Provincial troops in the French and Indian Wars
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Provincial troops were military units raised by colonial governors and legislatures in
British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...
for extended operations during the
French and Indian Wars The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...
. The provincial troops differed from the militia, in that they were a full-time military organization conducting extended operations. They differed from the regular British Army in that they were recruited only for one campaign season at the time. These forces were often recruited through a quota system applied to the militia. Officers were appointed by the provincial governments. During the eighteenth century militia service was increasingly seen as a prerogative of the social and economic well-established, while provincial troops came to be recruited from different and less deep-rooted members of the community. The first provincial forces in British North America were organized in the 1670s. The major operations during
King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...
were conducted by provincial troops from Massachusetts Bay. During
Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...
provincial troops from Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Hampshire made up the bulk of the English forces. During
King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...
the land forces that took
Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, ...
were entirely supplied by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. During the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
the imperial government in London took an increasingly more leading part, relegating the provincial troops to a non-combat role, largely as pioneers and transportation troops, while the bulk of the fighting was done by the regular British Army. However the contributions of Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island were essential.


Organization

During the French and Indian Wars, provincial troops separate of the militia were raised by the colonial governors and legislatures for extended operations. These forces were often recruited through a quota system applied to the militia;
drafts Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
would only be used when enough volunteers didn't sign up. Bounties were used to boast volunteer enlistment. The officers were appointed by the provincial governments; the
field officer A senior officer is an officer of a more senior grade in military or other uniformed services. In military organisations, the term may refer to any officer above junior officer rank, but usually specifically refers to the middle-ranking group of ...
s were mostly men of political importance and members of the legislatures with many years service in the militia, while the
junior officer Junior officer, company officer or company grade officer refers to the lowest operational Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer category of ranks in a military or paramilitary organization, ranking above non-commissioned officers and below ...
s were efficient and popular militia officers. The provincial troops were enlisted for specific campaign seasons, and organized anew each spring, yet most of the officers served year after year. The colonial governments also appointed persons in charge of logistics, often prominent
merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
s who had the business acumen and knowledge to run the extensive logistic operations required.Shrader 1991, pp. 5–6.Robert K.Wright Jr, "Colonial Military Experience." ''The Society of Colonial Wars in Connecticut.''
Retrieved 2017-02-11.
The distinction between the militia and the provincial troops was not always understood in contemporary Britain, and
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
tried to explain the differences in a 1756 letter to his English friend Peter Collinson. The men serving on the frontier, Franklin clarified, were not militia but full-time soldiers enlisted to fight for a specific period of time, and paid by the colonial governments. In contrast, the militia were men following their normal business, mustering on specific days to train, and ready to fight only in case of an emergency.
Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its ...
was the colony that made the largest contribution to the war effort during the French and Indian Wars. In the seventeenth century provincial forces were first raised for offensive operations through volunteers from the militia regiments. After
King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...
, the colonial legislature enacted new laws that embodied the basic principles that would govern the colony's military forces during a century of warfare. The militia's role was relegated from a prospective combat force, to "a combination of home guard, draft-board, and ..supply network," forming the base from which the provincial troops were recruited and supplied.


Recruitment and social composition

During the eighteenth century militia service was increasingly seen as a prerogative of the social and economic well-established, while provincial troops came to be recruited from different and less deep-rooted members of the community. Legislation often excluded several categories of men from the militia that the colonial governments were perfectly willing to enlist as provincial troops, such as settled Indians, free persons of color, servants, and
vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...
s. The provincial troops were recruited from the elements of the population that were easiest to do without; young men without property, with no stake in the society. In order to fill the quotas assigned to them by the imperial government, the several colonies used bounties as carrots, and draft as a stick. Offering money induced propertyless men to enlist, while the draft often was directed at the elements of society that the colonial governments saw as problematic, such as vagrants or disorderly young men. Drafted men could hire substitutes, and they were most often belonging to the least well-established groups. Those who were recruited to the provincial troops in Connecticut and Virginia were men that had been outside the organized militia and hence lacking the social status suggested by militia membership. In Massachusetts, however, the provincial soldiers came from segments of the population more reflective of the society at large, although research done only covers the first year of the French and Indian War and it's possible that the social composition changed over time.


Comparison between militia, associators, provincial troops, and regulars

Source:


King William's War

The first provincial forces in British North America were organized in the 1670s, when several colonial governments raised
ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
companies for one year's paid service to protect their borders.


Port Royal 1690

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...
in French
Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...
was taken in 1690, by one provincial regiment of foot from Massachusetts under
William Phips Sir William Phips (or Phipps; February 2, 1651 – February 18, 1695) was born in Maine in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was of humble origin, uneducated, and fatherless from a young age but rapidly advanced from shepherd boy, to shipwright, s ...
. The regiment was organized in seven companies and contained 446 officers and men at the time of the French surrender, although it had a strength of about 700 when leaving Boston.


Quebec 1690

The land forces of the
Quebec Expedition The Quebec Expedition, or the Walker Expedition to Quebec, was a British attempt to attack Quebec in 1711 in Queen Anne's War, the North American theatre of the War of Spanish Succession. It failed when seven transports and one storeship were ...
1690 were entirely composed of provincial troops from Massachusetts under William Phipps. The 2,300 foot soldiers were organized in four regiments and one Indian company: * Essex Regiment * Middlesex Regiment * Suffolk Regiment * Plymouth Regiment


Queen Anne's War


Carolina and Florida

Most combat operations of the
province of Carolina Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...
during Queen Anne's War were conducted by Indian allies, such as the
Yamasee The Yamasees (also spelled Yamassees or Yemassees) were a multiethnic confederation of Native Americans who lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia near the Savannah River and later in northeastern Florida. The Yamas ...
and the Creeks, although Carolinians participated in the St. Augustine expedition 1702 and defense of Charles Town 1706. The militia, which in war time included armed slaves, was supplemented by a small provincial full-time force of garrison troops and rangers.


Port Royal 1707

The expeditions to Port Royal in 1707 were made up entirely of provincial troops from Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island: * The First or Red Regiment, twelve companies in red uniforms, under Colonel Francis Wainwright of
Ipswich, Massachusetts Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,785 at the 2020 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island. A reside ...
. * The Second or Blue Regiment, eleven regiments in blue uniforms, under
Winthrop Hilton Colonel Winthrop Hilton (c. 1671–-1710) was the highest-ranking officer in New Hampshire through King William's War and Queen Anne's War. He took on this position after natives killed Col. Richard Waldron on June 27, 1689, at the outbreak of King ...
of
Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...
.


Port Royal 1710

The expedition to Port Royal in 1710 contained both regular troops from the British Army, and four provincial regiments from Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Hampshire: * Hobby's Regiment (Massachusetts Bay), a Boston regiment under Colonel Sir Charles Hobby of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. * Tailer's Regiment (ditto), under Colonel
William Tailer William Tailer (February 25, 1675/6 – March 1, 1731/2) was a military officer and politician in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Born into the wealthy and influential Stoughton family, he twice married into other politically powerful familie ...
of
Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester (colloquially referred to as Dot) is a Boston neighborhood comprising more than in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester ...
. * Whiting's Regiment (Connecticut), under Colonel William Whiting of
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
. * Walton's Regiment (New Hampshire), under Colonel Shadrach Walton of
New Castle, New Hampshire New Castle is a New England town, town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,000 at the 2020 census. It is the smallest and easternmost town in New Hampshire, and the only one loc ...
.


