History
Patton's Additional Continental Regiment was authorized on 11 January 1777 for service with the Continental Army and assigned to the main army. [1] John Patton was appointed colonel of the regiment. [2] Patton had distinguished himself in command of one battalion of the Pennsylvania State Rifle Regiment during the New York and New Jersey Campaign. George Washington allowed the colonels of his Additional Regiments considerable authority to select their officers. Assistant Quartermaster General John Parke was named lieutenant colonel while Brigade Major Peter Scull accepted the position of major. [3]
Patton's Additional Continental Regiment was organized in the spring of 1777 of men from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The unit had a strength of seven companies. On 22 May the regiment was assigned to the 4th Virginia Brigade, [1] which was commanded by Charles Scott. [4] It took part in the June 1777 campaign in Northern New Jersey and the Philadelphia Campaign in late 1777. [1]
At the Battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778, the regiment was led by Lieutenant Colonel Parke. The unit fought in William Grayson's 600-man and two-gun detachment together with David Cook's company of the 3rd Continental Artillery Regiment, Grayson's Additional Continental Regiment, and the converged 4th, 8th, and 12th Virginia Regiments under James Woods. [5] Charles Lee ordered Grayson's detachment to lead his Advanced Guard in the approach march to Monmouth Courthouse. Lee placed Grayson, Henry Jackson's detachment and Richard Butler's detachment, and Eleazer Oswald's four guns under Anthony Wayne. [6] Between 9:30 and 10:00 AM, Wayne's group engaged in a somewhat confused skirmish with the British rear guard. [7] At this point, the British commander Sir Henry Clinton mounted a powerful counterattack with 6,000 men and Lee lost control of his division, which began to retreat. [8] To his amazement, Washington saw Lee's troops retreating toward him, led by Grayson's and Patton's Regiments. [9] After Washington and his generals organized a new battle line, Lee's division regrouped behind the main body and the second half of the battle began. [10]
Patton's Regiment transferred from the 4th Virginia Brigade to the Highlands Department on 22 July 1778. The regiment ceased to exist on 13 January 1779 when it consolidated with Hartley's Additional Continental Regiment. [1] The exception was Captain Allen McLane's Delaware company which separated from Patton's Regiment on 16 December 1778 and joined the 1st Delaware Regiment in the 3rd Virginia Brigade. On 13 July 1779, McLane's company transferred to Lee's Legion as the 4th Dismounted Troop. [11]
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 3rd Maryland Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It served from 1776 to 1783, mostly in the Middle Atlantic Region of the conflict.
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 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 of 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.
John Patton (Colonel) was born 1745 in Sligo, Ireland. He immigrated to Philadelphia about 1765. John Patton married Jane Davis on March 7, 1777 and they had 11 children: Rachael, Benjamin, William, John, Francis, Joseph, Edward, Anna, Jane, Samuel and Ellen. John Patton died 1804 in Centre County, Pennsylvania.
The 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment also known as Lamb's Continental Artillery Regiment was authorized on 1 January 1777 as Colonel John Lamb's Continental Artillery Regiment. As originally constituted, the regiment included 12 artillery companies from New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. The bulk of the regiment served in the Hudson Highlands, though some companies fought with George Washington's main army from 1777 to 1779.
The 4th Continental Artillery Regiment, also known as Reign’s Continental Artillery Regiment, was an American military unit during the American Revolutionary War. The regiment became part of the Continental Army on 10 June 1777 as Colonel Thomas Proctor's Continental Artillery Regiment. It was made up of eight artillery companies from eastern Pennsylvania. At the time of the regiment's formation, two companies were already in existence, one from as early as October 1775. One company served at Trenton in December 1776 where it performed well in action. In February 1777, Pennsylvania expanded its two-company battalion into an eight-company regiment. After officially joining the Continental Army, the regiment saw much fighting in the Philadelphia campaign in late 1777. Elements of Proctor's Regiment fought at Monmouth in June 1778 and joined the Sullivan Expedition in summer 1779.
