The 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment, formed with lauded veterans from the 1st Pennsylvania Battalion, was raised in December 1776. The 1st Pennsylvania Battalion was raised in October 1775, under the command of Colonel John Bull for service with the Continental Army.
History
As a young officer, Colonel Walter Stewart was nicknamed "The Irish Beauty" by the ladies of Philadelphia. A close friend of Anthony Wayne's and well acquainted with George Washington, diarist Joseph Plumb Martin described Stewart as "an excellent officer, much beloved and respected by the troops of the Line he belonged to."
In January 1776, the 1st Pennsylvania Battalion took part in Benedict Arnold's failed attempt to capture Quebec. With little to no winter clothing and half their muskets not in workable condition, the men struggled into Canada, their strength reduced by sickness. By March 30, four of the companies had arrived at the American lines near Quebec, but before the remainder could come up the attack was abandoned and the battalion started the retreat back to New York. The Regiment was encamped with the American Army at Fort Ticonderoga. In October it participated in Anthony Wayne's defeat of the British at Valcour Island. It remained at Ticonderoga until November 13 to await the arrival of replacement troops. By December 8 a remnant of the First Battalion was at New Germantown, New Jersey, but most of the men had been mustered out of service.
During this time, Congress realized a more substantial national army with enlistments longer than 12 months would be needed to fight the war successfully. Pennsylvania was assigned to provide 12 of these "Continental" regiments and decided to use the battalions created in 1775 as the foundation for the state's quota. The 1st Pennsylvania Rifles, being the first unit formed by the state, became the First Pennsylvania Regiment, while the 1st Pennsylvania Battalion became the nucleus of the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment.
Despite hardship, about 340 of the nearly 500 men who had been with the 1st Battalion at Ticonderoga joined the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment in Trenton, where they served in a brigade under Brig. Gen. Thomas Mifflin and supported of Washington's Continental Army in the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777.
The regiment spent the winter months at Morristown, New Jersey, where it built up strength and was placed in Gen. Anthony Wayne's Division. Col. Henry Bicker was appointed to lead the regiment but did not actually join until the following October. In the meantime, the regiment was commanded by the senior officer present for duty, Major William Williams.
Williams led the unit in patrol actions in New Jersey during the spring and summer, including an engagement at Bound Brook on April 11 or 12 and a skirmish at Amboy on April 25 in which one officer was killed. At the Battle of Brandywine, the regiment was part of the force guarding Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, until the British stormed across the creek and compelled Wayne's Division to withdraw.
The unit sustained casualties, including one officer killed, at Paoli on September 21, at the Battle of Germantown when the left flank of the Continental Army's troops attacked the British center that was mistakenly fired on by other Continental Army troops. By the end of October, the unit had suffered substantially from all the fighting, including the loss of Major Williams who was captured at Germantown. Capt. Joseph Howell became acting regimental commander and the Second Pennsylvania Regiment numbered only 13 other officers and 74 enlisted men present for duty at the end of the month.
The few present were able to man a section of the army's first line of defense at Whitemarsh in early December, before moving with the rest of Washington's forces into the legendary winter encampment at Valley Forge. Here the regiment shared the sufferings of the Continental Line, trained in Von Steuben's new manual of arms and brought itself up to strength.
With France entering the conflict on the side of the new United States in May, the British abandoned Philadelphia and moved across New Jersey to the more easily defended stronghold of New York City.
On June 19, 1778, the Continental Army left Valley Forge in pursuit and engaged the British in the Battle of Monmouth on an extremely hot June 28. Here the Second Pennsylvania served in a provisional brigade commanded by Lt. Col. Aaron Burr and made a charge from the American left flank into a British force trying to assault the American center. It halted the British attack but was itself compelled to retire under subsequent artillery fire. The regiment lost two men wounded in this action.
On July 1, 1778, the regiment absorbed the remainder of the 13th Pennsylvania Regiment, most of its men's enlistments having expired. The colonel of the 13th, 23-year-old Walter Stewart, became the Second's new commander. The young officer, nicknamed "The Irish Beauty" by the ladies of Philadelphia, was a close friend of Anthony Wayne's and was well acquainted with Washington. He was an able leader with a reputation of taking care of the welfare of his men. Diarist Joseph Plumb Martin described him as "an excellent officer, much beloved and respected by the troops of the Line he belonged to."
