depicted in a period
drawing. New York light companies naturally inclined toward buff, as did Maryland
with its familiar blue-and-red scheme.

In each instance light troops generally wore shortened coats for ease of
movement and wore leather or felt caps according to various patterns familiar to
those requesting their manufacture. Rhode Island in particular opted for a looped-
front pattern unique to state troops. These caps frequently exhibited the letters
“LI” in front. A cap known to have been worn by a Maryland light infantryman
bears the letters “BLI”, probably for the Baltimore Light Infantry.

Light infantry moved fast, struck hard, and disappeared as quickly as they had
come making way for the main line in combat. They were intended to reconnoiter
and soften up an opponent before coming to grips, and as such represented the
dawn of guerilla warfare in its incipient form.

USA
 The Continental Army
1779 Uniform Regulations

As a direct result of the British surrender at Saratoga, June 1777, France made
open alliance with the thirteen colonies and with Spain in hope of collectively
regaining some of its former prestige yielded in the French and Indian conflict.

In September of 1778 France donated 20,000 uniform coats to the Continental

Army of blue or brown wool faced with red, the first occasion on which American
forces approached anything that could be called uniform appearance. On this
note General Washington in 1779 instituted new clothing regulations for the army
whereby blue coats were made universal, each region’s forces identified by a
specific facing color as follows:

White facings: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island

Buff facings: New York, New Jersey
Red facings: Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia
Blue facings: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia

This color scheme is reflected in the ring of stars appearing at the top of all text
pages herein. However difficult it may have been to implement these regulations,
they were in some measure adopted in whichever regiments could find the
requisite cloth. Many states had already adopted a facing color contrary to their
region. In 1782 the color scheme chosen for Mid-Atlantic states was adopted for
the entire army—red, white and blue, the national colors.

The “Alliance cockade” was also introduced, French white over British black.

USA
 Continental Artillery

The Uniform Regulations of 1779 also effected the Corps of Continental Artillery.
Coats were to be blue faced red with yellow worsted tape loops to each
buttonhole, also on the fly edges of facings. Yellow tape binding was also applied
to cocked hats.

Sergeants were to have two yellow silk epaulettes, corporals two yellow worsted
epaulettes. Officers epaulettes were to be gold. White small clothes had been
made universal by the 1779 Regulations, overalls chosen as a practical form of
leg wear.

Col. Henry Knox’s artillery brigade served omnipresently with the army from 1777-
1783. It consisted of four battalions of twelve companies each to which was
added a Regiment of Artillery Artificers. The establishment was reduced to nine
companies per battalion in 1781.

The artillery implements depicted in this plate are, from right to left, a sponge
rammer for cooling and cleaning a gun’s bore after firing, a linstock for firing the
piece, and a corkscrew-like “worm” for reaming debris from a cannon’s barrel after
each discharge. The sergeant second from right carries a powder horn for priming
the gun’s touch hole. A brass wire affixed to his shoulder belt was used to break
open the powder bag within the barrel by shoving it down briskly into the touch
hole.

Wherever the Continental Army fought one could hear the ominous booming of
Knox’s guns.

USA
 1st Continental Light Dragoons
(Col. Theodorick Bland’s)

The American Corps of Light Dragoons dated from the autumn of 1777 when
Brig.-Gen. Count Casimir Pulaski was appointed “Commander of the Horse” with
four weak regiments serving under him. The 1st Light Dragoons, as Bland's
Virginia Horse, reported to Washington in the winter of 1776, and were mustered
into Continental service on March 31, 1777. In December 1776 two uniforms
seem to have been in use, one blue faced with red and one brown faced with
green. Orders issued by Bland in the spring of 1777 give one of the most
complete descriptions known of a Continental regiment.

The 1st was active in northern New Jersey and the defense of Philadelphia, then
was committed at Charleston, South Carolina, 1780. Thereafter it took part in the
Carolinas campaigns under Gen. Nathaniel Greene.

On November 2, 1782 it was consolidated with the 3d Continental Light Dragoon

Regiment and re-designated as the 1st Legionary Corps to consist of 5 troops. It
was then disbanded November 15, 1783 at Winchester, Virginia.

More often than not, fringed hunting shirts—as worn by the figure second from
left—were worn on fatigue duties and often in combat. Ammunition was carried in
a waist belt cartridge box or “belly box”. Carbines were slung from a shoulder belt
fitted with a sturdy swivel which engaged a bar attached to the in-side of the
carbine.

USA
 2nd Continental Light Dragoons
(Col. Elisha Sheldon’s)

Sheldon's Horse was formed under the command of Col. Elisha Sheldon in
December of 1776 at the direct recommendation of General George Washington.
After the October 1776 defeat at White Plains, NY, Washington came to
recognize the value of a regular mounted establishment.

Consisting of four troops from Connecticut, one troop each largely from
Massachusetts and New Jersey, plus two companies of Light Infantry, the unit
never served as a whole. From formation through its reversion Sheldon's patrolled
and skirmished its way through Connecticut, Westchester and Rockland Counties
as well as northern New Jersey. The regiment performed as a communications
relay along a string of express stations between Washington's headquarters and
the northern colonies. Sheldon's served as advance scouts for the American army
and earned the sobriquet "Washington's Eyes". They fought at Brandywine,
Germantown, Saratoga, Paoli, Whitemarsh and Yorktown.

