1st American Regiment, also known as Jackson's Continental Regiment of 1783–1784, was the last unit in the

Continental Army 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 Co ...

, retained after the close of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. This regiment, under the command of Colonel Henry Jackson of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, was not the same unit as Jackson's Additional Continental Regiment of 1777, which had become the

16th Massachusetts Regiment The 16th Massachusetts Regiment, also known as Henry Jackson's Additional Continental Regiment, was a unit of the American Massachusetts Line, raised on January 12, 1777, under Colonel Henry Jackson at Boston, Massachusetts. The regiment would ...

in 1780 and had been disbanded in 1781. Equally, this regiment should not be confused with the

First American Regiment The First American Regiment (also known as Harmar's Regiment, The United States Regiment, The Regiment of Infantry, 1st Sub-legion, 1st Regiment of Infantry and 1st Infantry Regiment) was the first peacetime regular army infantry unit authorized ...

of 1784–1791, which was originally commanded by Colonel

Josiah Harmar Josiah Harmar (November 10, 1753August 20, 1813) was an officer in the United States Army during the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. He was the senior officer in the Army for six years and seven months (August 1784 to ...

, has remained in service to the present, and is now the 3d United States Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). However, when Jackson's Regiment was disbanded in 1784, one company remained in service and was assigned to Harmar's Regiment. The remaining company, under Captain

John Doughty John Doughty (July 25, 1754September 16, 1826) 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 rank ...

, had been raised by

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

in 1776 and had ended the war as the 2d Company,

2nd Continental Artillery Regiment 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 comp ...

. Through various reorganizations, the company has continued in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

to the present day.

Peacetime regular army

The ratification of the Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783, presented the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

with the question of providing the newly independent United States with a peacetime Regular Army. Congress considered several plans for a permanent peace establishment, but failed to adopt any of them.Wright, ''Continental Army,'' 179-182. A compromise was found when the Congress finally settled on the expedient of provisionally organizing a single regiment to remain in service. Command of the new regiment was given to Colonel Henry Jackson.

Organization

Jackson's Regiment was authorized as an element of the

on October 23, 1783. Under this arrangement the regiment and the Continental Army were virtually the same thing. It was organized at

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

, on November 3, 1783. The field units which had composed the Continental Army were disbanded in November 1783, and Jackson's Regiment was the force which succeeded them. His regiment was to consist of a regimental headquarters and nine companies. Most, but not all, of the men under his command were veterans of the

Massachusetts Line The Massachusetts Line was those units within the Continental Army that were assigned to Massachusetts at various times by the Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War. These, together with similar contingents from the other twel ...

. In addition to the Massachusetts veterans, Captain

's Company of the

was attached to the regiment, as were the remaining officers and men of the Corps of Invalids. The 2nd Continental Artillery had been placed on the New York quota in 1781 and the Corps of Invalids had been raised at large.

Doughty's Artillery Company

Doughty's Company was originally authorized on January 6, 1776, by the New York Provincial Congress as the New York Provincial Artillery Company. The company was organized at New York City in the spring of 1776. Its first commander was Captain

. On March 17, 1777, the company, then commanded by Captain

, was assigned to Lamb's Continental Artillery Regiment. In August 1779 it was numbered the 2nd Company in the 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment.McKenney, ''Field Artillery'', 70.

Corps of Invalids

On June 20, 1777, the

resolved to raise a Corps of Invalids. The Invalids, a body of physically disabled Continental Army veterans, were organized as a regiment of eight companies under the command of Colonel

Lewis Nicola Lewis Nicola (1717 – August 9, 1807) was an Irish-born American military officer, merchant, and writer who held various military and civilian positions throughout his career. Nicola is most notable for authoring the Newburgh letter, which ur ...

. They were intended to serve as guards at magazines, hospitals, and similar establishments. It was also hoped that the corps could serve as a military school, but this seems not to have happened.

Strength of the 1st American Regiment, January 3, 1784

On January 3, 1784, the Commanding General of the Army, Major General

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...