Quebec 1711

In addition to the regular troops of the British Army, the expedition to Quebec 1711 contained two provincial regiments from Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire: * Vetch's Regiment (Massachusetts Bay), under Colonel
Samuel Vetch Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
of Boston, Massachusetts. * Walton's Regiment (Rhode Island-New Hampshire), under Colonel Shadrach Walton of
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...
.


War of Jenkins's Ear

The militia was the ultimate line of defense for the
province of Georgia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...
. Yet it was too small, and its members too occupied in civil pursuits, to efficiently protect the colony.
James Oglethorpe James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to re ...
therefore created a small paid provincial force of "soldiers recruited for combat," containing a
Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
company and some 130 rangers, as well as
boatmen A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...
manning scout boats and some smaller ships. During Oglethorpe's offensive against
Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...
, the siege of St. Augustine, and the battle of Fort Mose, the British force contained the Georgia provincials and a provincial regiment from South Carolina, as well as Oglethorpe's own regiment of the British army. The South Carolina regiment had a strength of 500 soldiers, and was partly recruited in North Carolina and Virginia.


King George's War

The land forces of the Louisbourg expedition in 1745 were entirely a colonial affair, with Massachusetts contributing 3,000 provincial soldiers, Connecticut 500, New Hampshire 500, and Rhode Island 300. Pennsylvania had refused to raise any soldiers, but after the fall of the French fortress the province appropriated moneys for the maintenance of an occupying force. For the ultimately aborted intercolonial operation against Canada in 1746, Massachusetts would mobilize 3,500 provincial troops, New York 1,600, Connecticut 1,000, New Hampshire 500, New Jersey 500, Pennsylvania 400, Rhode Island 300, Maryland 300, and Virginia 100. The
province of New Hampshire The Province of New Hampshire was a colony of England and later a British province in North America. The name was first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America, and was nam ...
kept paid ranger units or scouts in provincial service during the whole war, as well as raising five hundred provincial soldiers for the Louisbourg expedition; two hundred of whom served as part of a Massachusetts regiment, while the rest formed a regiment of seven companies: * Moore's Regiment, under Colonel Samuel Moore of
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...
.
Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its ...
organized seven regiments of foot for the Louisbourg expedition:Baker 1995, p. 11. * First Massachusetts Regiment, under Colonel
William Pepperell Sir William Pepperrell, 1st Baronet (27 June 1696 – 6 July 1759) was a merchant and soldier in colonial Massachusetts. He is widely remembered for organizing, financing, and leading the 1745 expedition that captured the French fortr ...
of
Kittery Point, Maine Kittery Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Kittery, Maine, Kittery, York County, Maine, York County, Maine, United States. First settled in 1623, Kittery Point traces its history to the first seafarers who c ...
. * Second Massachusetts Regiment, under Colonel
Samuel Waldo Samuel Waldo (August 7, 1696 – May 23, 1759) was an American merchant, land speculator, army officer and politician in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Biography He was born in Boston, the son of Jonathan Waldo and Hannah Mason. In 1722, h ...
of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. * Third Massachusetts Regiment, under Colonel
Jeremiah Moulton Jeremiah Moulton (b. York, Massachusetts (now in York, Maine), 1688, d. York, 20 July 1765) was a New England militia officer and member of the Massachusetts Council. As a boy, during King William's War, Moulton's parents were killed and he was ta ...
of
York, Maine York is a town in York County, Maine, United States, near the southern tip of the state. The population in the 2020 census was 13,723. Situated beside the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Maine, York is a well-known summer resort town. It is home ...
. * Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, under Colonel
Samuel Willard Samuel Willard (January 31, 1640 – September 12, 1707) was a New England Puritan clergyman. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard College in 1659, and was minister at Groton from 1663 to 1676, before being driven out by ...
of
Lancaster, Massachusetts Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441. History In 1643 Lancaster was first ...
. * Fifth Massachusetts Regiment, under Colonel Robert Hale of
Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Shore, Beverly incl ...
. * Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, under Colonel
Sylvester Richmond Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...
of
Dighton, Massachusetts Dighton is a New England town, town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,101 at the 2020 census. The town is located on the western shore of the Taunton River in the southeastern part ...
. * Seventh Massachusetts Regiment, under Colonel Shubael Gorham of
Barnstable, Massachusetts The Town of Barnstable ( ) is a town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod, and is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipaliti ...
. King George's War also saw the birth of
Gorham's Rangers Gorham's Rangers was one of the most famous and effective ranger units raised in colonial North America. Formed by John Gorham, the unit served as the prototype for many subsequent ranger forces, including the better known Rogers' Rangers. The ...
, a Massachusetts provincial ranger company that was a permanent organization until its disbandment in 1762.
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
participated in the Louisbourg expedition with one regiment: * Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel Andrew Burr of
Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Located within the New York metropolitan area ...
.
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
mobilized three provincial companies for the Louisbourg expedition. The enthusiasm for the undertaking was very low in the province, and it was difficult to fill the ranks of the three companies. The Assembly had to lower the strength of them, from a hundred men each to fifty, in order to complete the recruitment. The Rhode Island contingent was thereby belated by a month, and did not reach
Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...
in time to participate in the siege and victory.


French and Indian War

In 1757 and again in 1758 Prime Minister Pitt requested the northern colonies in British North America to furnish 20,000 men for the coming campaign seasons, and the southern colonies for large, but unspecified numbers. The response to this call was met with varied enthusiasm; Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York were as always willing to do their share and more. The northern colonies furnished about 17,000 men for 1758 and the following years; the southern colonies much fewer. There were provincial forces participating in the sieges of
Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, ...
in 1758 and the
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
in 1759. The British army that operated against
Fort Carillon Fort Carillon, presently known as Fort Ticonderoga, was constructed by Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada (New France), French Canada, to protect Lake Champlain from a British invasion. Situated on the lake some south of Fort S ...
in 1758 contained, a majority of provincial troops, although most of the fighting was done by the regulars.The capture of
Fort Frontenac Fort Frontenac was a French trading post and military fort built in July 1673 at the mouth of the Cataraqui River where the St. Lawrence River leaves Lake Ontario (at what is now the western end of the La Salle Causeway), in a location tradition ...
in 1758, was done by a force dominantly provincial. The main taskBates, 1903-1905, Vol. 1, p. 4. of the provincials, with the exception of multiple ranger companies, during this campaign in the war was largely as pioneers, fort Garrisons and transportation troops.Stacey 1974, p. xxviii.