In 1781, Sheldon's Horse became the first American unit to conduct a combined
operation with French Allies in Tarrytown, New York. Rochambeau's staff
considered Sheldon's Horse as " . . . incontestably the best on the continent. . . .“

Sheldon's Horse was never officially disbanded, making this regiment unique
among all Continental cavalry units.

Coats were blue faced white, their caps French-style brass skull caps with white
horsehair crests and blue turbans.

USA
 3rd Continental Light Dragoons
(Col. George Baylor’s)

Native Virginian Col. George Baylor formed his regiment of light dragoons in early
1776 of men from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Horses were largely
procured from the latter two states.

It was Baylor’s misfortune to be wounded and captured during a surprise attack

on his camp at Tappan, New York in September 1778 by British light troops under
Maj. Gen. Charles Grey, Baylor losing 80% of his command as well. Thereafter
the regiment was led by Col. William Washington earning the sobriquet,
“Washington’s Bodyguard”.

In the Carolinas it served hard and well at Cowpens, Guilford Court House and
Eutaw Springs. The 3rd was reorganized and re-designated January 1, 1781 as
the 3d Legionary Corps, consisting of four mounted and two dismounted troops. It
was then consolidated November 2, 1782 with the 1st Legionary Corps.

Abundant contemporary evidence illustrates their novel white coats faced in pale
blue and cut in the French pattern with slashed cuffs. Dragoon caps had iron
chain reinforcement against saber blows and white horsehair crests. Officers'’
caps appear to have had blue turbans. Belting was of black leather. Horsemen
customarily wore breeches of light leather to minimize saddle wear.

USA
 4th Continental Light Dragoons
(Col. Stephen Moylan’s)

Moylan’s dragoons were first clothed in captured British coats intended for the 8th
and 24th Foot, no doubt the inspiration for the regiment adopting green coats
faced red, the reverse of those worn by the 24th. Red waistcoats also seem to
have been universal.

Dragoon caps parallel those worn by the 1st Dragoons, a reinforced skull cap with
red turban, leather peak or visor, the whole surmounted by a bearskin crest or
roach.

Like the 1st and 2nd regiments, the 4th appears to have used curve-bladed
sabers, straight-bladed weapons retained for use by the 2nd Light Dragoons.

The regiment was organized in the spring 1777 at Philadelphia and Baltimore to
consist of 6 troops from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey. It was
reorganized in early 1780 to consist of 4 mounted and 2 dismounted troops. On
January 1, 1781 it was re-designated as the 4th Legionary Corps. The 4th was
whittled down to 1 mounted and 1 dismounted troop on January 1, 1783, then
disbanded November 15, 1783.

The 4th Dragoons fought around Philadelphia and northern New Jersey, New
York, Connecticut and New Jersey during 1779-1780 engaged in many of the
same actions as its brother regiments. It was present at Yorktown.

USA
 Continental Marines

The Continental Marines—now the world-renowned United States Marines—were

founded by act of Congress on November 10, 1775. They were recruited in nearly
every city on the Eastern Seaboard and served aboard all ships of the fledgling
American Navy.

Marines primarily served as the Navy’s private army, acting as sharpshooters

perched high in a ship’s rigging, picking off officers of opposing vessels. It was
also their duty to guard prisoners and spoils taken from captured ships.

Serving on land and at sea, these first Marines distinguished themselves in a

number of important operations, including their first amphibious raid into the
Bahamas in March 1776, under the command of Captain (later Major) Samuel
Nicholas. Nicholas, the first commissioned officer in the Continental Marines,
remained the senior Marine officer throughout the American Revolution and is
considered to be the first Marine Commandant.

Coats were green, at first faced white then changed to red in 1778. Round hats
bound with white worsted tape were a trademark.

The sergeant at left wears a white worsted epaulette on each shoulder denoting
his rank. He also carries a hanger or short sword indicative of rank.

Capt. John Paul Jones is known to have dressed his Marine complement in
British red and white while cruising in European waters.

USA
 1st Connecticut Regiment

The 1st Connecticut was organized between January and April of 1777 at
Norwich to consist of 8 companies from New London, Windham, and Hartford
Counties. It was commanded by Jedediah Huntington. It served throughout with
either the 1st or 2nd Connecticut brigades and was largely absorbed into the 5th
Connecticut Regiment when the entire Connecticut Line was reorganized in 1781.

Numerous deserter descriptions cite red coats faced in white of buff, likely the root
of more than a few embarrassing moments. Felt hats and brown waist coats were
also featured.

The regiment fought around New York in 1777, and was on hand for the standoff
at Monmouth Court House. It was disbanded January 1, 1783 at West Point, New
York.

USA
 Col. John Patterson’s Massachusetts Battalion

Patterson’s Battalion is frequently cited for its trademark blue coats faced buff
with buff small clothes. The unit seems to have maintained a more regulation
appearance than other New England regiments.

