The 13th Pennsylvania Regiment, also known as The Pennsylvania State Rifle Regiment and Miles's Regiment, was raised March 6, 1776, as a state militia regiment and later for service with 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 ...

. The regiment would see 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and 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 ...

. The regiment was merged into the

2nd Pennsylvania Regiment The 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment, formed with lauded veterans from the 1st Pennsylvania Battalion, was raised in December 1776. The 1st Pennsylvania Battalion was raised in October 1775, under the command of Colonel John Bull for service with the ...

on July 1, 1778.

History

The 13th Pennsylvania Regiment of the Continental Army had its beginnings in the Pennsylvania State Regiment, which was formed via the merging of the Pennsylvania State Battalion of Musketry and the Pennsylvania State Rifle Regiment (also known as "Miles's Regiment"), which had been "formed for the defense of Pennsylvania proper," according to historian John B. B. Trussell. The latter of those two regiments had been named after Samuel Miles, who had been appointed as its commanding officer on March 3, 1776. According to Trussell, on "October 5, 1776, the Pennsylvania Council of Safety took the first step toward consolidating the remnants of Miles's Regiment and Atlee's Battalion by asking Lieutenant Colonel Brodhead to supply lists of those of his officers who desired to join the Continental Army and those who wanted to remain in the service of the State." The Pennsylvania Council of Safety then announced (on October 25) which companies of the battalion and regiment would make up a new regiment, the Pennsylvania State Regiment. Composed of eight musketry and two rifle units, that regiment was initially commanded by Colonel John Bull until protests by members of their regiment forced state leaders to replace him with Colonel Walter Stewart. Following the addition of an eleventh company "to guard powder mills," the regiment's transfer to the Continental Army was finalized on June 10, 1777. Before a month had passed, the regiment was being referred to as the 13th Pennsylvania Regiment.

Notable members

Samuel Miles Samuel Miles (March 11, 1740 – December 29, 1805) was an American military officer and politician, as well as an influential businessman and politician, active in Pennsylvania before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. Milita ...

was the regiment's commanding officer when he was captured at the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yo ...

. On 17 June 1777, Walter Stewart became the unit's commander and led it at the

where it fought with

George Weedon George Weedon (1734–1793) was an American soldier during the Revolutionary War from Fredericksburg, Colony of Virginia. He served as a brigadier general in the Continental Army and later in the Virginia militia. After the Revolutionary War e ...

's 2nd Virginia Brigade. Muncy resident John Robb (c.1733–1804), who had been appointed second lieutenant in Miles's regiment in March 1776, was commissioned as a captain in the 13th Pennsylvania Regiment on April 18, 1777. John George Hoffner (1735–1799), who had joined Miles's regiment as a sergeant in May 1776 and had been promoted to ensign the following fall, was appointed first lieutenant with the 13th Pennsylvania in March 1777, and then commissioned as a captain at the end of that same year. Sunbury resident Jacob Snider (c.1755–1791), was appointed as a sergeant in Miles's regiment in March 1776 and then later made an ensign before becoming a captain in the 13th Pennsylvania on April 18, 1777.To George Washington from the Pennsylvania Council of Safety, 8 February 1777
" Founders Online, National Archives, version of January 18, 2019, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-08-02-0295. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 8, 6 January 1777 – 27 March 1777, ed. Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998, pp. 277–278.]

References

External links

Bibliography of the Continental Army in Pennsylvania
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 ...

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13th Pennsylvania Regiment The 13th Pennsylvania Regiment, also known as The Pennsylvania State Rifle Regiment and Miles's Regiment, was raised March 6, 1776, as a state militia regiment and later for service with the Continental Army. The regiment would see action duri ...