, submitted to Congress a list of Continental Army officers remaining in service, and a return showing the organization of Jackson's Regiment. The regiment consisted of 775 officers and men: *Infantry **1 colonel; 1 lieutenant colonel; 1 major; 9 captains; 9 lieutenants; 9 ensigns; 1 adjutant; 1 quartermaster; 1 paymaster; 1 surgeon; 1 surgeon's mate; 1 sergeant major; 1 quartermaster sergeant; 1 drum major; 45 sergeants; 16 drummers and fifers; and 500 "rank and file" (corporals and privates) * Artillery ** 1 major; 1 captain; 2 captain lieutenants; 7 lieutenants; 1 adjutant; 10 sergeants; 12 corporals; 2 bombardiers; 2 gunners; and 100 matrosses * Invalids ** 4 captains; 4 lieutenants; 2 sergeants; 1 drummer; and 27 rank and file

Service history

The First American Regiment served in garrison at

, until its disbandment. When the British Army evacuated

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

as a result of negotiations between

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and Sir Guy Carleton, Colonel Jackson had immediate command of the 800-man column that marched into New York City on November 25, 1783, under General

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, to formally take possession of the city for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Disbandment of the Regiment

On June 2, 1784, Congress resolved:

Alexander Hamilton Battery

Captain Doughty received the

brevet rank In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

of major on September 30, 1783.Heitman, ''Historical Register'', 202. He was the major of artillery appearing in the return submitted by General Knox. The Congressional resolve of June 2, 1784, caused Major Doughty's Artillery Company to continue in service, as his company was the unit retained. To his company belongs the distinction of being the only element of the

to continue in service after the war as an element of the

. On the following day, June 3, 1784, the

resolved to raise a new regiment, the

of 1784-1791 (which exists today as the 3rd Infantry, a.k.a. "The Old Guard"), consisting of eight infantry companies and two artillery companies. Captain Doughty furnished the senior company. The 2d Artillery Company, First American Regiment, was raised in Pennsylvania and commanded by Captain Thomas Douglass,McKenney, ''Field Artillery'', 71. who had been an officer in Thomas Proctor's 4th Continental Artillery Regiment from April 1, 1777 to January 1, 1783 and served as a captain in the First American Regiment from August 1784 to October 1785. The organization of the United States Army changed frequently in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century; but on June 1, 1821, the company that had been commanded by Major Doughty in 1784 was designated Company "F," 4th United States Regiment of Artillery. The company retained this designation until 1901. The company received a different designation in that year and, in a further reorganization on May 31, 1907, it became Battery "D," 5th United States Field Artillery Regiment. The battery served in France in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as an element of the 1st Division,

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

. On October 1, 1940, the battery became Battery "D," 5th Field Artillery Battalion. It served in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After a further period of reorganization, the unit was redesignated the 1st Rocket Howitzer Battalion, 5th Artillery, on April 20, 1960, and as the 1st Battalion, 5th Artillery (Alexander Hamilton Battery), on January 20, 1964.

Senior officers

The following is a list of officers of Jackson's Regiment, with the rank of captain or higher, which served from November 1783 to June 1784. *Colonel Henry Jackson *Lieutenant Colonel

William Hull William Hull (June 24, 1753 – November 29, 1825) was an American military officer and politician. A veteran of the American Revolutionary War, he later served as governor of the Michigan Territory (1805–1813), where he negotiated land cessi ...

*Major

Caleb Gibbs Caleb Gibbs (1748–1818) was the first commander of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard, the unit that protected General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Biography Gibbs was born on February 28, 1748, in Newport, Rhode Island. ...

*Captain Job Sumner *Captain Joseph Williams *Captain Isaac Frye *Captain Elnathan Haskell *Captain Thomas Hunt *Captain John Mills *Captain John Hobby *Captain Joseph Potter *Captain Simon Jackson *Captain

List of Officers of the Army of the United States, 1779-1900. William H. Powell. Hamersly & Co. New York. 1900. pg. 33.

References

External links

compiled by the

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:1st American Regiment (1783-1784) Military units and formations of the Continental Army Massachusetts regiments of the Continental Army Military units and formations established in 1783 Military units and formations disestablished in 1784