Connecticut

The General Assembly in March 1755 authorized 1,000 men in the pay of Connecticut Colony to be mobilized in late May in two regiments of six companies each. They also empowered the governor to raise 500 additional men should it become necessary. This additional force was raised at the end of August in consequence of letters received from Major-General William Johnson. These six companies were added to the two regiments already raised. Around the end of August, the General Assembly authorized the raising and payment of two additional regiments to be mobilized in September, each to consist of 750 men divided into nine companies. According to the future Governor and then militia Colonel
Jonathan Trumbull Jonathan Trumbull Sr. (October 12, 1710August 17, 1785) was an American politician and statesman who served as Governor of Connecticut during the American Revolution. Trumbull and Nicholas Cooke of Rhode Island were the only men to serve as gov ...
, by October 1755, a total of 3,975 Connecticut militia had been mobilized and sent to four fronts. Some 900 of these were paid by Massachusetts and New York and placed in their regiments, but served under their own captains. * 300 were "gone to Nova Scotia" to join Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton and at the successful
Battle of Fort Beauséjour The Battle of Fort Beauséjour was fought on the Isthmus of Chignecto and marked the end of Father Le Loutre's War and the opening of a British offensive in the Acadia/Nova Scotia theatre of the Seven Years' War, which would eventually lead to t ...
. * 300 were urged "to inlist in Gov. Shirley & S Wm Pepperell's Regiments" and probably served in Shirley's disastrous
Fort Oswego Fort Oswego was an 18th-century trading post in the Great Lakes region in North America, which became the site of a battle between French and British forces in 1756 during the French and Indian War. The fort was established in 1727 on the orders o ...
campaign. * 75 were Stationed at "The Forts in The County of Hampshire in the Massachusetts Bay", probably in Maine at Fort Halifax and
Fort Western Fort Western is a former British colonial outpost at the head of navigation on the Kennebec River at modern Augusta, Maine, United States. It was built in 1754 during the French and Indian War, and is now a National Historic Landmark and local hi ...
on the
Kennebec River The Kennebec River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 river within the U.S. state of Maine. It ri ...
. * 3,000 Connecticut paid militia went "into the Service" under Major-General William Johnson for the expedition to take Fort Saint-Frédéric (later
Fort Crown Point Fort Crown Point was built by the combined efforts of both British and provincial troops (from New York and the New England Colonies) in North America in 1759 at a narrows on Lake Champlain on what later became the border between New York and Vermo ...
) by way of Lake George. * 300 were in service to General Johnson for the expedition to Lake George on "the Pay & Sustenance" of New York. William Johnson's expedition to take Fort Saint-Frédéric on "''Pointe à la Chevelure''" (called by the British Crown Point), took place in 1755.
Phineas Lyman Phineas Lyman (1716–1774) was a colonial American soldier known for his service in the provincial British Army of the French and Indian War. He later led a group of New England veterans of the war to settle in the new colony of West Florida whe ...
of
Suffield, Connecticut Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield, Connecticut, Enfiel ...
was appointed major-general, and second-in-command. The Province of Connecticut initially sent 1,000 men in June in two regiments in the pay of Connecticut and one in the pay of New York Colony to General Johnson for the Crown Point expedition. The expedition never made it to Crown Point, but were surprised by the French at the
Battle of Lake George The Battle of Lake George was fought on 8 September 1755, in the north of the Province of New York. It was part of a campaign by the British to expel the French from North America, in the French and Indian War. On one side were 1,584 French, Can ...
.Anderson 1984, p. 10. * First Connecticut Regiment, under Major-General Lyman. * Second Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel Elizur Goodrich, Senior. *New York Regiment, under Connecticut Major Eliezer Fitch of Windham. In August 1755, an additional 500 men in the pay of Connecticut were mobilized. However these arrived too late to participate in the Battle of Lake George. They were added as additional companies to the First and Second Regiments. Connecticut now had 1,800 provincial soldiers in the Crown Point expedition. In late August 1755 two new regiments of 750 men each in the pay of Connecticut were newly authorized and mobilized. This brought the total of Connecticut militia serving in the first Crown Point expedition to 3,300. * Third Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel
Eliphalet Dyer Eliphalet Dyer (September 14, 1721 – May 13, 1807) was an American lawyer, jurist, and statesman from Windham, Connecticut. He was a delegate for Connecticut to many sessions of the Continental Congress, where he signed the 1774 Continental As ...
. * Fourth Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel Elihu Chauncey. For the 1756 expedition against Crown Point, the province voted 2,500 troops. Phineas Lyman was again appointed major-general, and second-in-command: * First Connecticut Regiment, under Major-General Lyman. * Second Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel
David Wooster David Wooster ( – May 2, 1777) was an American general who served in the French and Indian War and in the American Revolutionary War. He died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut. Several cities, schools, and public ...
. * Third Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel
Nathan Whiting Nathan Whiting (4 May 1724, Windham, Connecticut – 9 April 1771) was a soldier and merchant in Colonial America. Biography Whiting's parents died while he was a child, and he was raised by father's sister Mary and her husband, Reverend Thom ...
. * Fourth Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel Andrew Ward, Junior. Connecticut voted 1,400 provincial soldiers for the campaign season of 1757. After the alarm created by the fall of Fort William Henry the province mobilized five thousand men of the organized militia and sent them north as a temporary reinforcement against a feared French invasion: * Col. Lyman's Regiment, under Colonel Phineas Lyman. As a response to Prime Minister Pitt's call for troops, the General Court of Connecticut voted to raise five thousand provincial troops in four regiments, for the campaign season of 1758. They came to participate in the disastrous expedition against Fort Carillon. Phineas Lyman appointed major-general: * First Connecticut Regiment, under Major-General Lyman. * Second Connecticut Regiment, Colonel
Nathan Whiting Nathan Whiting (4 May 1724, Windham, Connecticut – 9 April 1771) was a soldier and merchant in Colonial America. Biography Whiting's parents died while he was a child, and he was raised by father's sister Mary and her husband, Reverend Thom ...
. * Third Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel Eleazar Fitch. * Fourth Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel David Wooster. For the campaign season of 1759, the province voted 5,000 soldiers in four regiments. Phineas Lyman appointed major-general. The troops participated in the Ticonderoga expedition: * First Connecticut Regiment, under Major-General Phineas Lyman. * Second Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel Nathan Whiting. * Third Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel David Wooster. * Fourth Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel Eleazar Fitch. The province voted five thousand men in four regiments for the campaign season 1760. Phineas Lyman appointed major-general. The troops participated in the British attack on
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
: * First Connecticut Regiment, under Major-General Phineas Lyman. * Second Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel Nathan Whiting. * Third Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel David Wooster. * Fourth Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel Eleazar Fitch. For the campaign season 1761 Connecticut voted 2,300 officers and men in two regiments; of these 2,000 were actually raised. Phineas Lyman appointed major-general:Arnold 1894, p. 230. * First Connecticut Regiment, under Major-General Phineas Lyman. * Second Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel Nathan Whiting. Two companies were raised for service during the winter of 1761/1762: * Capt. Fitch's Independent Company, under Captain Azel Fitch. * Capt. Ledlie's Independent Company, under Captain Hugh Ledlie. For 1762, the province also voted 2,300 officers and men in two regiments. Phineas Lyman appointed major-general: * First Connecticut Regiment, under Major-General Phineas Lyman. * Second Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel Nathan Whiting Two companies were raised for service during the winter of 1762/1763: * Capt. Pearce's Independent Company, under Captain Thomas Pearce. * Capt. Hait's Independent Company, under Captain Joseph Hait. The General Assembly voted in 1764, to raise 265 men for participating in the campaign against Pontiac: * Lieut.-Colonel Putnam's Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel
Israel Putnam Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...
.


Delaware

It was not until 1755 that the Lower Counties on Delaware enacted a militia law. They supported the Braddock Expedition with provisions, but not with any troops. In 1758 the province raised 300 men for service as provincial soldiers: * The Lower County Provincials, French Battell, Captain. The following year the General Assembly decided to raise 106 men to serve in the southern colonies. In 1760 the province appropriated a sum of money to the governor for warlike purposes, but did not raise any soldiers.


Georgia

At the beginning of the hostilities, the
Province of Georgia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...
had a population of less than seven thousand free inhabitants, and an organized militia of 750 men in eight companies. Governor John Reynolds argued that the province could only be defended with the help of fortified places. Two hundred rangers were needed to hold the line of communications open. In addition regular troops in peacetime, supported by militia and friendly Indians in wartime, were needed to hold the required forts. This plan was rejected by the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
, and nothing came out of it. Yet, Governor Reynolds organized a company of 40 rangers under Captain
John Milledge John Milledge (1757February 9, 1818) was an American politician. He fought in the American Revolution and later served as United States Representative, 26th Governor of Georgia, and United States Senator. Milledge was a founder of Athens, Georgi ...
. The rangers were supplemented by a mounted troop of volunteer militia, the First Troop of Horse Militia, consisting of men of substance who could equip and mount the troop at their own expense. Reynolds successor,
Henry Ellis Henry Ellis may refer to: * Henry Augustus Ellis (1861–1939), Irish Australian physician and federalist * Henry Ellis (diplomat) (1788–1855), British diplomat * Henry Ellis (governor) (1721–1806), explorer, author, and second colonial Gover ...
raised another ranger company under William Francis, but lack of appropriations forced him to pay the rangers out of his own pocket.


