New Jersey Volunteers (Skinner's Greens) | |
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Active | 1776-1783 |
Country | Great Britain |
Allegiance | British Army |
Branch | British Provincial unit |
Type | dragoons (mounted infantry), (auxiliary troops) |
Role | intelligence, special operations, maneuver warfare, guerrilla warfare, light infantry, cavalry light infantry, cavalry, cattle raiding |
Size | six battalions (500 each), regiment (1,800) |
Garrison/HQ | New York City, Province of New York |
Nickname(s) | Jersey Volunteers, Skinner's Corps, Skinner's Greens, Skinners |
Engagements | American Revolutionary War
Battle of Long Island (1776)
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Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
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The New Jersey Volunteers, also known as Jersey Volunteers, "Skinners", Skinner's Corps, and Skinner's Greens (due to their green wool uniform coats), were a British provincial military unit of Loyalists, raised for service by Cortlandt Skinner, during the American Revolutionary War.
In 1776, some American loyalist soldiers formed the New Jersey Volunteers, which was raised in the Province of New York, first as three battalions, and eventually as six, of 500 men each.
The New Jersey Volunteers experienced combat first at the Battle of Long Island, during the British Campaign of New York offensive and after the defeat and flight of the Patriot forces, and was assigned to the initial British garrison of the occupation army, in New York City.
Brigadier General Cortlandt Skinner performed regular operations, in the region north of New York City, in Westchester County, New York, between Morrisania and the Croton Rivers, which was known as the "Neutral Ground". Lawlessness and guerrilla warfare occurred between Skinner's "Skinners", marauders and their rivals, the British loyalist raiders, De Lancey's "Cowboys" who, both, stole cattle, looted, and gathered military intelligence, in the New York countryside.
One battalion of New Jersey Volunteers was later sent to East Florida, assisting with the capture of Savannah; others served in the Battles of Eutaw Springs and King's Mountain, with a detachment participating with the Siege of Yorktown.
On September 6, 1781, the 3rd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers, participated with the raid on New London, Connecticut, commanded by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, and fought at the Battle of Groton Heights.
In 1783, after the British lost the war, the New Jersey Volunteers regiment was disbanded in the loyalist settlement of Digby, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in British Canada.
Stephanus van Cortlandt was the first native-born mayor of New York City, a position which he held from 1677 to 1678 and from 1686 to 1688. He was the patroon of Van Cortlandt Manor and was on the governor's executive council from 1691 to 1700. He was the first resident of Sagtikos Manor in West Bay Shore on Long Island, which was built around 1697. A number of his descendants married English military leaders and Loyalists active in the American Revolution, and their descendants became prominent members of English society.
Pierre Van Cortlandt was an American politician who served as the first lieutenant governor of New York.
Philip Van Cortlandt was an American surveyor, landowner, and politician from Westchester County, New York. Van Cortlandt was the son of Pierre Van Cortlandt and brother of Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr. He was a Continental Army officer during the American Revolution, and later served several terms in the United States House of Representatives.
Lt. Col. Charles Mawhood was a British army officer during the 18th century, most noted for his command during the Battle of Princeton.
The 1st Rhode Island Regiment was a regiment in the Continental Army raised in Rhode Island during the American Revolutionary War (1775–83). It was one of the few units in the Continental Army to serve through the entire war, from the siege of Boston to the disbanding of the Continental Army on November 3, 1783.
The Battle of Chestnut Neck was fought on October 6, 1778 in southern New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War, at Chestnut Neck, a settlement on the Little Egg Harbor River near the present-day city of Port Republic, New Jersey, which was used as a base by privateers. The British retrieved some supplies and destroyed others, as well as destroying some residences and other buildings.
"Pine Robbers" were loosely organized criminal gangs and marauders who were British sympathizers and Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War and used the Pine Barrens of New Jersey to wreak havoc in the area. The pine barrens created densely forested terrain where concealment of guerrilla and criminal activities could easily be carried out.
The Loyal American Regiment was a British Provincial regiment raised in 1777 for Loyalist service during the American Revolutionary War. The regiment fought in many engagements throughout the war and the men were among the thousands of loyalists who settled in Nova Scotia, after the regiment disbanded in 1783.
The Schuyler family was a prominent Dutch family in New York and New Jersey in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose descendants played a critical role in the formation of the United States, in leading government and business in North America and served as leaders in business, military, politics, and society. The other two most influential New York dynasties of the 18th and 19th centuries were the Livingston family and the Clinton family.
Major-General Oliver De Lancey was a merchant and Loyalist politician and soldier during the American Revolutionary War. His surname is also sometimes written as de Lancey or Delancey.
Cortlandt Skinner was the last Royal Attorney General of New Jersey and a brigadier general in a Loyalist force, the New Jersey Volunteers, also known as Skinner's Greens, during the American Revolutionary War.
De Lancey's Brigade, also known as De Lancey's Volunteers, De Lancey's Corps, De Lancey's Provincial Corps, De Lancey's Refugees, and the "Cowboys" or "Cow-boys", was a Loyalist British provincial military unit, raised for service during the American War of Independence. Its commanders were Brigadier General Oliver De Lancey and his nephew James De Lancey.
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 siege of Ninety Six was a siege in western South Carolina late in the American Revolutionary War. From May 22 to June 18, 1781, Continental Army Major General Nathanael Greene led 1,000 troops in a siege against the 550 Loyalists in the fortified village of Ninety Six, South Carolina. The 28-day siege centered on an earthen fortification known as Star Fort. Despite having more troops, Greene was unsuccessful in taking the town, and was forced to lift the siege when Lord Rawdon approached from Charleston with British troops.
Associators were members of 17th- and 18th-century volunteer military associations in the British American thirteen colonies and British Colony of Canada. These were more commonly known as Maryland Protestant, Pennsylvania, and American Patriot and British Loyalist colonial militias. But unlike militias, the associator military volunteers were exempt from regular mandatory military service. Other names used to describe associators were "Associations", "Associated", "Refugees", "Volunteers", and "Partisans".
James De Lancey was a colonial American who led one of the best known and most feared of the loyalist units, De Lancey's Brigade, during the American Revolution. He was known as the "Commander of the Cowboys" by the loyalists and by the Patriots he was known as the "Outlaw of the Bronx". He later became a political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Annapolis Township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1786 to 1794. He has become a controversial figure for unsuccessfully trying to use the courts to retrieve a slave he brought to Nova Scotia.
James Moody was a loyalist volunteer during the American Revolution who became a farmer and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Annapolis County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1793 to 1806. He wrote one of the most important loyalist memoires of the war.
Colonists who supported the British cause in the American Revolution were Loyalists, often called Tories, or, occasionally, Royalists or King's Men. George Washington's winning side in the war called themselves "Patriots", and in this article Americans on the revolutionary side are called Patriots. For a detailed analysis of the psychology and social origins of the Loyalists, see Loyalist.
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