It was organized in spring 1775 at Cambridge to consist of 11 companies from

Berkshire, Hampshire, Suffolk, Middlesex, Worcester, and York Counties,
Massachusetts; and Litchfield County, Connecticut. It underwent numerous
amalgamations and reorganizations but kept the field as part of what became
known as Patterson's Brigade. In August 1779 it was re-designated as the 1st
Massachusetts Regiment and as such was ultimately disbanded November 3,
1783 at West Point, New York.

The regiment fought during the siege of Boston and in the defense of Canada
around Lake Champlain. It also took part in the battles at Trenton and Princeton.
It next made a good showing at Saratoga, and was then engaged in operations
around Philadelphia and in the battle of Monmouth Court House. It was also
active in Rhode Island.

USA
 3rd Massachusetts Regiment

The 3rd was organized in the spring 1775 at Roxbury to consist of 10 companies
from eastern Suffolk County.

An unusual newspaper description of a stolen officer’s coat states that it was blue
turned up with blue, edged and lined in red. This seems inordinately fancy for
enlisted men, so it may be presumed that they wore the same without red
embellishment.

White small clothes were the preferred standard whenever such fabric was
available, this largely in imitation of their British adversary.

The regiment was active in the siege of Boston and the defense of Canada at
Lake Champlain, also in Northern New Jersey. It was present at Saratoga and
thereafter remained in the Northern theater as field operations moved south.

The preponderance of New England regiments declined to participate in Southern

operations, instead attending to their own turf. In truth unanimity of purpose was
nearly impossible to achieve throughout Continental forces.

The 3rd was disbanded November 3, 1783 at West Point, New York.

USA
 Light Infantry Company
4th Massachusetts Regiment

We are particularly fortunately to have a first-person description of this unit’s

costume left to us by a woman who served with the company. Deborah Sampson
of Plymouth disguised herself and joined the regiment at West Point and is known
to have at least served with it late in the war.

Deborah described her uniform as blue faced in white per 1779 Uniform
Regulations with the addition of a light infantry cap, white wing epaulettes, and
herringbone lace on the sleeves. A black cut-feather plume tipped red was worn
in the cap. Her descriptions otherwise largely conform to the later appearance of
the Continental Corps of Light Infantry led by the Marquis de Lafayette.

The 4th Regiment itself was organized in spring 1775 at Roxbury to consist of 10
companies from southwestern Worcester County. It was engaged at the siege of
Boston, around New York City, in northern New Jersey, at Trenton and Princeton,
Saratoga, Monmouth and in Rhode Island. It was disbanded November 3, 1783 at
West Point, New York.

However naïve and innocent Deborah’s exploit may have been, she nevertheless
survived to record her adventure for posterity. She would not be the last ultra-
patriotic woman to serve in the ranks of America's field forces during wartime.
Today it is the norm.

USA
 8th Massachusetts Regiment

Deserter descriptions for the 8th Massachusetts cite a conspicuously pale blue
coat faced in red. How this brilliantly hued costume appeared on the battlefield
must be left to conjecture, an easy target one would think.

The 8th was organized in the spring and summer of 1775 at Cambridge to consist
of 10 companies from Essex, Bristol, Middlesex, Plymouth, Worcester, Suffolk,
and Hampshire Counties, Massachusetts, and Hillsborough and Cheshire
Counties, New Hampshire. It was disbanded November 15, 1783.

It fought in the Northern campaigns at the siege of Boston, around New York City,
northern New Jersey, Trenton, Princeton, Saratoga, and Monmouth Court House.
As with most New England units, Monmouth was as far South as it would go.

Massachusetts regiments almost exclusively served in homogenous state

brigades throughout the war, in a sense as wholly separate state organizations
more for local defense than for national effort.

USA
 14th Massachusetts Regiment

Another region-specific unit, the 14th fought at Saratoga, in defense of

Philadelphia, and at Monmouth Court House. It was organized in spring 1777 at
Boston to consist of 8 companies from Plymouth, Bristol, Barnstable, Suffolk,
Cumberland and Worcester Counties. It was disbanded January 1, 1781 at West
Point, New York.

The Independent Chronicle of October 22, 1778 reported a deserter clad in a

“dark brown regimental coat, faced with light blue, brown waistcoat, peach
blossom trousers.” In this instance trousers might mean gaiter-trousers or the
straight-leg or “stovepipe” variety. Both are known to have been worn among
many units.

The 14th remained in the Northern Department after Monmouth and saw no
further action.

USA
 2nd New Hampshire Regiment

Thinly populated, the State of New Hampshire furnished few regiments to the
Continental cause, but those who enlisted saw considerable action.

The 2nd New Hampshire fought in the siege of Boston, in the defense of Canada
at Lake Champlain, Trenton, Princeton, Saratoga, Monmouth, and in upstate New
York against the Iroquois in 1779. Its light company even fought at Yorktown in
1781, a salient departure from custom among New England regiments.

The regiment was created from remnants of the 1st New Hampshire in the winter
of 1776 and stayed in the field until 1782 when the New Hampshire Line was
reorganized. By war’s close the scant New Hampshire complement had been
whittled down to a single unit of disproportionate battle experience. One wonders
how many of them actually made it home to the far North.

Little is known of the regiment’s dress except for one company which allegedly
received the glaring light blue coats faced in red and lined in white, earlier cited
for the 8th Massachusetts Regiment.

