The 20th Continental Regiment was a unit of the

Connecticut Line The Connecticut Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Connecticut Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Connecticut at various times by the Continental Congress, the size of its allocation de ...

in the 1776 establishment 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 ...

. It was often referred to in records as Durkee's Regiment, after Colonel

John Durkee John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, its commanding officer for most of its existence, or incorrectly as the 20th Connecticut Regiment. The regiment was posted in New Jersey during the early stages of the

New York and New Jersey 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 New Jersey, Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between Kingdom ...

. The regiment retreated with

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 army in late 1776, and then participated in the

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 ...

. Some of its men chose to overstay their enlistment and also saw action in the Battle of the Assunpink Creek and the

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 ...

in early 1777. The first colonel of the regiment was

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

, but he never actually commanded the regiment, as he was in Quebec at the time of its creation, and he was soon thereafter promoted to brigadier general. John Durkee was its first lieutenant colonel, and was promoted and made the regiment's colonel in August 1776.

References

*Connecticut Historical Society
''The Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service During the War of the Revolution, 1775-1783''
p. 160.

External links

compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History Connecticut regiments of the Continental Army Military units and formations established in 1776 Military units and formations disestablished in 1776 1776 establishments in the United States {{ConnLine