pennsylvania rangers revolutionary war

Marion and his brigade soon arrived and forded the river. PHMC. It spent the rest of the year in garrison at West Point and probably wintered at Morristown. After spending the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge with the other regiments of the Pennsylvania Line, the 11th Pennsylvania took part in the campaign across New Jersey which followed. The 5th Pennsylvania Regiment was raised December 9, 1775 at Chester, Pennsylvania for service with the Continental Army. . Pennsylvania Revolutionary Soldiers The following names are not included in the regular muster rolls. These nine companies were to form a battalion to be commanded by Col. William Thompson of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania State Navy. In October it participated in Anthony Wayne's defeat of the British at Valcour Island, but otherwise had an uneventful tour of garrison duty. The regiment would see action during the Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth and the Battle of Springfield. These actions earned the Rangers a reputation for ruthlessness. When new elections were held for field officers in 1780 and 1783, the colonels elected at that time again drew lots for their rank and this resulted in a new order for the battalions. On June 10, 1777, the Pennsylvania Assembly, following the advice of the Supreme Executive Council of the state, transferred the state regiment to Continental service. Much of the information provided below was extracted by former archivist Henry James Young, and also possibly by archivist Marvin Schlegel, during the 1940s and 1950s from published entries in the various series of the Eight days later, Pennsylvania was directed to raise two additional companies, followed by a third. The Regiment was authorized on December 9, 1775 in the Continental Army as the 2d Pennsylvania Battalion. The Regiment was authorized on January 4, 1776 in the Continental Army as the 6th Pennsylvania Battalion. "Light Horse Harry" Lee of Virginia (the father of Robert E. Lee) raised the only American-born unit under this concept. [2] The only time Pennsylvania seems to have had any sort of basic militia prior to the draft is during the winter months of 1776 into 1777. Early in that year, as tension mounted, there appeared spontaneously in certain localities volunteer companies of The regiment was assigned to the 3d Pennsylvania Brigade of the Main Continental Army on 27 May 1777. Pennsylvania, Concurrent with the establishment of county militias was the creation of five companies of Rangers. Relieved on May 22, 1777 from Stirling's Brigade and assigned to the 1st Pennsylvania Brigade, an element of the. Within the formation were the wagons, periodically stopping to gather more wounded or dead. Pennsylvania, To each of her line soldiers, who served to the end of the war, Pennsylvania granted After camping at Valley Forge, the First Pennsylvania saw limited action at Monmouth. On Sept. 1, 1780, Tye's brigade raided the Colts Neck home of Capt. By the end of October, the unit had suffered substantially from all the fighting, including the loss of Williams who was captured at Germantown. For this reason, a particular private might be listed in a different battalion in 1781 than he was in 1778 but this does not necessarily mean that he was transferred between units or changed residence. December 26, 1776 The Battle of Trenton. In 1780, the 7th Pennsylvania was part of a force which defended against a Hessian attack on New Bridge, New Jersey on April 16, 1780 and then at Paramus. Sending forth his Loyalist cavalry to cross the causeway, Marion met the charge with one of his own led by Peter Horry and his mounted men. The Regiment was authorized on September 16, 1776 in the Continental Army as the 10th Pennsylvania Regiment. Organized between February 7- March 17, 1776 at Reading, Pennsylvania, with personnel from Berks County. Pennsylvania Line Regiments and other Pennsylvania Units. Gen. William Maxwell, which was formed for the fall campaign opposing the British approach toward Philadelphia from the south. Harmar would remain in this position until 1780. John Nelson's Independent Rifle Company and assigned to the. The men of the regiment refused at first to join the mutineers, but were finally forced to when the other troops threatened them at bayonet point and with artillery. Another form of line service was with theCorps of Invalids. Many of the Invalids were subsequently pensioned. Continental bills of Credit, which quickly lost value. Exemptions were extremely limited, and an estimated 60,000 men were enrolled. Watsons Buffs were considered to be one of the finest regiments in the British army. About; Leadership; Public Information; Contact; Join; . When active service occurred, it would have been for only sixty days at a time. Soldiers remaining in the regiment were reassigned to other units and eventually sent south to take part in the Yorktown Campaign. The origin of the ranger tradition lies in the seventeenth century wars between colonists and Native American tribes. We have set your language to Shortly afterward, the Regiment helped delay Cornwallis before the Battle of Princeton. All males aged 20 to 45 - including immigrants seeking citizenship - had to register for the draft. At the outbreak of hostilities between the Crown and the colonies in 1775 the Pennsylvania Assembly opposed any form of mandatory military service. He was replaced by Col. John Phillip DeHaas of Lebanon. The company commanders could also change. Captured by one of Rogers scouting units and personally escorted to confinement by Rogers, himself, the great American patriot Hale would be tried and hung from the gallows shortly thereafter, as a traitor, but not before uttering his immortal declaration, I only regret that I have one life to lose for my country.. On October 14, under pressure from the British rejoined the main force at Ticonderoga. In January 1776, the eight companies of the