USA
 1st Rhode Island Regiment

One of only two regiments raised by the state, the 1st Rhode Island was
organized May 8, 1775 to consist of 8 companies from Kings and Kent Counties.
This regiment was in fact reorganized with and re-designated as the 2nd
Regiment in 1781.

Commanded by Col. Christopher Greene, the regiment accompanied Gen.

Benedict Arnold’s heroic march to Quebec where it fought well despite repulse.

Dress conformed to the norm for cold weather and Canadian forests, largely
reflective of Indian wear. Moccasins were common as were blanket coats.
Standard infantry equipment was rarely available to them, augmented with a wide
variety of powder horns and Indian-style pouches, the latter often made up of
“wampum” or Indian beadwork. Tumplines and more traditional knapsacks were
equally common. Fur lined caps and coats were a necessity in the frigid Canadian
wilderness.

The 1st Rhode Island is noted for its staying power, taking part at the siege of
Boston, operations around New York City, Trenton, Princeton, in their home state,
and even at Yorktown.

USA
 2nd Rhode Island Regiment

The 2nd Regiment was organized and assembled largely from city dwellers of
Providence County on May 8, 1775 to consist of 8 companies. In company with
the 1st Regiment, it was initially tasked with guarding its home state and hundreds
of miles of New England coastline against British raiders.

The 2nd was commanded by intrepid Col. William Barton whose portrait depicts
the wearing of a blue coat faced white, presumably a reflection of the men's
uniforms.

The regiment fought in the siege of Boston, at New York City, Trenton, Princeton,
Monmouth Court House, in defense of Rhode Island, and was detailed to New
Jersey in 1780.

On January 1, 1781 it was consolidated with the 1st Rhode Island Regiment and
re-designated as the Rhode Island Regiment.

Colonel Barton surprised and captured the British commander at Newport, Rhode
Island, Prescott by name, while the latter was cozily tucked in bed, he being
escorted away under custody in his nightshirt. This daring exploit cost Barton not
a single casualty.

USA
 3rd New Jersey Regiment
“Jersey Blues”

During the French and Indian War the term “Jersey Blues” had come to be
applied to all New Jersey troops due to their universal wearing of blue coats faced
with red. The practice quite predictably resurfaced during the Revolution for all
four of the state’s regiments.

However, in this new conflict blue coats became far more difficult to procure.
Supplies of dark blue wool were speedily used up, leaving less popular colors as
a substitute. The 3rd Regiment received coats of “drab”, a nondescript, muddied
hue which varied light to dark according to whatever was being produced at the
time. Enough blue cloth was obtained to at least add facings of that color.

The regiment was organized February to May of 1776 at Elizabethtown to consist

of 8 companies. It fought at Lake Champlain and in northern New Jersey, around
New York in 1777, at Monmouth Court House, and against the Iroquois in 1779,
then in 1780 returned to duty in its home state. It was primarily responsible for the
rebuilding of Fort Stanwix and was posted to Fort Ticonderoga for a prolonged
period of garrison duty.

The 3rd was disbanded January 1, 1781 at Pompton, its men merged into the 1st
and 2d New Jersey regiments.

USA
 2nd New York Regiment

The 2nd New York was organized June to August 1775 to consist of ten
companies from Westchester, Dutchess, Kings, Queens, and Richmond Counties.
It was consolidated January 1, 1781 with the 4th and 5th New York regiments, the
amalgam re-designated as the 2d New York regiment.

In early 1776 New York raised four new regiments in addition to the four already
in service. Among these was the 2nd commanded by Col. Lt. Col. Peter
Gansevoort to November of 1776, thereafter by Col. Goose van Schaick.

The 2nd was present for the invasion and subsequent defense of Canada, was
engaged at Lake Champlain, Saratoga, Monmouth, and against the Iroquois
Indians in 1779. It subsequent saw limited service in the South and was present
at Yorktown.

The new state units were well drilled and often compared to Regulars. All were
issued uniform coats, the 2nd Regiment receiving brown faced blue. Deserter
descriptions also cite brown waistcoats and blue breeches.

Though white buff leather belts were standard of the day for parade wear, it is
more likely that most American regiments wore black or brown leather instead.

USA
 3rd New York Regiment

The cosmopolitan 3rd New York was partially organized in Albany in the fall 1776
primarily from veterans of Canadian service 1775-1776. It was reorganized and
re-designated January 26, 1777 as the 3d Regiment, to consist of 8 companies
from Dutchess and Ulster Counties, New York City and County.

Its field service was confined to the New York area in 1777, in the Mohawk Valley
1778, and in protracted operations against the Iroquois Indians through 1779. In
January 1781 it was consolidated with the 1st New York Regiment, losing its
separate identity.

Commanded by Col. James Clinton, the 3rd wore gray coats faced in green,
though a few deserter descriptions cite blue coats faced green. The former color
combination is known to have been also worn by the 6th Maryland and 6th
Virginia regiments.

The right-hand figure illustrates how lapels could be buttoned across the chest
and abdomen for warmth.

USA
 1st Col. John Haslet’s Delaware Regiment
“Delaware Blues”
Haslet’s far-famed Delaware Regiment was raised in early 1776 by authority of
Congress per the state’s one-battalion quota in keeping with its small population.
By May of that year the regiment appeared uniformed and drilled after a manner
obviously suggestive of a superior unit.

