The Extra Continental regiments and Additional Continental regiments 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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

(1775–1783) differ from each other and from all other

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 ...

infantry regiments by the manner in which they formed. The six Extra Continental regiments, which were authorized by Congress and organized in late 1775 to mid-1776, are distinct by having formed without any administrative connection to an individual state.Wright, pp. 319–321. The 16 Additional Continental regiments were approved by Congress as a separate group on December 27, 1776, specifically in response to a request from Gen.

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 ...

for additional troops, and Congress expressly delegated their formation directly to Washington. All Additional Continental regiments were organized in the spring and summer of 1777.Wright, pp. 321–325. In contrast to both the Extra and Additional regiments, all other infantry regiments of the army were organized and supported under the direct authority of individual state governments (the "line regiments").

Extra Continental regiments

The six Extra Continental regiments, which are commonly confused with the Additional regiments, are: *

Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment The Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment, most commonly known as Rawlings' Regiment in period documents, was organized in June 1776 as a specialized light infantry unit of riflemen in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. T ...

* Warner's Regiment (Green Mountain Boys) *

1st Canadian Regiment The 1st Canadian Regiment (1775–1781), was an Extra Continental regiment of the American Patriots' Continental Army. The 1st was raised by James Livingston to support Patriot efforts in the American Revolutionary War during the invasion ...

* 2nd Canadian Regiment *

German Battalion The "German Battalion" (also known as the "German Regiment" or 8th Maryland) was an infantry formation of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized in May 1776 as an extra Continental regiment, the battaltion rec ...

*DuBois' Regiment (later, the

3rd New York Regiment The 3rd New York Regiment was authorized May 25, 1775, and organized from June 28 to August 4 from the counties of Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, and Suffolk under the command of Colonel James Clinton for five months service in Canada. The enlis ...

)

Additional Continental regiments

The 16 Additional Continental regiments formed later and under distinctly different circumstances than those of the Extra Continental regiments.Wright, pp. 98–99. The 1-year enlistments in most Continental Army regiments that formed in the earliest part of the American Revolutionary War expired on December 31, 1776. Therefore, Congress and Washington began preparations for reorganizing the army during that early fall. The reorganization was to apply to troops from every state, and a major factor in the new plan was the decision to recruit for the duration of the war rather than for a single year. Eighty-eight regiments were authorized by a Congressional resolve of September 16, 1776, in which Congress formally outlined the 13 state lines of the Continental Army by specifying the quota of regiments for each state. Congress' estimates of the population of each state governed its allocation of regiments, ranging from 15 regiments each from Massachusetts and Virginia to single regiments from Delaware and Georgia. In correspondence to Congress during December 1776, however, Washington pressed for even more men. Central to Washington's position was a recommendation to increase the infantry regiments from the 88 called for in September to a minimum of 110. Congress acted on Washington's request on December 27, 1776, and ruled "That General Washington shall be, and he is hereby, vested with full, ample, and complete powers to raise…from…all of these United States, 16 battalions of infantry, in addition to those already voted by Congress…" In contrast to the previously approved 88 regiments, the 16 Additional regiments were organized directly by Washington's authority, rather than by the authority of the state governments, and were placed completely under Washington's control. The resolution gave Washington the requested 110 regiments, for in addition to the 16 new regiments and the 88 units of the September quotas there were the 6 Extra regiments that had been previously approved by Congress and that were also not explicitly tied to a single state. The 16 Additional Continental regiments are: *Cornell's Additional Continental Regiment (''never formed'') * Forman's Additional Continental Regiment *

Gist's Additional Continental Regiment Gist's Extra Continental regiments and Additional Continental regiments, Additional Continental Regiment was an American infantry unit that served for four years in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized in January ...

Grayson's Additional Continental Regiment Grayson's Additional Continental Regiment was an American infantry unit that served for two years and three months in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Like other Additional Regiments, Grayson's remained directly under ...

