The 1st Georgia Regiment, or as it was also known, the 1st Georgia was a regiment 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 ...

, and formed part of the

Georgia Line The Georgia Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Georgia Line" referred to the quota of one infantry regiment which was assigned to Georgia at various times by the Continental Congress. The term also included the three infan ...

History

On 4 November 1775, the Georgia Regiment was authorised in the

, and organised from 20 January–28 April 1776 at Savannah, Georgia, consisting of eight companies (the 8th being a rifle company). On 27 February 1776 the regiment joined the Southern Department/Army. Redesignated 5 July 1776 as the 1st Georgia Regiment on formation of the 2nd Georgia and 3rd Georgia Regiments. Assigned 23 December 1777 to the Georgia Brigade, an element of the Southern Department. In 1777 the regiment was still short of men, mostly in-part due to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

being sparsely populated, and the colonel reported that only 10 riflemen of the rifle company had been found, and needed additional soldiers soon. The regiment soon began to lose many of its men to desertion, disease, and combat, but elements of it served on until 1779 and 1780 when the last of the

, six officers without men, were captured at Charleston, South Carolina.Wright, p. 313.Knight, pp. 7, 9, 10.Berg, pp. 45–46.Smith, Kiley, and Black, pp. 79, 90, 99, 107, 111. The Continental Army’s need for a force in Georgia to counter incursions by Spanish colonists and their Native allies led to the creation of the 1st Georgia Regiment. The city of St. Augustine was at the time controlled by the Spanish and functioned as a base out of which to operate. St. Augustine was the objective of three expeditions to East Florida in which the 1st Georgia Regiment participated led under Colonel McIntosh. Each of these missions were deemed a failure for various issues such as a lack of leadership and organizational abilities of the revolutionary government. While not engaged in battles or expeditions the First Georgia Regiment was defensively stationed around the frontier of the state. Captured 12 May 1780 at Charleston, South Carolina, by 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 ...

during 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 ...

. Redesignated 1 January 1781 as the Georgia Regiment once again. Reorganised and redesignated 1 January 1783 as the Georgia Battalion, and consisted of three companies, along with two troops of cavalry. Furloughed in summer 1783 at Charleston, South Carolina, and disbanded 15 November 1783. There is very little information on the uniform of the regiment, but the norm seems to have been hunting shirts and gaiter trousers. The regiment was also notably undersupplied and undertrained.

Engagements

Engagements which the regiment took part in were: * First Florida Expedition (1776) * Second Florida Expedition (1777) * Third Florida Expedition (1778) * Siege of Savannah (1779) * Siege of Charleston (1780)

Commanding Officers

Commanding officers of the regiment were: * January 7, 1776–16 September 1776,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Lachlan McIntosh Lachlan McIntosh (March 17, 1725 – February 20, 1806) was a Scottish American military and political leader during the American Revolution and the early United States. In a 1777 duel, he fatally shot Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaratio ...

* 16 September 1776 – 21 March 1778, Colonel

Joseph Habersham Joseph Habersham (July 28, 1751 – November 17, 1815) was an American businessman, Georgia politician, soldier in the Continental Army, and Postmaster General of the United States. Early years Born in Savannah, Georgia, to James Habersha ...

* 21 March 1778–????, Colonel Robert Rae

Footnotes

References

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Digby Smith Digby Smith (born 1 January 1935) is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier", he entered train ...

, Kevin E. Kiley, and Jeremy Black, ''An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the American War of Independence'', 2017 Lorenz Books, London, United Kingdom. . 1st Georgia regiment {{AmericanRevolutionaryWar-stub Military units and formations established in 1775 Military units and formations disestablished in 1780 Military units and formations established in 1781 Military units and formations disestablished in 1783