Under Stewart, the regiment operated along the New York-New Jersey border and moved to Middlebrook, New Jersey, in early December for the winter of 1778-79. There is no particular record that the unit was involved in any fighting that summer, but in October 1779, it had 452 officers and men with Wayne at West Point. From there it moved to Morristown, New Jersey, for the encampment in Jockey Hollow where it endured the most brutal winter of the 18th century.
When spring came, the regiment was again actively engaged in patrols and skirmishes with British forays from New York. On May 18, the unit lost a junior officer killed in a fight at Paramus. On June 7. it fought at Connecticut Farms and on June 21 was at "the blockhouse" at Bergen Heights, where it joined the First Pennsylvania Regiment in a gallant but futile headlong charge on a sturdy Loyalist fortification despite the attempts of the officers to restrain the men. Two lieutenants were mortally wounded here and a number of men killed.
On September 21, the regiment was in Hartford, Connecticut, with Wayne to greet French General Rochambeau. On September 25, it rushed from Tappan, New York, to West Point to reinforce the garrison there after Benedict Arnold's treachery was discovered.
In December, the 2nd Regiment returned to Morristown for another winter. On January 1, 1781, a mutiny of the Pennsylvania troops transpired. At first, the regiment refused to join the mutineers, but were finally forced to when the other troops threatened them at bayonet point and with artillery.
The resulting restructuring of the Pennsylvania Line perpetuated a 2nd Regiment among the state's six reorganized units, with Walter Stewart still in command. However, the men who remained in service were all redistributed among all these units and this establishment was mostly on paper.
The old 2nd Pennsylvania ceased to exist before the final campaign in Virginia and South Carolina, although former members of the regiment were battle casualties at Green Springs on July 6 and Yorktown in October.
Related Research Articles
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia after the war's outbreak. The Continental Army was created to coordinate military efforts of the colonies in the war against the British, who sought to maintain control over the American colonies. General George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and maintained this position throughout the war.
The 2nd Canadian Regiment (1776–1783), also known as Congress' Own or Hazen's Regiment, was authorized on January 20, 1776, as an Extra Continental regiment and raised in the province of Quebec for service with the American Continental Army under the command of Colonel Moses Hazen. All or part of the regiment saw action at Staten Island, Brandywine, Germantown and the Siege of Yorktown. Most of its non-combat time was spent in and around New York City as part of the forces monitoring the British forces occupying that city. The regiment was disbanded on November 15, 1783, at West Point, New York.
The 1st New Jersey Regiment was the first organized militia regiment in New Jersey, formed in 1673 in Piscataway "to repel foreign Indians who come down from upper Pennsylvania and western New York to our shores and fill (themselves) with fishes and clams and on the way back make a general nuisance of themselves by burning hay stacks, corn fodder and even barns." The first commander and founder of the regiment was Captain Francis Drake (1615-1687) who served from 1673 to 1685. All of New Jersey's regular organized military forces trace their lineage to this first provincial militia unit.
The 2nd New Jersey Regiment was raised, on 9 October 1775, at Trenton, New Jersey, for service with the Continental Army under the command of Colonel William Maxwell. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Trois-Rivières, Battle of Valcour Island, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Crooked Billet, Battle of Monmouth, Sullivan Expedition, Battle of Springfield and the Battle of Yorktown. The regiment was furloughed, on 6 June 1783, at Newburgh, New York, and disbanded 3 November 1783.
The 1st Pennsylvania Regiment - originally mustered as the 1st Pennsylvania Rifles; also known as the 1st Continental Line and 1st Continental Regiment, was raised under the command of Colonel William Thompson for service in the Continental Army.
The 6th Pennsylvania Regiment, first known as the 5th Pennsylvania Battalion, was a unit of the United States of America (U.S.) Army, raised December 9, 1775, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for service with the Continental Army. The regiment would see action during the New York Campaign, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth, and Green Spring. The regiment was disbanded on January 1, 1783.
The 8th Pennsylvania Regiment or Mackay's Battalion was an American infantry unit that became part of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized for frontier defense in July 1776, the eight-company unit was originally called Mackay's Battalion after its commander, Colonel Aeneas Mackay. Transferred to the main army in November 1776, the unit was renamed the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment on 1 January 1777. It completed an epic winter march from western Pennsylvania to New Jersey, though Mackay and his second-in-command both died soon afterward. In March 1777 Colonel Daniel Brodhead assumed command. The regiment was engaged at the Battles of Bound Brook, Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown in 1777. A body of riflemen were detached from the regiment and fought at Saratoga. Assigned to the Western Department in May 1778, the 8th Pennsylvania gained a ninth company before seeing action near Fort Laurens and in the Sullivan Expedition in 1778 and 1779. The regiment consolidated with the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment in January 1781 and ceased to exist.