Maryland

The
Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Maryland ...
built
Fort Cumberland A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
in 1754 and a ranger company protected its borders at the beginning of the war. That company participated in the Braddock Expedition, and its place as frontier guards were taken by paid volunteers from the militia: * Maryland Ranger Company, under Captain John Dagworthy. After Braddock's defeat in July 1755, the militia was mobilized but relieved in October by paid volunteers. In the spring of 1756 the General Assembly appropriated moneys for erecting Fort Frederick and several frontier
blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...
s, and to raise a provincial force of 200 men to garrison these fortifications. In the fall of 1756 they appropriated more moneys for raising and maintaining 300 men for the
Royal American Regiment The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...
, and another 100 men for a company to be incorporated in Dagworthy's battalion; one third of the battalion to be on constant duty at the frontier as rangers. In the spring of 1757 the Assembly introduced tax credits for those who enlisted in provincial service, and hired a band of
Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
s for frontier service. Three militia companies were also mobilized and sent to Fort Frederick as garrison. Maryland participated in the
Forbes Expedition The Forbes Expedition was a British military expedition to capture Fort Duquesne, led by Brigadier-General John Forbes in 1758, during the French and Indian War. While advancing to the fort, the expedition built the now historic trail, the Forbes ...
1758 with the frontier force under Colonel Dagworthy, about 500 men. To replace them the militia of the western counties were mobilized, and marched under Governor Sharpe to take control of Fort Cumberland, when the
Virginia Regiment The Virginia Regiment was formed in 1754 by Virginia's Royal Governor Robert Dinwiddie, as a provincial corps. The regiment served in the French and Indian War, with members participating in actions at Jumonville Glen and Fort Necessity in 1754, ...
under
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 ...
left it. Maryland raised the following provincial units annually from 1755 to the end of the war: * Maryland Garrison Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel John Dagworthy. * Cresap's Rangers, under Captain
Thomas Cresap Colonel Thomas Cresap (17021790) was an English-born settler and trader in the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. Cresap served Lord Baltimore as an agent in the Maryland–Pennsylvania boundary dispute that became known as Cresap's War. Lat ...
.


Massachusetts

In 1754
Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its ...
voted 800 provincial soldiers under John Winslow, who built Fort Halifax and
Fort Western Fort Western is a former British colonial outpost at the head of navigation on the Kennebec River at modern Augusta, Maine, United States. It was built in 1754 during the French and Indian War, and is now a National Historic Landmark and local hi ...
on the
Kennebec River The Kennebec River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 river within the U.S. state of Maine. It ri ...
. In 1755, the province first voted 1,200 provincial soldiers for William Johnson's Crown Point expedition against Fort Saint-Frédéric, who participated in the
Battle of Lake George The Battle of Lake George was fought on 8 September 1755, in the north of the Province of New York. It was part of a campaign by the British to expel the French from North America, in the French and Indian War. On one side were 1,584 French, Can ...
. Then another 2,000 to serve for two months, but a full year if necessary, for the Bay of Fundy Campaign, under John Winslow. The soldiers from Johnson's expedition returned in the fall of 1755, except 600 men posted at
Fort William Henry Fort William Henry was a British fort at the southern end of Lake George, in the province of New York. The fort's construction was ordered by Sir William Johnson in September 1755, during the French and Indian War, as a staging ground for ...
and Fort Edward over the winter. In 1756 the General Court voted 3,000 men to dislodge the French from Crown Point, and the commander-in-chief, governor
William Shirley William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organi ...
appointed John Winslow to command the force. The capture of Fort Oswego, and the bad feelings between the new British commander-in-chief, Lord Loudon, and the provincial officers, led to the ultimate failure of this expedition without any serious fighting. The following Massachusetts regiments were raised in 1756: * Colonel
Jonathan Bagley Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...
's Massachusetts Regiment * Colonel Joseph Dwight's Massachusetts Regiment * Colonel
Richard Gridley Richard Gridley (3 January 1710 – 21 June 1796) was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a soldier and engineer who served for the British Army during the French and Indian Wars and for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionar ...
's Massachusetts Regiment * Colonel Ichabod Plaisted's Massachusetts Regiment * Colonel
Timothy Ruggles Timothy Dwight Ruggles (October 20, 1711 – August 4, 1795) was an American colonial military leader, jurist, and politician. He was a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress of 1765 and later a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War. Ear ...
' Massachusetts Regiment * Colonel Joseph Thatcher's Massachusetts Regiment Lord Loudon's attitudes toward the provincial soldiers, seeing them as subordinate auxiliaries instead of brothers-in-arms, created political dissent in Massachusetts, and the General Court voted only 1,800 soldiers for the campaign season of 1757. The Massachusetts provincials served at Fort William Henry and Fort Edward, under British superior officers, fed by the British commissary, and subject to the Articles of War. About 800 Massachusetts provincial were part of the garrison of Fort William Henry and suffered the siege and massacre in the summer of 1757. When William Pitt became
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
in 1757, the attitudes toward the war made a remarkable change in the colonies, and in 1758, the Massachusetts General Court voted to raise 7,000 provincial soldiers to serve until November unless released earlier. The Massachusetts provincials participated in
Abercrombie Abercrombie may refer to: People * Abercrombie Lawson (1870–1927), botanist and professor * Abercrombie (surname) (list of people with the family name Abercrombie) Places Americas * Abercrombie, North Dakota, United States, city in Richland ...
's expedition against Ticonderoga. The failed attack on
Fort Carillon Fort Carillon, presently known as Fort Ticonderoga, was constructed by Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada (New France), French Canada, to protect Lake Champlain from a British invasion. Situated on the lake some south of Fort S ...
stalled further advances, and the provincials spent the rest of the summer at Lake George, building Fort George as a replacement for William Henry. The good feelings continued in the colonies, and for the campaign season 1759 Massachusetts voted 7,000 and Connecticut 5,000 soldiers. The Massachusetts troops were used to garrison Louisbourg and other Atlantic forts; freeing regular soldiers for field operations. But the provincials also participated in Wolfe's expedition against Quebec, and Amherst's against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. The fall of Quebec did not lessen the zeal of Massachusetts, and the province voted 5,000 men for 1760, and reenlisted as many as possible of the provincial garrison troops in the Atlantic forts. The Massachusetts soldiers in the field belonged mainly to Haviland's expedition over Lake Champlain to Montreal. The following year 3,000 Massachusetts provincials saw service, mainly as garrison troops. In 1762 3,220 garrison troops were voted, but 2,637 actually raised. A Massachusetts regiment fought at the
Battle of Signal Hill The Battle of Signal Hill was fought on September 15, 1762, and was the last battle of the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. A British force under Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst recaptured St. John's, which the French had sei ...
.


