The Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War also known as the Northern Department 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 ...

was a theater of operations 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 ...

. It was originally called the New York Department, and consisted of all of New York State. On November 12, 1776, after the British occupation of New York City, the Highlands Department was created out of the Northern Department. The Northern Department then stopped 30 miles south of Albany. After that, it was always referred to as the Northern Department. The Highlands Department was the smallest in area, and was formed around the defenses on the Hudson River north of New York City.

Continental Northern Department

In 1777, the Northern Department was organised into:

George Nafziger George F. Nafziger (born 1949) is an American writer and editor of books and articles in military history. Biography He was born in 1949,"George F(rancis) Nafziger." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. ...

,
Continental Troops in Northern Department 7 September 1777
', United States Army Combined Arms Center. * Commanding Officer of the Northern Department,

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alb ...

* Nixon's Brigade, commanded by

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

John Nixon ** 4th (Massachusetts) Continental Regiment ** 9th (Rhode Island) Continental Regiment ** 11th (Rhode Island) Continental Regiment ** 12th (Massachusetts) Continental Regiment ** 2nd Rhode Island Militia * De Fermoy's Brigade, commanded by French

Matthias Alexis Roche de Fermoy ** 1st (Pennsylvania) Continental Regiment ** German Battalion (8th Maryland Regiment) * Poor's Brigade, commanded by

Enoch Poor Enoch Poor (June 21, 1736 (Old Style) – September 8, 1780) was a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was a ship builder and merchant from Exeter, New Hampshire. Biography Poor was born and raised ...

** 2nd (New Hampshire) Continental Regiment ** 5th (New Hampshire) Continental Regiment ** 8th (New Hampshire) Continental Regiment **

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 enlist ...

** 4th New York Regiment * Paterson's Brigade, commanded by

John Paterson **

10th Massachusetts Regiment The 10th Massachusetts Regiment was a military regiment in the American Revolutionary War. It was authorized on 16 September 1776, in the Continental Army under Colonel Marshall at Boston, Massachusetts, as eight companies of volunteers from ...

11th Massachusetts Regiment The 11th Massachusetts Regiment was raised on September 16, 1776, under Colonel Ebenezer Francis at Boston, Massachusetts. The 11th Mass. would see action at the Battle of Hubbardton, Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Monmouth. The regime ...

** 18th (Massachusetts) Continental Regiment **

14th Massachusetts Regiment The 14th Massachusetts Regiment was raised on September 16, 1776, under Colonel Gamaliel Bradford at Boston, Massachusetts. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Monmouth. The regiment was disbanded on Janua ...

* Learned's Brigade, commanded by

Ebenezer Learned Ebenezer Learned (April 18, 1728 – April 1, 1801) was a brigadier general in the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Early life and career He was the son of Ebenezer and Deborah Haynes Learned, and was born at Oxford, ...

** 16th (Massachusetts) Continental Regiment ** 23rd (Massachusetts) Continental Regiment ** 26th (Massachusetts) Continental Regiment

British Northern Army

During the

Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

, the British northern army consisted of: * Commanding Officer,

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...

* Commander of Artillery & Engineers,

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

G. Williams ** detachments of artillery forming 4 composite Companies from the 4th Battalion,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

** Artilleriekompagnie von Pausch ( Hesse-Hanau) ** (Captured during the

Capture of Fort Ticonderoga The capture of Fort Ticonderoga occurred during the American Revolutionary War on May 10, 1775, when a small force of Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold surprised and captured the fort's small British garrison. ...

) No.6 Company, 4th Battalion,

* Advanced Corps (vanguard), commanded by

S. Fraser **

24th Regiment of Foot Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

** Fraser's Rangers ** Canadian Provincial Troops (2 coys) ** Indians led by Chief Joseph Brant * Right Division, commanded by

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

William Phillips William Phillips may refer to: Entertainment * William Phillips (editor) (1907–2002), American editor and co-founder of ''Partisan Review'' * William T. Phillips (1863–1937), American author * William Phillips (director), Canadian film-make ...

** 1st Brigade, commanded by

James Inglis Hamilton *** 20th Regiment of Foot ***

21st Regiment of Foot First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

***

62nd Regiment of Foot The 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, which was raised in 1756 and saw service through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 99th (Lanarkshire) R ...

** 2nd Brigade, commanded by

Henry Watson Powell General Henry Watson Powell (1733 – 14 July 1814) was a British officer during the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War. Powell was born in England in 1733. He commissioned as a Lieutenant on 10 March 1753, with the 46th Regiment ...

***

9th Regiment of Foot 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

***

47th Regiment of Foot The 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in Scotland in 1741. It served in North America during the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War and also fought during the Napoleonic Wars and ...

***

53rd Regiment of Foot The 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 85th (King's Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881. History E ...

* Left Division (all Germans), commanded by Generalmajor (Major General) Baron Friedrich Adolf Riedesel Freiherr zu Eisenbach (Brunswicker) ** 1st (Brunswick) Brigade, commanded by

Brigadegeneral Brigadier general ( da, Brigadegeneral; german: Brigadegeneral) is the Germanic variant of Brigadier general. Belgium The rank of ( nl-BE, Brigadegeneraal; french: Général de Brigade) is used by the Belgian Land Component, Air Component and ...

Johann Friedrich von Specht Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

*** Musketeerregiment von Rhetz (Brunswick) *** Musketeerregiment von Specht (Brunswick) *** Musketeerregiment von Riedesel (Brunswick) ** 2nd Brigade, commanded by

Wilhelm von Gall ( Hesse-Hanau) *** Musketeerregiment von Prinz Fiederich (Brunswick) *** Musketeerregiment von Erbprinz (Hesse-Hanau) * Reserve (Germans), commanded by

Oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedi ...

Heinrich von Breymann Heinrich von Breymann (died 1777) was a German lieutenant colonel from the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was commander of the Breymann Grenadiers, a Brunswick battalion hired into Britis ...

** Brunswickdragoonregiment von Ludwig ** Grenadierbataillon von Breymann (Brunswick) ** Füsilierbataillon von Barner (Brunswick) ** Jägerbataillon von Schottelius

Campaigns

On May 10, 1775,

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French milit ...

was captured from the British. Major General

was appointed department commander on June 25, 1775. On June 28, 1775 the

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

authorized the raising of the four regiments of the New York Line. The major campaigns are divided as follows: *

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 the state of New Jersey, fought between British forces under General Sir Willi ...

Saratoga campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British high command for North America to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of the British ...

Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga The Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga consisted of a series of battles between American revolutionaries and British forces, from 1778 to 1782 during the American Revolutionary War. It is characterized by two prim ...

After War years

This department was the only one to remain after the war. The last elements of the Continental Army were kept to guard the western frontier outposts.

References

* Wright, Robert K. ''The Continental Army''. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1983. Available, in part
online
{{American Revolutionary War, state=collapsed

Continental Northern Department

British Northern Army

Campaigns

After War years

See also

References