Uniforms were blue coats faced red—in keeping with their nickname, “Delaware
Blues”—and cut to light infantry length. White buff leather was standard issue for
equipment belts. Unique to its appearance was the small black, jacked-leather
cap with its high front peak. This was inscribed in gilt with the legend, “Liberty and
Independence—Delaware Regiment”, a sheaf of wheat in a center scroll, and
surmounted by the state’s crest of a full-rigged ship. A short red plume was worn
on the left side for parades.

Keep in mind that blue was the color associated with the Whig opposition party in
Britain, and so a natural choice for Delaware and, ultimately, all American forces.

Much of the unit’s service came early in its home state to suppress Tory
sympathizers. In its short lifespan Haslet’s regiment was present in nearly every
operation of ’76, even drawing the admiration of its Hessian foes after the battle of
Long Island. The regiment fought its last battle at Trenton. Haslet was killed in
action at Princeton.

In September Congress voted to raise a new army, again requiring but one
battalion from Delaware. Most of Haslet’s men were paid off and sent home
where they were largely responsible for forming the new unit: Hall’s Delaware
Regiment.

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 Col. David Hall’s Delaware Regiment

Few in numbers, Delaware troops were always a force to be reckoned with by any
measure. Hall’s Delaware men were a direct outgrowth of Haslet’s former
command and as such found it difficult to raise more than two companies at first.

Light infantry-length coats gave way to standard regimentals in the same colors.
Buckskin breeches were later replaced by striped ticking overalls. A few caps
remained from Haslet’s day, soon given over to cocked hats bound in yellow tape.
Delaware troops are noted for their using the cartridge-carrying expedient of black
japanned tin containers to augment cartridge pouches.

Under Colonel Hall the regiment immortalized itself through desperate heroism at
Camden. Survivors were consolidated into two light infantry companies under
Capt. Robert Kirkwood and grafted to the Maryland Line for the Southern
campaigns, thus creating what arguably became the toughest American outfit of
the war.

Cowpens, Guilford Court House. Hobkirk’s Hill, siege of Ninety-six, Eutaw

Springs… the Maryland-Delaware Line was the spine of the Southern Army,
repeatedly taking on and besting Cornwallis’s British Regulars with their own
linear battle tactics. The myth of the Revolution being won by “fighting from
behind rocks and trees” was never more soundly disproved than by the “American
Regulars” in the South.

Still clothed in shredded hunting shirts and ragged overalls, the surviving
Delaware men returned home in early 1783 and were disbanded in October, their
battle record equal to or surpassing any British infantry regiment.

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 1st Maryland Regiment

In January, 1776 Maryland resolved to raise a battalion for the defense of that
Province. William Smallwood was appointed colonel. Three companies from
Baltimore and six from Annapolis were combined to form the battalion. It was
organized as eight battalion companies and one light infantry company. Made up
of men from northern and western Maryland, it was assigned to the main army
under George Washington in July 1776. The battalion was assigned to the
brigade of William Alexander, Lord Sterling, along with Colonel John Haslet’s
Delaware Battalion. This was the start of a close association between Maryland
and Delaware troops that was to last through the entire war. Smallwood's men
(left-hand figure in red) were first in action at the battle of Long Island and won
great praise for their repeated charges against the British forces in Brooklyn.

The unit was re-designated as the 1st Maryland Regiment in January 1777. On
April 5, 1780 it was assigned to the Southern Army under Horatio Gates and later
Nathaniel Greene. One of the few Continental regiments that fought in both the
Northern and Southern campaigns, it took part in the following major battles: Long
Island, New York, White Plains, Trenton-Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown,
Monmouth, Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Hobkirk Hill, Ninety-Six and
Eutaw Springs. Few regiments could match this record.

At Guilford Court House the Maryland-Delaware Line became so savagely

entangled in hand-to-hand combat with the British Guards, Cornwallis had to turn
his guns on the maelstrom to break it up. The Guards had met their match.

The 1st Maryland Regiment was disbanded November 15, 1783.

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 2nd Maryland Regiment

The career of the 2nd Maryland closely parallels that of the 1st Regiment. It was
organized as independent companies in March 1776 at various locations on the
shores of Chesapeake Bay with personnel from eastern Maryland. It performed
duty on the Bay before moving to New York City.

It was reorganized in January 1777 as the 2nd Regiment and fought at Trenton,
Princeton, and Monmouth Court House as a component of the 2nd Maryland
Brigade. Savagely committed at Camden, the regiment was decimated nearly
beyond retrieval.

From then on it fought with the 1st Regiment in the South through all the climactic
campaigns which ultimately drove Cornwallis back into Yorktown where he
surrendered. As numbers diminished from severe campaigning it often became
nearly impossible to differentiate the regiments of the Maryland Line. The 2nd
maintained its individual identity when and as replacements would allow, all being
summarily melded into a homogenous Maryland Brigade in January 1781.

The 2nd Maryland too was disbanded in November of 1783.

Deserter descriptions in 1777 all tell of the wearing of blue coats faced scarlet
with blue breeches and occasionally brown vests.