New Hampshire

As a response to the attack and abduction of a family of settlers by hostile Indians in 1754, the
province of New Hampshire The Province of New Hampshire was a colony of England and later a British province in North America. The name was first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America, and was nam ...
hastily raised a company of provincial soldiers pursuing the perpetrators, but to no avail. Under royal command the province also garrisoned the provincial forts in the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...
valley from the summer of 1754, to the spring of 1755, when the Crown took control of them. Further depredations by hostiles in 1754, was met with mobilization of detachments from the companies and regiments of the organized militia. Temporary ranger companies were also raised for short-term emergencies. In 1755, New Hampshire voted 600 provincial soldiers for William Johnson's expedition against Fort Saint-Frédéric, who participated in the Battle of Lake George. After that battle, another regiment of 300 men were raised by the province. In the fall, a ranger company was raised for two months, protecting the frontier. Another company was later the same year raised, as New Hampshire's quota for garrisoning forts Edward and William Henry over the winter: *
New Hampshire Provincial Regiment The New Hampshire Provincial Regiment was a provincial military regiment made up of men from the New Hampshire Militia during the French and Indian War for service with the British Army in North America. It was first formed in 1754 with the sta ...
, under Colonel Joseph Blanchard of
Dunstable, New Hampshire Dunstable, New Hampshire was a town located in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. It has been divided into several current cities and towns, including Nashua, Hollis, Hudson, Litchfield, and Merrimack. The town was originally part of a larg ...
. * Second New Hampshire Regiment, under Colonel
Peter Gilman Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
of
Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...
. * Ranger Company, under Captain James Neall. * Garrison Company under Captain
Robert Rogers Robert Rogers may refer to: Politics * Robert Rogers (Irish politician) (died 1719), Irish politician, MP for Cork City 1692–1699 *Robert Rogers (Manitoba politician) (1864–1936), Canadian politician * Robert Rogers, Baron Lisvane (born 1950), ...
. In the spring of 1756, Robert Rogers was commissioned by William Shirley, as general and commander-in-chief, to raise an independent company of rangers, outside the provincial establishment; the nucleus and beginning of
Roger's Rangers Rogers' Rangers was a company of soldiers from the Province of New Hampshire raised by Major Robert Rogers and attached to the British Army during the Seven Years' War (French and Indian War). The unit was quickly adopted into the British army ...
. New Hampshire participated in the expedition against Crown Point with a regiment of 600 men: *
New Hampshire Provincial Regiment The New Hampshire Provincial Regiment was a provincial military regiment made up of men from the New Hampshire Militia during the French and Indian War for service with the British Army in North America. It was first formed in 1754 with the sta ...
, under Colonel
Nathaniel Meserve Nathaniel Meserve (1704–1758) was an American shipbuilder. Meserve was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Clement Maserve and his wife Elizabeth Jones. On December 16, 1725, aged 21, he married Jane Libby and together they had ten child ...
of
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...
. New Hampshire voted a regiment of 500 men for the campaign season of 1757. The Colonel, a company of carpenters, and three ranger companies served with Lord Loudon at
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, in the aborted expedition against Louisbourg. The rest of the regiment, forming a battalion under its lieutenant-colonel, was part of the garrison of Fort William Henry, and suffered the fate of the siege and the capitulation. After the fall of William Henry, New Hampshire voted to raise another battalion of 250 men for the defense of Fort Edward. They were stationed at the
Fort at Number 4 The Fort at Number 4 was a mid-18th century stockade fortification protecting Plantation Number 4, the northernmost British settlement along the Connecticut River in the Province of New Hampshire until after the French and Indian War. It was locat ...
. There was also a company at
Fort William and Mary Fort William and Mary was a colonial fortification in Britain's worldwide system of defenses, defended by soldiers of the Province of New Hampshire who reported directly to the royal governor. The fort, originally known as "The Castle," was situ ...
: *
New Hampshire Provincial Regiment The New Hampshire Provincial Regiment was a provincial military regiment made up of men from the New Hampshire Militia during the French and Indian War for service with the British Army in North America. It was first formed in 1754 with the sta ...
, under Colonel Nathaniel Meserve of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. * New Hampshire Provincial Battalion, under Major Thomas Tash. * Garrison Company at Fort William and Mary, under Captain Thomas Bell. In 1758 New Hampshire furnished 800 men in a regiment; a portion of the regiment served in the expedition against Louisbourg under its Colonel, and the remainder did duty on the western frontier under its Lieutenant-Colonel: *
New Hampshire Provincial Regiment The New Hampshire Provincial Regiment was a provincial military regiment made up of men from the New Hampshire Militia during the French and Indian War for service with the British Army in North America. It was first formed in 1754 with the sta ...
, under Colonel John Hart of
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...
. For the campaign season of 1759, 1,000 men was raised through drafts from the militia regiments. They served in the expedition against Fort Niagara, later participating in the battle of Ticonderoga and the battle of Quebec: *
New Hampshire Provincial Regiment The New Hampshire Provincial Regiment was a provincial military regiment made up of men from the New Hampshire Militia during the French and Indian War for service with the British Army in North America. It was first formed in 1754 with the sta ...
, under Colonel Zaccheus Lovewell of
Dunstable, New Hampshire Dunstable, New Hampshire was a town located in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. It has been divided into several current cities and towns, including Nashua, Hollis, Hudson, Litchfield, and Merrimack. The town was originally part of a larg ...
. In 1760 a regiment of 800 men were voted for the conquest of Canada. *
New Hampshire Provincial Regiment The New Hampshire Provincial Regiment was a provincial military regiment made up of men from the New Hampshire Militia during the French and Indian War for service with the British Army in North America. It was first formed in 1754 with the sta ...
, under Colonel
John Goffe John Goffe (March 25, 1701 – October 20, 1786) was a soldier in colonial America. His name is preserved in the name of Goffstown, New Hampshire and the Goffe's Falls neighborhood of Manchester, New Hampshire. Biography Goffe was the son of J ...
of
Derryfield, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the List of cities by population in New England, most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 11 ...
.


New Jersey

The
province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the ...
voted 500 men for service during the campaign season 1755. The battalion was sent north; after reaching Albany it was divided, one detachment with William Johnson's expedition to Lake George, and one with William Shirley against Fort Niagara. After Braddock's defeat, the citizens of the province raised, on their own initiative and cost, a frontier force of 400 men, and it was not until December that the Assembly put it on the provincial establishment, at the same time withdrawing its battalion from the northern operations. * New Jersey Provincial Battalion, under Colonel
Peter Schuyler Pieter Schuyler (17 September 1657 – 19 February 1724) was the first mayor of Albany, New York. A long-serving member of the executive council of the Province of New York, he acted as governor of the Province of New York on three occasions ...
. *
New Jersey Frontier Guard {{short description, 1700s provincial military unit The Frontier Guard was a provincial military unit organized by New Jersey's colonial legislature in 1755 to man a series of frontier fortifications along the Delaware River in northwestern New J ...
, under Colonel
John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...
. In 1756 the Assembly voted 250 men for frontier service. At the fall of Fort Oswego Colonel Schuyler and half the New Jersey Regiment were taken
prisoners-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
and taken to Canada; they were released at the end of the campaign, but under parole not to serve for 18 months. A new enlistment replaced the loss: * New Jersey Provincial Regiment, under Colonel Schuyler; after his capture, Colonel John Parker. * New Jersey Frontier Guards, under Colonel
Jacob DeHart Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...
of
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
. New Jersey voted 500 men for the campaign season of 1757, but refused to use a draft to increase the force to 1,000 men. The provincial regiment was part of the garrison of
Fort William Henry Fort William Henry was a British fort at the southern end of Lake George, in the province of New York. The fort's construction was ordered by Sir William Johnson in September 1755, during the French and Indian War, as a staging ground for ...
, and suffered the same fate as the rest of the garrison troops after the capitulation in 1757. The prisoners-of-war taken were released under parole not to serve for 18 months. A detachment of the regiment had already suffered heavily at the Sabbath Day Point massacre. The Assembly also voted 100 rangers for service over the winter 1757/1758: * New Jersey Provincial Regiment, under Colonel John Parker. * New Jersey Ranger Company, under Captain Gardiner and his three lieutenants John Rickey, John Stull, and John Wood. The new vigor with which the war was fought, made the New Jersey Assembly vote 1,000 men for the campaign season of 1758; offering bounties to induce enlistment, and raising the officers' pay. This complement of a thousand men, the province tried to keep in the field during the campaign seasons 1758, 1759, and 1760; voting 600 men for each of the seasons 1761 and 1762, and actually raising 554 for 1762. Furthermore, raising a separate garrison company in 1762: * New Jersey Provincial Regiment * New Jersey Garrison Company