The 11th Pennsylvania Regiment or Old Eleventh was authorized on 16 September 1776 for service with the Continental Army. On 25 October, Richard Humpton was named colonel. In December 1776, the regiment was assigned to George Washington's main army and was present at Assunpink Creek and fought at Princeton in January 1777. During the spring, the unit assembled at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a strength of eight companies. The soldiers were recruited from Philadelphia and four nearby counties. On 22 May 1777, the regiment became part of the 2nd Pennsylvania Brigade. The 11th was in the thick of the action at Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown in 1777. It was present at White Marsh and Monmouth. On 1 July 1778, the unit was consolidated with the 10th Pennsylvania Regiment, and the 11th Regiment ceased to exist. Humpton took command of the reorganized unit.
The 8th Virginia Regiment or German Regiment was an infantry unit that served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized in January 1776, the regiment was raised from men of several northwestern counties in the strength of 10 companies. Its first commander was Colonel Peter Muhlenberg, a clergyman and militia leader. The unit marched to defend Charleston, South Carolina in 1776, but saw no fighting. At the start of 1777, the 8th Virginia moved to join George Washington's main army. When Muhlenberg was promoted to general officer, Colonel Abraham Bowman took command of the unit.
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.
William Maxwell was an Irish-born brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
John Doughty was an American military officer who briefly served as the senior officer of the United States Army in 1784. Holding the rank of major at the time, he bears the distinction of being the lowest ranked individual ever to serve as the senior most United States Army officer.
Israel Shreve was a colonel in the 2nd New Jersey Regiment during the American Revolution. He fought at the Battle of Brandywine and at the Battle of Germantown and wintered at Valley Forge.
Walter Stewart was an Irish-born American general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Hartley's Additional Continental Regiment was an American infantry unit of the Continental Army that served for two years during the American Revolutionary War. The regiment was authorized in January 1777 and Thomas Hartley was appointed its commander. The unit comprised eight companies from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. When permanent brigades were formed in May 1777, the regiment was transferred to the 1st Pennsylvania Brigade. Hartley's Regiment fought at Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown in 1777. The unit helped defend the Pennsylvania frontier against indigenous raids in the Summer and early Fall of 1778. In January 1779, following a resolution of the Continental Congress the regiment, along with Patton's Additional Continental Regiment and part of Malcolm's Additional Continental Regiment, were combined to form a complete battalion known as the "New" 11th Pennsylvania Regiment. The 11th participated in the Sullivan Expedition in the summer of that year. In January 1781 the 11th merged with the 3rd Pennsylvania Regiment and ceased to exist.
Grayson's Additional Continental Regiment was an American infantry unit that served for two years and three months in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Like other Additional Regiments, Grayson's remained directly under George Washington's control, unlike state regiments. Authorized in January 1777, the unit's nine companies were recruited from the colonies of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Raised by Colonel William Grayson, the regiment participated in actions in Northern New Jersey in early 1777, at Brandywine in September 1777, at Germantown in October 1777, and at Monmouth in June 1778. In April 1779 the regiment was absorbed by Gist's Additional Continental Regiment and ceased to exist.
The "German Battalion" was an infantry formation of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized in May 1776 as an extra Continental regiment, the battalion recruited ethnic Germans from Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Spencer's Additional Continental Regiment, sometimes referred to as the 5th New Jersey Regiment, was an American infantry unit that served for four years in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress authorized sixteen "Additional" Continental Regiments in late 1776 and Colonel Oliver Spencer accepted command of this regiment with rank from January 15, 1777.
Oliver Spencer was a New Jersey officer during the American Revolutionary War and received a special commission to enlist and lead one of 16 Additional Continental Regiments. He was born in Connecticut and later moved to New Jersey, where he married Anna Ogden and became a tanner. He joined the revolutionary cause and engaged a British force in December 1776 as a major of New Jersey militia. On 15 January 1777 during the Forage War, his militiamen captured 70 German mercenaries. That month George Washington authorized him to recruit Spencer's Additional Continental Regiment. As colonel, he led this unit at Brandywine and Germantown in 1777 and Monmouth in 1778. His regiment participated in the Sullivan Expedition in 1779 and was disbanded at the beginning of 1781. The conflict having ruined his home and his tanning business, he moved to Ohio, where he served as a probate judge and militia commander. He was the nephew of General Joseph Spencer.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Second Continental Congress 