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 6th Maryland Regiment

The 6th Maryland was organized March 27, 1776 to consist of 8 companies, later
9, from Prince Georges, Queen Anne, Frederick, Cecil, Harford and Anne Arundel
Counties.

The regiment was active in the defense of Philadelphia and in New Jersey
through 1777. It was at Monmouth Court House, then deployed for the defense of
the Carolinas.

Like the 2nd Regiment, the 6th was all but annihilated at the disastrous battle of
Camden in August 1780, ending Gen. Horatio Gates’ stillborn campaign.
Thereafter it was among the diminutive adjuncts which formed the Maryland Line.

What remained of the 6th was disbanded January 1, 1783 at Annapolis.

Deserter descriptions from late summer of 1777 record the wearing of gray or
brown coats turned up with green. Here the distinction between brown and gray is
likely due to primitive dyestuffs used to color the wool, there being little or no
discernible difference between these hues.

Dark-colored breeches were a common substitute due to the over-demand for

white among all state forces.

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 1st Pennsylvania Battalion

The 1st Battalion was organized October to November 1775 at Philadelphia to

consist of 8 companies from Philadelphia, Philadelphia City, Northampton, Berks
and Bucks Counties. It was reorganized and re-designated in January, 1777 as
the 2d Pennsylvania Regiment, to consist of 8 companies.

It was variously posted to the defense of Canada, at Lake Champlain, in northern

New Jersey, and fought at Monmouth. On Sept. 21, 1779 the regiment was in
Hartford, CT, with Gen. Anthony Wayne to greet French General Rochambeau.
On Sept. 25 it rushed from Tappan, NY, to West Point to reinforce the garrison
there after Benedict Arnold's treachery was discovered.

In January 1781 the 1st was consolidated with the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment
and re-designated as the 2d Pennsylvania Regiment. It was concurrently
furloughed at Trenton, New Jersey (less 2 companies remaining active at Fort
Pitt), then was relieved from duty with the 1st Pennsylvania Brigade.

The Maryland Journal for February 18, 1777 describes brown regimental coats
faced in green with red buttonhole bindings. It was extremely unusual for
American regiments to have bound or taped buttonholes in the British fashion.
Other sources suggest that round hats bound in white tape were worn.

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 3rd Pennsylvania Battalion

The 3rd Battalion was organized January to late March of 1776 at Philadelphia by
Col. John Cadwalader to consist of 8 companies from eastern Pennsylvania.

The unit was partially captured November 16, 1776 at Fort Washington, New
York, by personnel of the 42nd Highland Regiment, allegedly through treachery of
an American officer who was then serving as adjutant to the fort’s commanding
general.

What remained of the battalion was reorganized and re-designated as the 4th
Pennsylvania Regiment January 1, 1777 to consist of 8 companies.

It fought around New York City, in northern New Jersey, in the defense of
Philadelphia, at Monmouth Court House, and was active against the Iroquois
throughout 1778-1779. It was consolidated with the 7th Regiment and, as the 4th
Regiment, was disbanded January 1, 1783.

Deserter descriptions cite the wearing of brown coats faced white.

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 5th Pennsylvania Regiment

The 5th Regiment was organized January to February of 1776 at Chester to

consist of 8 companies from Chester, Bucks and Lancaster counties, largely a
reincarnation of the old 4th Pennsylvania Battalion.

Colonel Anthony Wayne, who had led the 4th, assumed command of the
regiment, but handed over to Col. Francis Johnson upon Wayne’s elevation to
general.

Though initially unformed in blue regimental coats faced white, by 1781

Pennsylvania could no longer furnish coats to its troops due to the scarcity of blue
wool. White linen hunting shirts served as a substitute. The regiment was also
issued a mix of shoulder pouches and waist belt cartridge boxes.

Some effort was made late in the war to cut down worn fragments of cocked and
brim hats into caps, likely of a light infantry-style pattern.

The 5th fought in Canada and in the defense of Lake Champlain, in northern New
Jersey and in defense of Philadelphia, Brandywine, Germantown, and at
Monmouth Court House.

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 7th Pennsylvania Regiment

Reformed from the 6th Battalion, The 7th Pennsylvania was organized January to
March of 1776 at Carlisle to consist of 8 companies from Cumberland and York
Counties. In company with the Pennsylvania Line it fought at Lake Champlain,
Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth Court House.

On September 20, 1777 the 7th bore the brunt of the British assault at Paoli
where half of its men were either killed or wounded. By November 1 the 7th had
only 17 officers and 105 men present fit for duty. They endured the winter at
Valley Forge before their last large-scale encounter at Monmouth. Thereafter the
regiment spent time in New York and New Jersey keeping watch on the British
during which time it was involved in several minor skirmishes.

At Morristown in the winter of 1780-1781 the 7th Pennsylvania was involved in a

mutiny with other Pennsylvania Regiments after which the unit was disbanded.

Coats of the regiment were blue faced red according to deserter descriptions. In
this rare instance regimental coats were in prior conformity to the 1779 Dress
Regulations.

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 9th Pennsylvania Regiment

Deserter descriptions for this regiment in the spring of 1777 mention new brown
coats turned up with red. In one instance a light infantry cap is cited.