New York

In 1755 the
province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...
voted to raise 800 provincial soldiers, impressed artisans for making boats, and bought weapons in Virginia, all in preparation for William Johnson's expedition against Crown Point. Connecticut supplied 300 of these men in companies of these soldiers, although on the establishment of New York; drafts from the militia would be used to fill the province's commitment. The expedition's artillery train was funded by New York and Massachusetts. After Braddock's defeat the lieutenant-governor proposed the raising of another 450 provincial soldiers, but it was rejected by the Assembly. * New York Regiment of Foot, under Colonel William Cockcroft.''New York Muster Rolls,'' p. 539. In 1756 the New York Assembly, amidst a raging controversy over the provincial
civil list A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government, typically for service to the state or as honorary pensions. It is a term especially associated with the United Kingdom and its former colonies of Canada, India, New Zeal ...
and the colony's debt, voted to raise 1,000 provincial soldiers for that years campaign, but withheld the final decision. The governor proposed to call out the militia if the Assembly did not give a final affirmative; eventually it did, and also voted an additional 550 soldiers, on the condition that 400 of these would be used against the Indians on the western frontier of the province. The fall of Fort Oswego led to widespread panic in the province, and the mobilization of the militia in Albany and
Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
counties. * New York Forces, under Colonel Beamsley Glazier. In 1757 the Assembly voted to 1,000 provincial soldiers for that years campaign. During the
siege of Fort William Henry The siege of Fort William Henry (3–9 August 1757, french: Bataille de Fort William Henry) was conducted by a French and Indian force led by Louis-Joseph de Montcalm against the British-held Fort William Henry. The fort, located at the sout ...
, the militia of Albany,
Dutchess Dutchess County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeeps ...
, and
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
counties, and parts of
Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...
were eventually mobilized, but soon became mutinous. In a much different spirit than earlier in the war, the Assembly voted to raise 2,680 men for the campaign of 1758, with ten pounds bounty for every volunteer, and twenty shilling to the officer for every recruit; furthermore to maintain every poor soldier's family during his absence. In 1759 and again in 1760, the Assembly voted to raise 2,680 men for the campaign season, under the same conditions as in 1758; although the bounty was increased to 20 pounds. In 1761 the Assembly voted to raise two-thirds of the previous levies, 1,787 men for that season. The government in London requested in 1762 a levy of 479 men for the regular army, for operations in the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
. The Assembly, not wanting to establish a dangerous precedent, instead voted a large sum of money in support. It again voted 1,787 men, although with the proviso that they would not serve outside the continent, and actually raised 1,547 men. * New York Regiment, Colonel John Johnston 1759. * First New York Regiment, Colonel Bartholomew Le Roux 1760; Colonel Michael Thodey 1761.''New York Muster Rolls,'' pp. 566, 567. * Second New York Regiment, Colonel Isaac Corsa 1760; Colonel George Brewerton 1761. * Third New York Regiment, Colonel
Nathaniel Woodhull General Nathaniel Woodhull (December 30, 1722 – September 20, 1776) was a leader of the New York Provincial Congress and a brigadier general of the New York Militia during the American Revolution. Biography Woodhull was born on December 30, 17 ...
1760.


North Carolina

At the outbreak of hostilities with France in 1754, the organized militia of the
province of North Carolina Province of North Carolina was a province of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712(p. 80) to 1776. It was one of the five Southern Colonies, Southern colonies and one of the Thirteen Colonies, thir ...
had fallen into decay, and was hardly any more than a paper organization; many of the officer billets were unfilled, and about half of the men lacked arms. The Crown supplied one thousand stand of arms. They were issued to the western militia and to the provincial troops now raised. The Assembly had decided to organize a force of 750 men for service against the French at
Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
, but not having taken into account that the province had to provision the force outside its borders, the strength had to be lowered to 450 in order to afford the required
victuals Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ing ...
. Funds were still not sufficient, and the North Carolina troops had just reached
Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...
when they were disbanded: * North Carolina Regiment, under Colonel James Innes. North Carolina participated with a ranger company of one hundred men under Captain Dobbs in Braddock's expedition against Fort Duquesne 1755; it avoided annihilation As it was attached to Dunbar's brigade, far from the action. The province also raised a company of 50 men for the protection of the frontier: * North Carolina Provincial Company, under Captain Brice Dobbs, the son of governor
Arthur Dobbs Arthur Dobbs (2 April 1689 – 28 March 1765) was a British colonial official who served as the seventh governor of North Carolina from 1754 until 1764. Early life and career Dobbs was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, where his mother had been sen ...
. * Frontier Company, under Captain Hugh Waddell. The Assembly responded to Braddock's defeat by levying three more companies, and ordered Dobbs' company to New York, to join with the three other companies in forming a battalion. After the fall of
Fort Oswego Fort Oswego was an 18th-century trading post in the Great Lakes region in North America, which became the site of a battle between French and British forces in 1756 during the French and Indian War. The fort was established in 1727 on the orders o ...
1756, the battalion was disbanded and most of the soldiers enlisted in the
60th Regiment of Foot 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
: * North Carolina Battalion, under Major Brice Dobbs. Governor Dobbs had promised the other southern colonies that North Carolina would raise 400 provincial soldiers for 1757, but the Assembly voted to raise only 200 men, specifically for service in South Carolina under Colonel Bouquet. The governor ordered the militia in the southern border counties to be prepared to join Bouquets army, but they refused to leave the colony. Two companies of 50 men each were formed for service on the western frontier of the colony. One, under Hugh Waddell garrisoned
Fort Dobbs ''Fort Dobbs'' is a 1958 American Western film, the first of three directed by Gordon Douglas to star Clint Walker. The other two were: ''Yellowstone Kelly'' in 1959 and ''Gold of the Seven Saints'' in 1961. Released by Warner Brothers and ba ...
. The other, under Captain Bailey was sent to build a fort for the
Catawba Indians The Catawba, also known as Issa, Essa or Iswä but most commonly ''Iswa'' (Catawba: '' Ye Iswąˀ'' – "people of the river"), are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, known as the Catawba Indian Nation. Their current lands ar ...
. When the fort for the Catawba was abandoned, Bailey's Company was sent to Fort Dobbs: *Company under Major Hugh Waddell. *Company under Captain Andrew Bailey. For 1758 the Assembly voted 450 provincial soldiers. The battalion was to join in the
Forbes Expedition The Forbes Expedition was a British military expedition to capture Fort Duquesne, led by Brigadier-General John Forbes in 1758, during the French and Indian War. While advancing to the fort, the expedition built the now historic trail, the Forbes ...
in Pennsylvania. Two garrison companies were also raised; one for Fort Johnston, and one for
Fort Granville Fort Granville was a militia stockade located in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania. Its site was about a mile from Lewistown, in what is now Granville Township, Mifflin County. Active from 1755 until 1756, the stockade briefly sheltered pi ...
at Ocracoke: * North Carolina Battalion, under Major Hugh Waddell. * Garrison Company at Fort Johnston, under Captain James Moore. * Garrison Company at Fort Granville, under Captain Charles McNair. A long and tedious power struggle between the governor and the Assembly had as a consequence that no provincial troops were raised by North Carolina until late 1759, in spite of the start of the
Anglo-Cherokee War The Anglo-Cherokee War (1758–1761; in the Cherokee language: the ''"war with those in the red coats"'' or ''"War with the English"''), was also known from the Anglo-European perspective as the Cherokee War, the Cherokee Uprising, or the Cherok ...
. Two 30-man companies were raised to serve at Fort Dobbs on the western frontier late in the year: *30-man company under Major Hugh Waddell *30-man company under Capt Andrew Bailey In early February, 1760, NC reduced the Fort Dobbs garrison to just 1 Captain, 1 Lieutenant, 1 Ensign, 2 Drummers, and 26 Privates. Now a Colonel, Hugh Waddell remained at the fort as well. Fort Dobbs was attacked by a party of Cherokee on February 27, 1760. *30-man company under Colonel Waddell and Captain Bailey. In 1761, North Carolina agreed to raise a regiment of 500 men organized into 5 companies for 7 months service. Colonel Waddell commanded the regiment, which took quite a bit of time to raise and equip. By July the regiment began marching to southwestern Virginia to rendezvous with a 750 strong Virginia regiment. Together they were to support a British Invasion of the Lower and Middle Cherokee towns by attaching the Overhill settlements. The force only made it as far as modern
Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, w ...
before peace was concluded. The North Carolina Provincial Regiment was disbanded by December, 1761: *North Carina Provincial Regiment under Colonel Hugh Waddell.


