Georgia Regiment 1st Georgia Regiment Georgia Battalion | |
---|---|
Active | 1775–1780 1781–1783 |
Country | United Colonies of America |
Allegiance | Continental Congress of the United States |
Branch | Continental Army |
Type | Line Infantry |
Size | Regiment |
Part of | Southern Department |
Garrison/HQ | |
Nickname(s) | "First Georgia" |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Lachlan McIntosh |
The 1st Georgia Regiment, or as it was also known, the 1st Georgia was a regiment of the Continental Army, and formed part of the Georgia Line.
On 4 November 1775, the Georgia Regiment was authorised in the Continental Army, and organised from 20 January–28 April 1776 at Savannah, Georgia, consisting of eight companies (the 8th being a rifle company). On 27 February 1776 the regiment joined the Southern Department/Army. Redesignated 5 July 1776 as the 1st Georgia Regiment on formation of the 2nd Georgia and 3rd Georgia Regiments. Assigned 23 December 1777 to the Georgia Brigade, an element of the Southern Department.
In 1777 the regiment was still short of men, mostly in-part due to Georgia being sparsely populated, and the colonel reported that only 10 riflemen of the rifle company had been found, and needed additional soldiers soon. The regiment soon began to lose many of its men to desertion, disease, and combat, but elements of it served on until 1779 and 1780 when the last of the Georgia Line, six officers without men, were captured at Charleston, South Carolina. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The Continental Army’s need for a force in Georgia to counter incursions by Loyalists and their Native allies led to the creation of the 1st Georgia Regiment. The city of St. Augustine was at the time controlled by the British and functioned as a base out of which to operate. St. Augustine was the objective of three expeditions to East Florida in which the 1st Georgia Regiment participated led under Colonel McIntosh. Each of these missions were deemed a failure for various issues such as a lack of leadership and organizational abilities of the revolutionary government. While not engaged in battles or expeditions the First Georgia Regiment was defensively stationed around the frontier of the state.
Captured 12 May 1780 at Charleston, South Carolina, by the British Army during the Siege of Charleston. Redesignated 1 January 1781 as the Georgia Regiment once again. Reorganised and redesignated 1 January 1783 as the Georgia Battalion, and consisted of three companies, along with two troops of cavalry. Furloughed in summer 1783 at Charleston, South Carolina, and disbanded 15 November 1783. [1] [3] [4] [5]
There is very little information on the uniform of the regiment, but the norm seems to have been hunting shirts and gaiter trousers. [4] The regiment was also notably undersupplied and undertrained. [6]
Engagements which the regiment took part in were: [1] [5] [6]
Commanding officers of the regiment were: [2] [3]
The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell. The siege itself consisted of a joint Franco-American attempt to retake Savannah, from September 16 to October 18, 1779. On October 9 a major assault against the British siege works failed. During the attack, Polish nobleman Count Casimir Pulaski, leading the combined cavalry forces on the American side, was mortally wounded. With the failure of the joint attack, the siege was abandoned, and the British remained in control of Savannah until July 1782, near the end of the war.
Richard Howly, sometimes spelled Howley, was an American planter and lawyer from Liberty County, Georgia. He served briefly as the governor of Georgia in 1780, as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1780 and 1781, and as chief justice of Georgia in 1782 and 1783.
The 1st North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army was raised on September 1, 1775, at Wilmington, North Carolina. In January 1776 the organization contained eight companies. Francis Nash was appointed colonel in April 1776. The regiment was present at the defense of Charleston in 1776. It transferred from the Southern Department to George Washington's main army in February 1777. At that time, Thomas Clark became colonel of the 1st Regiment. The regiment became part of General Francis Nash's North Carolina Brigade in July.
The 2nd North Carolina Regiment was an American infantry unit that was raised for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. In 1776 the regiment helped defend Charleston, South Carolina. Ordered to join George Washington's main army in February 1777, the regiment subsequently fought at Brandywine and Germantown during the Philadelphia Campaign. After most other North Carolina regiments were sent home to recruit, the 1st and 2nd Regiments remained with the main army and fought at Monmouth in June 1778. The regiment was transferred to the Southern Department and was captured by the British army in May 1780 at the Siege of Charleston. Together with the 1st Regiment, the unit was rebuilt and fought capably at Eutaw Springs. The 2nd was furloughed in April 1783 and officially dissolved in November 1783.