newly-formed battalion began leaving the state to participate in Benedict Arnold's ill-fated attempt to capture Quebec. After wintering at Valley Forge the regiment was assigned to the Western Department, headquartered at Fort Pitt. In March 1777, this indeed occurred. Pierce's Certificates. It should be noted that these fines were not necessarily intended to be punitive. It was the last regiment to leave Long Island. Originally fielded by the French to counter Austrian irregulars recruited in the Balkans, they filled a unique niche by providing deep security around an army in the field or carried out raids behind enemy lines. This highly successful group of Partisans was known as Marions Brigade.. The infantry moved at a trot the entire way, stopping only to fire a volley to their rear. Organized between January 31- August 19, 1777 at Lancaster as Capt. In January 1780, the Regiment after suffering long and hard service with pay in arrears, poorly fed, and poorly equipped, joined the other Pennsylvania regiments in a mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line at Morristown, New Jersey. As we continue to get closer to a complete collection of The Pennsylvania Archives, we find more interesting facts. Most crucial to the American Revolutionary War effort was the fact that between 15 August 1780 and 8 September 1781, Marion and his men alone held eastern South Carolina from the British. Disbanded on July 1, 1778 at White Plains, New York. L.G. An Official Pennsylvania Government Website. The Pennsylvania Line originated in 1775 was organized into thirteen regiments and several independent companies. Keystone State. For line troops, neither the type of service rendered nor the term of enlistment was uniform. The militia did provide a significant defensive force patrolling the south side of the Schuylkill River and engaged in occasional clashes with British outposts and scouting parties including heavy skirmishes at Whitemarsh on December 7. At the beginning of 1775, Pennsylvania, founded under Quaker auspices, differed from other American colonies in being totally devoid of military organization. Despite the hardships they had endured on Arnold's forlorn expedition to Canada, about 340 of the nearly 500 men who had been with the 1st Battalion at Ticonderoga did join the Second Pennsylvania Regiment in time enough for Col. DeHaas and a portion of the unit to join Washington's army at Trenton and fight in the battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777, in a brigade of Pennsylvanians commanded by Brig. Curtailing his attempt to clear the far side first, Watson formed his men in column and ordered the first column forward with its captain out front. Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818-1872 from NARA microfilm publication T718. On November 3, 1783, after a distinguished career, the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment was officially mustered out in Philadelphia, then capital of the United States of America. It was here that they received a new commander, Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar, on the 1st of January 1778. The two dismounted troops armed and equipped as light infantry provided a defensive element to protect the camp from enemy surprise attack, and also provided a base of fire around which the mounted elements could maneuver. This collection is from Record Group 93, War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, and is National Archives Microfilm publication M246. An online listing of officers in the The regiment spent the winter months at Morristown, New Jersey, where it built up strength and was placed in Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne's division. In many instances, members of the militia gave no military service beyond occasional routine drill, and some escaped even that. Nothing will give me greater pleasure, than to do justice to your merit, and I shall miss no opportunity of declaring to Congress, the Commander-in-chief of the American Army, and to the world in general, the great sense I have of your merit and services. In the original concept rangers were full-time soldiers employed by the colonial governments to "range" between fixed frontier fortifications as a reconnaissance system to provide early warning of hostile raids. These concerns were overcome and the regiment joined the army later in the month. Ages ranged from sixteen to sixty years. The Pennsylvanians assigned to the fort, mostly from the Musket Battalion, are among those captured. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Organized spring 1777 at York, Pennsylvania, with personnel from York County. It sustained casualties at Paoli on Sept. 21, including one officer killed, and at the Battle of Germantown it was the left flank of the American troops attacking the British center that was mistakenly fired on by other American troops. The Regiment was authorized on September 16, 1776 in the Continental Army as the 11th Pennsylvania Regiment. With little winter clothing and half their muskets unservicable, the men struggled by foot, sloop, and bateaux into Canada, their strength sharply reduced by sickness. For an account of the arrangement and operations of the Pennsylvania Line soldiers see Colonel John Bull was appointed colonel on May 2, 1777, but was succeeded on June 17 by Colonel Walter Stewart. Brief History of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment of 1777. This Revolutionary War Militia Arrangement provides a breakdown of the battalions and companies raised in each county and the names of the commanding officers. Most of the regiment's men were recruited from Berks and Chester counties, although many came from Philadelphia and as far away as Northumberland County. Knowlton's Rangers, a provisional three-company unit of volunteers from Connecticut and Massachusetts line regiments under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton, came into being during the late summer of 1776 at New York City.