Walter Stewart was an Irish-born American general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Charles Harrison was born into the noted Harrison family of Virginia. His brother was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and his nephew William Henry Harrison later became president. At the beginning of the American Revolutionary War he became lieutenant in a company of artillery from Virginia. When the state expanded its small artillery battalion into a regiment in November 1776, Harrison was appointed commander with the rank of colonel. Initially named Harrison's Continental Artillery Regiment, the unit was renamed the 1st Continental Artillery Regiment in August 1779. He joined George Washington's main army in time to fight at Monmouth. In 1780 he led his gunners at Camden and the following year he commanded Nathanael Greene's artillery at Hobkirk's Hill.
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 Colonel 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 Indian 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 new 11th participated in the Sullivan Expedition in the summer of that year. In January 1781 the new 11th merged with the 3rd Pennsylvania Regiment and ceased to exist.
Forman's Additional Continental Regiment was an American infantry unit that served for little more than two years during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized on 11 January 1777, the unit was recruited from southern New Jersey and Maryland. Raised by Colonel David Forman in early 1777, it saw service with the Continental Army in the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 and 1778. In April 1779 the regiment was absorbed by Spencer's Additional Continental Regiment,
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.
Richard Parker was an American colonel who fought in the American Revolutionary War. Son of prominent Virginia jurist Richard Parker, Parker received an officer's commission in a Virginia regiment early in the conflict. He probably was present at Great Bridge and Norfolk. Promoted to major, he fought at Trenton in December 1776 and commanded the regiment at Second Trenton and Princeton in January 1777. At Brandywine in September 1777 he led a detachment of light infantry in delaying the British. The next month he fought at Germantown. Promoted to colonel at Valley Forge, he led a picked detachment at Monmouth in June 1778. In May 1779, George Washington ordered him back to Virginia to recruit a new regiment. After being sent south with a new unit of reinforcements for Charleston, South Carolina in late 1779, he died of wounds received at the Siege of Charleston in 1780.
Gist's Additional Continental Regiment was an American infantry unit that served for four years in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized in January 1777, the unit was intended to be made up of four companies of light infantry and 500 Indian scouts. In practice, only three companies were recruited from the colonies of Virginia and Maryland. George Washington appointed noted frontiersman Nathaniel Gist as colonel in command. Two companies commanded by Captains John Gist and Joseph Smithand were attached to the 3rd Maryland Regiment while one company commanded by Captain Samuel Lapsley was attached to the 12th Virginia Regiment during the Philadelphia Campaign in summer and fall 1777, and at Monmouth in June 1778.
Thruston's Additional Continental Regiment was an American infantry unit that served for a little more than two years in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized in March 1777, four companies were organized in Virginia during the spring and summer of 1777. George Washington appointed influential Shenandoah Valley political leader Charles Mynn Thruston as colonel in command. The regiment participated in the Philadelphia Campaign in late 1777. One company was detached from the regiment on 4 April 1778 and became part of Hartley's Additional Continental Regiment. The unit was present in the Monmouth Campaign in June 1778. What was left of the regiment was attached to Grayson's Additional Continental Regiment on 15 November 1778. Grayson's and Thruston's Regiments were absorbed by Gist's Additional Continental Regiment on 22 April 1779 and Thruston's Regiment ceased to exist.
The German Battalion or German Regiment or 8th Maryland was an American infantry unit that served for about four-and-a-half years in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized in May 1776 as an Extra Continental regiment, the unit recruited ethnic Germans from Maryland and Pennsylvania
Spencer's Additional Continental Regiment or 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 the unit in January 1777 and it assembled at Monmouth Court House, New Jersey in the spring. Commanded by Colonel Oliver Spencer, the regiment consisted of one Pennsylvania and seven New Jersey companies. It transferred into the 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade in May 1777 and fought at Brandywine and Germantown in the late summer and fall of 1777. The unit went through the winter at Valley Forge and was present at the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. The regiment absorbed Forman's Additional Continental Regiment and part of Malcolm's Additional Continental Regiment in April 1779. Spencer's Regiment went on the Sullivan Expedition in the summer of 1779 where it fought together with the New Jersey Brigade. The unit was transferred to the Highland Department in September 1780 and disbanded in January 1781.
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.
Continental Congress