The 9th Regiment was organized in the spring of 1777 at Philadelphia to consist
of 8 companies from Westmoreland, Lancaster, Chester, Philadelphia and
Cumberland counties.

With its parent Pennsylvania Line, the 9th fought at Brandywine, Germantown and
Monmouth Court House.

Among the mutinous regiments of the Pennsylvania Line at Morristown, General

Washington order disbandment of the 9th in January, 1781.

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 2nd Virginia Regiment

Organized October 21, 1775 at Williamsburg, the 2nd Virginia was to consist of
seven companies, subsequently ten. It was consolidated in May 1779 with the 6th
Virginia Regiment, but retained the designation 2nd Virginia Regiment, to consist
of nine companies.

The 2nd initially fought successfully in defense of its own state, notably in the
signal victory at Great Bridge. It was then engaged at Brandywine, Paoli,
Germantown, and Monmouth Court House.

Most of the regiment was surrendered to the British at the fall of Charleston,
South Carolina, May 12, 1780. Escaping elements took part in the Southern
Campaigns under General Greene down to Yorktown, but cannot be taken as
lineal descendants of the original unit.

Seminal dress consisted of hunting shirts, then of blue coats faced blue with white
worsted buttonhole loops reminiscent of British practice. Round hats were
standard issue. As was so often the case during hard campaigning, breeches
eventually gave way to overalls made up in rough cloth.

In 1779 the entire Virginia Line went into blue coats faced red per Clothing
Regulations issued that year.

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 6th Virginia Regiment

The 6th Virginia was organized February 28, 1776 at Williamsburg to consist of 10
companies from Pittsylvania, Amherst, Buckingham, Charles City, Lunenburg,
New Kent, Mecklenburg, Dinwiddie, Prince George and Spotsylvania Counties.

It was consolidated May 12, 1779 with the 2d Virginia Regiment thereby losing its
individual identity. It fought at Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown,
Monmouth, and in the siege of Charleston, South Carolina.

Round hats were a common expedient for Virginia troops in the early going, as
were hunting shirts of various hues. The 6th is recorded as wearing black- or
gray-dyed hunting shirts with a novel means of denoting rank. While all were to
have red collars, sergeants were to have white cuffs to theirs, drummers “dark”
cuffs, probably black or blue. Officers appear to have been allowed decorative
fringe to their shirts.

Osnaburg linen overalls of varying colors were universal issue. The men were to
wear their hair short.

Later in the war light gray regimental coats faced green were procured. Brim hats
likely replaced worn out round hats. The round hat was preferred by state
authorities because, unlike the cocked hat, it did not collect snow or rain.

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 13th Virginia Regiment

At the extreme western reaches of Virginia’s claimed territory, wartime operations

in the Ohio River Valley were largely conducted by Virginia troops. To this end the
13th Virginia was organized February 12, 1777 at Fort Pitt to consist of 9
companies from Yohogania, Monongalia, and Ohio Counties comprising the
former West Augusta District.

There being pressing need in the East, the regiment was sent to join
Washington’s army and fought at Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth.

In the spring of 1778 the Continental Congress approved a plan to capture British
held Detroit in order to curtail British-instigated Indian depredations on the
western frontier. The 8th and 13th Virginia were selected to carry out this
campaign, a detachment commanded by Col. John Gibson, new commander of
the 13th. The main body of the 13th was sent to Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh), supplies
accumulated, and plans developed. By autumn the plan had been scaled down.

Instead of moving swiftly from Pittsburgh for a surprise attack on Detroit, a fort
was established in eastern Ohio to discourage Indian raids in western
Pennsylvania. During this period of preparation, the 13th was re-designated as
the 9th Virginia.

Coats are recorded as blue faced yellow.

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 Col. George Rogers Clark’s
Illinois Regiment of Virginia Volunteers

To one man alone—George Rogers Clark—and his regiment of hearty western

Virginians goes credit for securing the “Illinois Country” of modern Illinois, Indiana
and Ohio during the American Revolution.

Operating from an island in the Ohio River opposite modern Louisville, KY, Clark
raised his regiment of Virginia volunteers for unimaginably hard service against
widely scattered British garrisons. The regiment first seized the former French
outposts of Kaskaskia and Cahokia, then embarked on a surprise, mid-winter
march in 1779 through flooded country against Fort Sackville (Vincennes,
Indiana) on the Wabash River. Clark first surrounded the fort and by ruse and
terror forced its capitulation. It’s hated commandant, Gen. Henry “Hair-Buyer”
Hamilton was taken prisoner and British control of the region forever broken up.

Spurred on by Patrick Henry, Clark was largely supplied by Spanish allies in New
Orleans who shipped arms and equipment up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to
Clark's lair. Dress initially conformed to the frontier mode—hunting shirts, Indian
leggings, breech cloths—to which were added black silk kerchiefs tied about the
head.

In time the Spanish furnished short blue coats with white facings, waist belt
cartridge boxes bearing the Spanish Royal arms, and cocked hats naturally
decked out in red Spanish cockades. Styles of dress were largely mixed at the
time of their final set-piece battle at Piqua in 1780 near present-day Springfield,
Ohio.

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 3rd North Carolina Regiment

Of all the Continental recruiting regions, none is more difficult to find clothing
research for than the Southern States: Georgia, North and South Carolina.