Hartley's Additional Continental Regiment Hartley's Additional Continental Regiment was an American infantry unit of the Continental Army that served for two years during the American Revolutionary War. The regiment was authorized in January 1777 and Colonel Thomas Hartley was appoint ...

Henley's Additional Continental Regiment Henley's Extra Continental regiments and Additional Continental regiments, Additional Continental Regiment was raised on January 12, 1777, with troops from Massachusetts and New Hampshire at Boston, Massachusetts for service with the Continental ...

Jackson's Additional Continental 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 ...

Lee's Additional Continental Regiment Lee's Additional Continental Regiment was raised on January 12, 1777, with troops from Massachusetts at Cambridge, Massachusetts for service with the Continental Army. The regiment was commanded by Colonel William R. Lee,Heitman, pp. 25, 346 an ...

Malcolm's Additional Continental Regiment Malcolm's Additional Continental Regiment was one of the sixteen Additional Continental regiments authorized by the Second Continental Congress for the Continental Army. The regiment's colonel was William Malcolm, a wealthy New York City merchan ...

Patton's Additional Continental Regiment Patton's Additional Continental Regiment was an American infantry unit that existed for two years during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized on 11 January 1777, the unit was recruited from the colonies of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Del ...

*Scammell's Additional Continental Regiment (''never formed'') *

Sheppard's Additional Continental Regiment The 10th North Carolina Regiment was authorized on 17 April 1777, as a unit of the North Carolina State Troops named Sheppard's Regiment. The regiment was organized from 19 April to 1 July 1777, at Kinston, North Carolina from men from the northe ...

Sherburne's Additional Continental Regiment Sherburne's Additional Continental Regiment (a.k.a. Sherburne's Battalion) was a unit of the Continental Army which served from January 1, 1777 until it was disbanded on January 1, 1781. It was commanded by Colonel Henry Sherburne (colonel), Henr ...

Spencer's Additional Continental Regiment Spencer's Additional Continental Regiment, sometimes referred to as the 5th New Jersey Regiment, was an Extra Continental regiments and Additional Continental regiments, American infantry unit that served for four years in the Continental Army d ...

Thruston's Additional Continental Regiment Thruston's Extra Continental regiments and Additional Continental regiments, Additional Continental Regiment was an American infantry unit that served for a little more than two years in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. ...

Webb's Additional Continental Regiment The 9th Connecticut Regiment was a regiment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It was first called Webb's Additional Continental Regiment (after its colonel, Samuel Blachley Webb) before being added to the Connecti ...

Although Washington wrote to Col.

Ezekiel Cornell Ezekiel Cornell (1732/33 – April 25, 1800) was a Revolutionary War general who represented Rhode Island in the U.S. Continental Congress from 1780 to 1782. Early life Ezekiel Cornell was born in on March 27, 1732/33 in either Dartmouth ...

of Rhode Island and Col.

Alexander Scammell Alexander Scammell (March 22, 1747 – October 6, 1781) was a Harvard educated attorney and an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was wounded on September 30, 1781, near Yorktown and subsequently died on Octo ...

of New Hampshire on January 12, 1777, and offered each command of one of the 16 Additional Continental regiments, both declined, and the units never formed.Fitzpatrick, v. 6, p. 499n.

Notes

References

*Fitzpatrick, John C., ed. (1931). ''The writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources, 1745–1799''. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office
p. 499n
*Ford, Worthington C., ed. (1906). ''Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789''. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress
v. 5v. 6

Washington to Congress (December 16, 1776)
Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 3, Subseries A, Letterbook 2.
Washington to Congress (December 20, 1776)
Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 3, Subseries A, Letterbook 2.
Washington to Webb, Henley, Cornell, Sherburne, and Scammell (January 12, 1777)
Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 3, Subseries B, Letterbook 2. *Wright, Robert K., Jr. (1983)

. Washington, D.C.:

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 ...

Publication 60-4-1, U.S. Government Printing Office.

External links

Bibliography of the Extra Regiments to the Continental Army
compiled by the

{{Continental Army Military units and formations of the Continental Army