The 3rd North Carolina Regiment was raised on 16 January 1776 at Wilmington, North Carolina for service with the Continental Army. In April, Jethro Sumner was appointed colonel. The regiment was present at the defense of Charleston in June 1776. The 3rd Regiment transferred from the Southern Department to George Washington's main army in February 1777. Assigned to Francis Nash's North Carolina Brigade in July 1777, it soon saw action at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and was present at White Marsh. Sumner went home ill in early 1778. Together with the 4th, 5th, and 6th North Carolina Regiments, the 3rd Regiment was reduced to a cadre and sent home to recruit up to strength on 1 June 1778. The rebuilt regiment returned to the main army in late 1778, but it was reduced to a cadre again in April 1779 and sent back to its home state. Assigned to the North Carolina Brigade, the regiment fought at the Siege of Charleston where it was captured by the British Army on 12 May 1780. The regiment was officially disbanded on 15 November 1783.
The 1st South Carolina Regiment (Infantry) was authorized on June 6, 1775, at Charleston, South Carolina, for service with the South Carolina State Troops. On November 4, 1775, the unit was adopted into the Continental Army and on February 27, 1776 was assigned to the Southern Department. The regiment saw action at the Siege of Savannah and the Siege of Charleston. The British Army captured the regiment at Charleston on May 12, 1780, together with the rest of the Southern Department.
The 3rd South Carolina Regiment was an infantry regiment of the South Carolina Line during the American Revolutionary War. Raised in the western part of South Carolina, the regiment fought in the Siege of Savannah and the Siege of Charleston, surrendering to British forces in the latter.
The 4th South Carolina Regiment was raised on November 13, 1775, at Charleston, South Carolina, for service with the South Carolina Troops and later became part of Continental Army.
The 5th South Carolina Regiment was raised on February 22, 1776, at Charleston, South Carolina, for service with the South Carolina Troops and later assigned to the Continental Army. The regiment saw action at the Siege of Savannah. The regiment was merged into the 1st South Carolina Regiment on February 11, 1780.
The 6th South Carolina Regiment was authorized on 28 February 1776 in the South Carolina State Troops and was organized during the spring of 1776 as five companies of volunteers from the northwestern region of the colony of South Carolina. It may have been composed exclusively of expert riflemen from the colony.
The 2nd Georgia Regiment, or as it was also known, the 2nd Georgia, was a regiment of the Continental Army, which formed part of the Georgia Line. Due to bad recruitment and horrible discipline, the 2nd-4th Georgia regiments were all later disbanded, and personnel joined the (1st) Georgia Regiment.
The 4th Georgia Regiment was an American infantry unit raised for service with the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. The regiment was formed in February 1777 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from British deserters and Colonel John White was appointed its commander. The unit soon acquired a bad reputation for plundering the area in which it camped and was moved far from Philadelphia. In December 1777 it was assigned to the Georgia Brigade and took part in operations in Florida in 1778. It fought at Savannah in 1779 and was captured by the British at Charleston in May 1780.
The southern theater of the American Revolutionary War was the central theater of military operations in the second half of the American Revolutionary War, 1778–1781. It encompassed engagements primarily in Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Tactics consisted of both strategic battles and guerrilla warfare.
The Capture of Savannah, sometimes the First Battle of Savannah, or the Battle of Brewton Hill, was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on December 29, 1778 pitting local American Patriot militia and Continental Army units, holding the city, against a British invasion force, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell. The British capture of the city led to an extended occupation and was the opening move in the British southern strategy to regain control of the rebellious Southern provinces by appealing to the relatively strong Loyalist sentiment there.
The Province of Georgia was a significant battleground in the American Revolution. Its population was at first divided about exactly how to respond to revolutionary activities and heightened tensions in other provinces. Georgia was the only colony not present in the First Continental Congress in 1774. When violence broke out in 1775, radical Patriots took control of the provincial government, and drove many Loyalists out of the province. Georgia subsequently took part to the Second Continental Congress with the other colonies. In 1776 and 1778, Georgia served as the staging ground for several important raids into British-controlled Florida. The British army captured Savannah in 1778, and the American and French forces failed to recapture the city during the Siege of Savannah in 1779. Georgia remained under British control until their evacuation from Savannah in 1782.
Lachlan McIntosh was a Scottish American military and political leader during the American Revolution and the early United States. In a 1777 duel, he fatally shot Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence ten months earlier.
The Edenton District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). This unit was established by the North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 4, 1776, and disbanded at the end of the war.