Pennsylvania

At the outbreak of hostilities, the
province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to W ...
lacked proper militia laws, as the General Assembly long had been dominated by
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
. Instead a
voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteering, volunteers, to form a body (or organ ...
whose members armed and equipped themselves, the Associated Companies, founded by
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
acted as a substitute militia. The Associators were regulated by law in 1755, when the election of officers were prescribed. The act specifically proclaimed that it could not be in any way construed to affect the rights of those who had conscientious objections against bearing arms. It also specified that no member of the Association was obliged to march more than three days from the settled country, or lay in garrison more than three weeks. The pacifist nature of the Assembly did not prevent Pennsylvania from raising provincial troops. The Deputy Governor and the Provincial Commissioners (a board of war and Indian affairs) organized a provincial force of 25 companies and 1,400 men in the province's pay. Armstrong's battalion being the force of the
Kittanning Expedition The Kittanning Expedition, also known as the Armstrong Expedition or the Battle of Kittanning, was a raid during the French and Indian War that led to the destruction of the American Indian village of Kittanning, which had served as a staging p ...
1756. * First Battalion, Pennsylvania Regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel
Conrad Weiser Conrad Weiser (November 2, 1696 – July 13, 1760), born Johann Conrad Weiser, Jr., was a Pennsylvania Dutch (German) pioneer who served as an interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native American nations. Primarily a fa ...
. * Second Battalion, Pennsylvania Regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel John Armstrong. * Augusta Regiment or Third Battalion at
Fort Augusta Fort Augusta was a stronghold in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the upper Susquehanna Valley from the time of the French and Indian War to the close of the American Revolution. The fort was erected by Colonel William Clapham in 1756 at a ...
, under Lieutenant Colonel
William Clapham William Clapham (1722 – 28 May, 1763) was an American military officer who participated in the construction of several forts in Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War. He was considered a competent commander in engagements with French ...
. In 1756 the Assembly found it necessary to regulate the provincial forces by law, putting them under the British Articles of War, and authorizing the creation of
court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
s. The following year a new militia law was enacted, making militia service compulsory for all but conscientious objectors.
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
were obliged to serve, but were not allowed to vote for, or be elected, officers. In 1757 the Assembly allowed bounties for the recruitment of 200 extra provincial soldiers, to be sent to South Carolina. After the fall of Fort William Henry, the Assembly also authorized the Deputy Governor to raise 1,000 soldiers, or draw them from the frontier garrisons, for the impending operations against the French in the
Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...
area. If the garrisons were used, their place should be filled by locally recruited garrison and ranger companies. In 1758 the Assembly approved the raising of 700 soldiers, soon raised to 1,000, of which 700 would be serving with the British forces operating against the French, and 300 be kept in the province. A provincial
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
was also commissioned for the defense of the
Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inlan ...
. Encouraged by the new prime minister, William Pitt, the Assembly resolved to put 2,700 men under British command for the
Forbes Expedition The Forbes Expedition was a British military expedition to capture Fort Duquesne, led by Brigadier-General John Forbes in 1758, during the French and Indian War. While advancing to the fort, the expedition built the now historic trail, the Forbes ...
of 1758, including the 1,000 provincial soldiers already serving. * Provincial ship ''Pennsylvania'', Captain John Sibbald. * Pennsylvania Regiment, Deputy Governor William Denny, Colonel.Montgomery 1906, pp. 88–89, 97. * Pennsylvania Regiment, Conrad Weiser, Lieutenant Colonel. * Pennsylvania Regiment,
James Burd James Burd (March 10, 1725 – October 5, 1793) was a colonial American soldier in the French and Indian War, during which he played an important role in fortifying the Pennsylvania frontier. Early life Born in Ormiston, near Edinburgh, Scotland, ...
, Major. * Pennsylvania Regiment,
Hugh Mercer Hugh Mercer (16 January 1726 – 12 January 1777) was a Scottish-born American military officer and physician who participated in the Seven Years' War and Revolutionary War. Born in Pitsligo, Scotland, he studied medicine in his home country ...
, Major. After the fall of
Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
, the Pennsylvania provincial force specifically raised for Forbes' expedition was disbanded, but the old troops remained in service. The Assembly voted to raise 1,300 soldiers for the campaign season 1759. Encouraged by the British victories in Canada the Assembly in 1760 at first reduced the number of provincial soldiers to 150, but when the Crown insisted that the province should do its part, it agreed on raising 2,700 men again. After the final fall of Canada to the British in 1760, the Pennsylvania forces were reduced to 150 soldiers that had to be kept beyond their enlistment period. The Assembly refused to pay them, but conceded to raise a garrison of 30 men for Fort Augusta. For 1761 the Crown requested 2/3 of the men levied in 1760, but the Assembly refused to oblige, and agreed only to raise 900 soldiers on a promise that they would remain in the province. The Assembly voted 1,000 soldiers for 1762, but refused to furnish recruits for the regular army. * Pennsylvania Regiment, Deputy Governor William Denny, Colonel. * Pennsylvania Regiment, First Battalion, John Armstrong, Colonel Commandant.Montgomery 1906, pp. 128–131, 298. * Pennsylvania Regiment, Second Battalion, James Burd, Colonel Commandant. * Pennsylvania Regiment, Third Battalion, Hugh Mercer, Colonel Commandant. * The New Levies (1759),
William Clapham William Clapham (1722 – 28 May, 1763) was an American military officer who participated in the construction of several forts in Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War. He was considered a competent commander in engagements with French ...
, Colonel.


