The 1st Continental Artillery Regiment, also known as Harrison's Continental Artillery Regiment, was authorized on 26 November 1776 as Colonel
Charles Harrison Charles Harrison may refer to:
* Charles Harrison (artist) (1942-2009), British Conceptual artist & member of the artist group Art & Language
* Charles Harrison (Australian politician) (1915–1986), member of the South Australian House of Assembly ...
's Continental Artillery Regiment. Raised for service during 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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, as originally organized, the regiment comprised 10 artillery companies from Virginia. Two of the artillery companies existed since early 1776. The regiment was first assigned to the Southern Department, but in March 1778 it was reassigned to General
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
's main army. In August 1779, the unit was renamed the 1st Continental Artillery Regiment. It continued to serve with the main army until April 1780 when it was transferred to the Southern Department. In May 1780, Maryland artillery companies formally joined the regiment, making a total of 12 companies. In January 1781, the regiment was reorganized with 10 companies. Furloughed in the summer of 1783, the regiment was disbanded in November the same year. Elements of the regiment fought at
Monmouth
Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...
,
Charleston,
Camden,
Hobkirk's Hill,
Eutaw Springs,
Yorktown, and
Combahee River
The Combahee River ( ) is a short blackwater river in the southern Lowcountry region of South Carolina formed at the confluence of the Salkehatchie and Little Salkehatchie rivers near the Islandton community of Colleton County, South Carolina ...
.
History
Harrison's Continental Artillery Regiment became part of the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
on 26 November 1776 with Colonel Charles Harrison as commanding officer. The regiment consisted of two companies that were previously in existence. In the spring and summer of 1777, the regiment was organized in the strength of 10 companies. Harrison's second-in-command was Lieutenant Colonel
Edward Carrington
Edward Carrington (February 11, 1748 – October 28, 1810) was an American soldier and statesman from Virginia. During the American Revolutionary War he became a lieutenant colonel of artillery in the Continental Army. He distinguished himself a ...
. The regiment defended Virginia during the remainder of 1777. Each artillery company was composed of four officers, one sergeant, four corporals, four bombardiers, eight gunners, and 48
matrosses. This differed from the organization in the other artillery regiments.
The first pre-existing unit was the Virginia State Artillery Company which was authorized on 11 January 1776 and organized in the spring of that year at
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...
. It became part of Harrison's Regiment on 26 November. Its original captain was James Innis and its lieutenants were Harrison, Carrington, and Samuel Denney. On 19 March, the
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
adopted the first company and authorized a French adventurer, Dohicky Arundel to raise a second Virginia artillery company. At some point, Innis transferred to the infantry. The second unit became the Virginia Continental Artillery Company which was formed in the summer of 1776 at Williamsburg. It joined Harrison's Regiment on 27 November. The Virginia artillery played an active role during the
Battle of Gwynn's Island
The Battle of Gwynn's Island (July 8–10, 1776) saw Andrew Lewis lead patriot soldiers from Virginia against John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore's small naval squadron and British loyalist troops. In this American Revolutionary War action, accura ...
in July 1776. The only casualty was Arundel, who was killed when his experimental mortar burst.
The regiment was initially assigned to the Southern Department. On 13 March 1778, it was transferred to Washington's main army where elements fought at the
Battle of Monmouth
The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, co ...
on 28 June 1778. In that action, Carrington commanded some guns on the left flank under
William Alexander, Lord Stirling
William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (1726 – 15 January 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He was considered male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirling through Scottish line ...
. In 1778, three 106-man Maryland artillery companies joined the regiment on a provisional basis. The 1st and 2nd Maryland State Artillery Companies were authorized on 14 January 1776 and the 3rd Company was authorized on 23 October 1776. They joined the main army on 22 November 1777 as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Maryland Continental Artillery Companies. On 9 May 1780, the 1st Maryland Company formally became the 11th Company in the 1st Artillery Regiment and the 2nd and 3rd Maryland Companies became the 12th Company.
![Edward Carrington](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Edward_Carrington.jpg)
The four artillery regiments received numbers on 10 August 1779. Two boards of generals determined that the artillery regiments of Colonels
John Lamb and
John Crane could not trace continuity from General
Henry Knox
Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
's old
Continental Artillery Regiment
The Continental Artillery Regiment, also known as Gridley's Continental Artillery Regiment or Knox's Continental Artillery Regiment, was the only large American unit of artillery in the early part of the American Revolutionary War. It was authoriz ...
. Therefore, Harrison's Regiment became the 1st Continental Artillery Regiment while Lamb's was renamed the
2nd Continental Artillery Regiment and Crane's was numbered the
3rd Continental Artillery Regiment. The regiment of Colonel
Thomas Proctor became the
4th Continental Artillery Regiment.
Henry Knox, Washington's artillery chief, planned to have four 3-pound or 6-pound cannons attached to each infantry brigade. Though Knox preferred the more versatile French 4-pound cannon, he had to abandon a plan to adopt the piece because so much ammunition and material for the other guns were available. The army also maintained an artillery park of two 24-pound cannons, four 12-pound cannons, four 8-inch howitzers, eight 5½-inch howitzers, and 10 smaller field guns. Knox rotated the artillery companies between infantry brigades, artillery park, and garrisons so the men could be sufficiently trained. He discouraged artillery duels and encouraged his artillerymen to reserve their fire for infantry targets. This tactic proved very effective at Monmouth.
The 1st Artillery was reassigned to the Southern Department on 17 April 1780. Some units of the regiment fought at the
Siege of Charleston
The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The Britis ...
in the spring of 1780. When General
Johann de Kalb
Johann von Robais, Baron de Kalb (June 19, 1721 – August 19, 1780), born Johann Kalb, was a Franconian-born French military officer who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was mortally ...
was sent south in 1780, Carrington accompanied his division with three artillery companies. Harrison arrived and assumed command, due to his superior rank. At the
Battle of Camden
The Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780), also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces under Lieutenant General ...
on 16 August 1780, Harrison directed six artillery pieces. Two more guns were loaned to Colonel
Thomas Sumter
Thomas Sumter (August 14, 1734June 1, 1832) was a soldier in the Colony of Virginia militia; a brigadier general in the South Carolina militia during the American Revolution, a planter, and a politician. After the United States gained independen ...
's partisans and 10 were left in the rear for lack of horses to pull them. The regiment was reorganized to consist of 10 companies on 1 January 1781. At the
Battle of Hobkirk's Hill
The Battle of Hobkirk's Hill (sometimes referred to as the Second Battle of Camden) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on April 25, 1781, near Camden, South Carolina. A small American force under Nathanael Greene occupying Hobkir ...
on 25 April 1781, Harrison commanded three 6-pound cannons and 40 artillerists. At the
Battle of Eutaw Springs
The Battle of Eutaw Springs was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas. Both sides claimed victory.
Background
In early 1781, Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the ...
on 8 September 1781, the Americans had two 3-pounders under Captain William Gaines and two 6-pounders under Captain William Brown.
During the
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...
in the fall of 1781, Captain Whitehead Coleman's company of the 1st Artillery fought under the overall command of Carrington. In the
Battle of the Combahee River
The Battle of the Combahee River was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1782, near Beaufort, South Carolina, one of many such confrontations after the Siege of Yorktown to occur before the British evacuated Charle ...
on 27 August 1782, a howitzer and its crew under Captain Smith were captured by the British. The regiment was furloughed in the summer of 1783 at
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...
and
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. It was formally disbanded on 15 November 1783.
Service record
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:1st Continental Artillery Regiment
Military units and formations of the Continental Army
Military units and formations established in 1776
Military units and formations disestablished in 1783