What has come to light though indicates that hunting shirts were extremely
common utilitarian wear as were the ubiquitous overalls, easily made and very
durable. Both appear to have been made out of plain, un-dyed material. Felt brim
hats also seem to have been most readily available and widely issued, often
decorated with feathers or animal tails.

Equipment might vary between hunting pouches and powder horns to issue
cartridge boxes whenever available.

The 3rd North Carolina was organized in the spring of 1776 at Wilmington to
consist of 8 companies from Halifax, Edenton and Hillsborough Districts.

It joined the main army as part of the North Carolina Brigade and fought at
Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth Court House. Like many another unit,
the regiment was captured by the British at Charlestown, South Carolina on May
12, 1780. It was then formally disbanded on January 1, 1783.

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 1st South Carolina Regiment

The 1st South Carolina was organized during the summer 1775 at Charleston to
consist of ten companies from eastern South Carolina. Assigned to the Southern
Department it served exclusively in the South.

The regiment saw action at the siege of Savannah and then in the siege of
Charleston. It was captured at Charleston on May 12, 1780 together with the rest
of the Southern Department by the British Army. The 1st was consolidated
February 11, 1780 with the 5th South Carolina Regiment and designated as the
1st South Carolina Regiment.

The 1st Regiment was then reorganized December 11, 1782, furloughed May 14,
1783 at Charleston and disbanded on November 15, 1783.

South Carolina regiments wore very dark blue coats—sometimes described as

black—faced in red. Unique to them was the wearing of a curiously shaped
leather cap bearing the state’s crescent-moon badge in silver. That for the 1st
Regiment bore the legend “ULTIMA RATIO”.

The regiment numbered 450 when surrendered at Charleston.

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 2nd South Carolina Regiment

The 2nd South Carolina wore the peculiar state leather cap with silver crescent
insignia, theirs bearing the legend “LIBERTY” or “LIBERTY OR DEATH” in
remembrance of Patrick Henry’s resolute words in the Virginia House of
Burgesses at war’s commencement.

Virtually a carbon copy, organization and service of the 2nd Regiment mirrored
those of the 1st South Carolina, as well its fate at Charleston. When surrendered
the 2nd numbered 395. The regiment was disbanded on January 1, 1783.

Clothing and equipment also conformed to those of the 1st Regiment.

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 The First American Regiment, 1784

After the Revolution the Continental Army was disbanded and sent home in 1784.
By then only a small group of artillerymen was left as Congress was wary of
establishing a regular army. This tiny force of the last Continentals remained at
West Point.

In June 1784 Congress ordered the discharge of all remaining troops excepting
55 caretakers at West Point and 25 at Fort Pitt. In the same month Congress
devised its own design for the post-war military, consisting of a total of 700 men to
be enlisted for one year, this quota being allotted to the states of Connecticut,
New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. With a large frontier to defend, elected
officials realized a need for a larger force. Thus, it created the incipient First
American Regiment.

Eight infantry and two artillery companies comprised the composite regiment.
Pennsylvania had the highest allotment of troops to fill, and thus could select the
regimental commander. Thomas Mifflin, the president of Congress, recommended
his former aide Josiah Harmar, who was named to the post of lieutenant colonel
commandant.

In time this regiment would provide the nucleus for a burgeoning army tasked with
ever-increasing duties on a widening stage of responsibility.

Outgrowth of its Continental forbearers, the First American Regiment was the
seedling of the permanent United States Army from which all modern U.S. military
units trace their lineage.

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 The First American Regiment
Infantry Companies

Uniforms matched those prescribed in the 1779 regulations for Mid-Atlantic states
and the former Continental Artillery—red, white and blue, the national colors.

The white-over-black Union cockade, signifying French alliance, fell from use at
war’s close, replaced with the more traditional black one. Most other aspects of
dress remained as during the war with a utilitarian exception.

The right-hand figure is an infantry private in the fatigue vest made of blue cloth
with a red collar used for daily duties to spare the uniform coats. Sometimes the
fatigue vests were made by company tailors (as in the one shown); sometimes
they were merely last year's coats cut down, in which case they might retain the
red cuffs. Regimental coats were reserved for dress parades and inspections.

All buttons and officers’ mettalics were white metal per the infantry branch.

White overalls were worn in summer, dark blue in winter.

These standards of dress remained in place until 1792 and to some degree
beyond with style changes to coats and headdress reflective of prevailing fashion
trends, a ghost of past armies and harbinger of things to come.

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 The First American Regiment
Artillery Companies

The gaudy yellow lace of the Continental Artillery was abolished in favor of
standardized coats for both infantry and artillery components of the regiment. The
sole differences for artillery were brass buttons (gilt for officers) and the use of red
linings for artillery coats like those of their Continental forbearers.

All troops wore white worsted tape binding on their cocked hats, black for officers.

Overalls, or gaiter-trousers, had become the norm during latter stages of the war
and remained routine issue in garrison and in the field for both artillery and
infantry.

Artillery officers wore gold epaulettes and sword knots.

The first Secretary of War, Henry Knox, had been Washington’s premier artillerist
during the war, and saw to it that men of his former command were well supplied
and kept looking smart.

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