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 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 ...

History

The Congressional resolution of June 14, 1775, authorized ten companies of expert riflemen to be raised for one-year enlistments as Continental troops. Maryland and Virginia were to raise two companies each, and Pennsylvania six. Pennsylvania frontiersman, however were so eager to participate that on June 22 Pennsylvania's quota of two was increased to eight, organized as a regiment known as the "Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment." A ninth company was added to the regiment on July 11. All thirteen companies were sent to Washington's army at Boston for use as

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

and later as special reserve forces. Seven companies of the regiment (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, and 9th) were made up of Scotch-Irish,

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

, Manx,

Free Quakers The Religious Society of Free Quakers, originally called "The Religious Society of Friends, by some styled the Free Quakers," was established on February 20, 1781 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More commonly known as Free Quakers, the Society was ...

, along with loyal English whigs; from Lancaster; the 6th and 7th companies were mostly men of German and

Dutch American Dutch Americans ( nl, Nederlandse Amerikanen) are Americans of Dutch descent whose ancestors came from the Netherlands in the recent or distant past. Dutch settlement in the Americas started in 1613 with New Amsterdam, which was exchanged with ...

descent, from Berks and

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

counties. Their standard weapon was the

long rifle The long rifle, also known as the longrifle, Kentucky rifle, Pennsylvania rifle, or American longrifle, a muzzle-loading firearm used for hunting and warfare, was one of the first commonly-used rifles. The American rifle was characterized by a ...

, which had greater range and accuracy than the

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

s used by most of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and

, but less weight of shot, slower rate of fire, and were without bayonets, making the regiment unsuitable for line-of-battle. Doctor

James Thacher James Thacher (February 14, 1754 – May 26, 1844) was an American physician and writer, born in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Biography When Thacher was 16 he became an apprentice for Abner Hersey, a doctor from Barnstable, Massachusetts. From ...

, a young doctor from Barnstable who observed the regiment during many of its battles, provided this description of the riflemen:

They are remarkably stout and hardy men; many of them exceeding six feet in height. They are dressed in white frocks or rifle shirts and round hats. There men are remarkable for the accuracy of their aim; striking a mark with great certainty at two hundred yards distance. At a review, a company of them, while in a quick advance, fired their balls into objects of seven inches diameter at the distance of 250 yards . . . their shot have frequently proved fatal to British officers and soldiers who expose themselves to view at more than double the distance of common musket shot. (Source: James Thacher, "Military Journal during the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783".)

As described under colours, the regiment in 1776 wore green hunting shirts with black caps trimmed white adorned with feather while the officers wore green coats with red facings and similar caps. By the Battle of Boston and by regulation at Valley Forge, blue coats with red facings were issued to the regiment, while most of the regiment's Riflemen continued to wear hunting shirts until wars end. The regiment saw action during the

New York Campaign The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between British forces under General Sir Willia ...

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American m ...

Second Battle of Trenton The Battle of the Assunpink Creek, also known as the Second Battle of Trenton, was a battle between American and British troops that took place in and around Trenton, New Jersey, on January 2, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War, an ...

, and

Battle of Princeton The Battle of Princeton was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Princeton, New Jersey on January 3, 1777, and ending in a small victory for the Colonials. General Lord Cornwallis had left 1,400 British troops under the comman ...

. At the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...

the regiment was led by Colonel James Chambers and assigned to Colonel

Thomas Hartley Thomas Hartley (September 7, 1748December 21, 1800) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician from York, Pennsylvania. Early life and education Hartley was born in Colebrookdale Township in the Province of Pennsylvania. At 18 years of ...

's 1st Pennsylvania Brigade. Under the direction of acting division commander Brigadier General

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

, the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment fought near Chadds Ford where it held the "post of honor", the far right flank of the division. At the

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Con ...

the regiment was brigaded with the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

, and

10th Pennsylvania Regiment The 10th Pennsylvania Regiment was an American infantry unit that served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Raised in September 1776 in the strength of eight companies, it was assigned to George Washington's main a ...

s. The unit again fought on the extreme right flank of the division just east of Germantown Road. Afterward, the regiment's Major Henry Miller boasted to his family about how the division routed the British troops opposed to them and overran their camp. The 1st was in action at the

Battle of Matson's Ford The Battle of Matson's Ford was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on December 11, 1777 in the area surrounding Matson's Ford (present-day Conshohocken and West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania). In this ser ...

on December 11, 1777. That same year,

Robert Blackwell Robert Alexander "Bumps" Blackwell (May 23, 1918 – March 9, 1985) was an American bandleader, songwriter, arranger, and record producer, best known for his work overseeing the early hits of Little Richard, as well as grooming Ray Char ...

became the chaplain and surgeon of the regiment—despite having no medical experience. The unit also 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 ...

in 1778 and the Battle of Springfield in 1780. Two companies, those of Captain William Hendricks and Captain Matthew Smith, accompanied

Arnold's expedition to Quebec In September 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War, Colonel Benedict Arnold led a force of 1,100 Continental Army troops on an expedition from Cambridge in the Province of Massachusetts Bay to the gates of Quebec City. The expeditio ...

and were captured in the Battle of Quebec. The regiment was furloughed June 11, 1783, at

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and disbanded on November 15, 1783. Company C of the 337th Engineer Battalion claims lineage from Captain Michael Doudeis Company of York, Pennsylvania, of the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment.

Notes

References

* *
''The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania''
Wayland F. Dunaway, 1944, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2002.

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 Pennsylvania Regiment Pennsylvania regiments of the Continental Army Military units and formations established in 1775 Military units and formations disestablished in 1783