Rhode Island

Early in 1755, the province of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations recruited 113 men, but they were not intended for provincial service, but as
recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...
s for Shirley's and Pepperrell's regiments-regular British army regiments raised in North America under special terms of enlistment. But when Governor Shilrey of Massachusetts requested soldiers for William Johnson's expedition to Crown Point, the General Assembly repealed the enlistment of the 113 men, and voted to raise 400 men in four companies, for the expedition. The men could be recruited from other colonies or from the
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
, if necessary. Four companies of the regiment participated in the
battle of Lake George The Battle of Lake George was fought on 8 September 1755, in the north of the Province of New York. It was part of a campaign by the British to expel the French from North America, in the French and Indian War. On one side were 1,584 French, Can ...
, distinguishing themselves at the "Bloody Morning Scout." Before the war, the province had had only had a few soldiers in its pay, manning Fort George on Goat Island in
Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sma ...
. Now the Assembly ordered its
commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
to enlist 50 more men for the garrison. After Braddock's defeat, another three companies, of 50 men each, were levied and augmented with deserters from the original regiment. Later four additional companies, of 50 men each, were raised: * Rhode Island Regiment, Christopher Harris, Colonel. Over the winter 1755/56 Rhode Island retained only 185 men in military service, one hundred at home, and the rest at
Fort William Henry Fort William Henry was a British fort at the southern end of Lake George, in the province of New York. The fort's construction was ordered by Sir William Johnson in September 1755, during the French and Indian War, as a staging ground for ...
. A regiment of 500 men, divided into ten companies, were voted for 1756; recruited by
impressment Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion, with or without notice. European navies of several nations used forced recruitment by various means. The large size of ...
if necessary. Later the same year a hundred additional men, in two companies, were voted. Rumors of a French advance against the fort encouraged the Assembly to vote another 400 men; this time by draft if necessary, from every man between 16 and 60 years of age, with some exceptions. The governor was made colonel of the new regiment, but
Lord Loudoun General John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (5 May 1705 – 27 April 1782) was a Scottish nobleman and British army officer. Early career Born in Scotland two years before the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, in which his father Hugh ...
countermanded its marching orders as the season was too late, and the soldiers were discharged: * Rhode Island Regiment, Christopher Harris, Colonel. * Second Rhode Island Regiment ("The 400 men"), Governor Stephen Hopkins, Colonel. In February 1757, the General Assembly voted to raise a regiment of 450 men, in five companies, to serve for a year. Later the Assembly, on Lord Loudon's request, voted another 150 men, to be ready to serve if required by the commandant of Fort Edward. Some of the Rhode Island soldiers were stationed at Fort Edward, others under the colonel at
Fort William Henry Fort William Henry was a British fort at the southern end of Lake George, in the province of New York. The fort's construction was ordered by Sir William Johnson in September 1755, during the French and Indian War, as a staging ground for ...
. After the fall of Fort William Henry, the Assembly ordered a new regiment to be formed, by drafting one-sixth of the militia. But the French withdrew to Canada, and the army in the field was put on winter establishment. Most soldiers were discharged; a company of 100 rangers retained for winter service, and 250 men reenlisted to serve as a readiness force in the province: * Rhode Island Regiment, Samuel Angel, Colonel. * Second Rhode Island Regiment John Andrews, Colonel. * Ranger Company * "Readiness Battalion" In 1758, the Rhode Island Assembly voted to raise a regiment of 1,000 men for the campaign season. Old officers were retained, but billets made empty by death, sickness or resignation were filled, commissions being conditioned on fulfilling recruitment quotas. The Rhode Island Regiment participated in the disastrous expedition against Ticonderoga, all but two companies participating in the battle. Frequent
desertion Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ar ...
s plagued this and other regiments during that campaign. A detachment from the regiment took part in the capture of Fort Frontenac: * Rhode Island Regiment, Godfrey Malbone, Colonel; Henry Babcock, Colonel. In December 1758, upon the request of General Amherst, the Assembly decided to retain the troops over winter 1758/59, to be ready early in the spring. In February 1759, it voted to furnish 1,000 men in 13 companies for the campaign season, the number of seamen joining
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
service, to be deducted from the one thousand: * Rhode Island Regiment, Henry Babcock, Colonel. Early in 1760, the Assembly voted to raise a regiment of 1,000 men for the campaign. After the victory in Canada, the Assembly voted to disband the regiment, fifteen days after its discharge, many men already having "discharged" themselves after the fall of
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
: * Rhode Island Regiment, Christopher Harris, Colonel. The Assembly voted to raise 666 men in seven companies for 1761; 395 of these were actually raised. General Amherst requested that a company of 64 men be kept over the winter 1761/62, which the Assembly approved; it formed part of the garrison of
Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was built ...
:Chapin 1928, p. 15. * Rhode Island Regiment,
John Whiting John Robert Whiting (15 November 1917 – 16 June 1963) was an English actor, dramatist and critic. Life and career Born in Salisbury, he was educated at Taunton School, "the particular hellish life which is the English public school" as he ...
, Colonel. In 1762 the Assembly voted to raise a provincial regiment of 666 men, and also an additional 178 recruits for the regular British Army, as requested by General Amherst. Three companies of the regiment participated in the British attack on Cuba, losing about half of its strength through sickness. The rest of the regiment was stationed at
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
:Chapin 1928, p. 15. * Rhode Island Regiment, Samuel Rose, Colonel. * "Cuba Detachment", Christopher Hargil, Lieutenant Colonel.


South Carolina

The
province of South Carolina Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies. The monar ...
did not raise one single soldier for the fight against the French. It was first with the outbreak of the Cherokee War that any provincial forces were organized. Provincial troops from South Carolina participated in the construction of Fort Loudon. In 1759 the province mounted an expedition against the Cherokee homeland, but it did not get farther than to
Fort Prince George Fort Prince George was an uncompleted fort on what is now the site of Pittsburgh, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The site was originally a trading post established by Ohio Company t ...
. In the spring of 1760 the
Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...
and Montgomerie's Highlanders arrived to South Carolina for an offensive against the Cherokees. They were supported by seven troops of mounted rangers raised by Lieutenant Governor Bull. In spite of the success of the offensive, Fort Loudon had to capitulate. South Carolina now raised a provincial regiment for a renewed offensive with the Royal Scots that reached the heart of the Cherokee homeland, and resulted in a peace treaty in 1761. Attempts were made to raise an additional regiment in 1760, but not enough men could be recruited.South 1970, p. 19. * South Carolina Mounted Rangers * South Carolina Regiment, Colonel Probart Howarth (also a lieutenant in one of the independent companies of the British Army stationed in South Carolina) 1758. * South Carolina Regiment, Colonel
Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...
1760. * Additional South Carolina Regiment, Colonel Richard Richardson.


Virginia

The conflict over the Ohio Country led to raising of the first provincial regiment in Virginia. In 1754 the General Assembly voted to raise a regiment of 300 men and send it to the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers. *
Virginia Regiment The Virginia Regiment was formed in 1754 by Virginia's Royal Governor Robert Dinwiddie, as a provincial corps. The regiment served in the French and Indian War, with members participating in actions at Jumonville Glen and Fort Necessity in 1754, ...
, Colonel
Joshua Fry Colonel Joshua Fry (1699–1754) was an English-born American adventurer who became a professor, then real estate investor and local official in the colony of Virginia. Although he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, he may be best kn ...
; Colonel
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 ...
. ** Lieutenant Colonel George Muse Toner 1893, pp. 165-166, 169, 189. ** Major
Adam Stephen Adam Stephen ( – 16 July 1791) was a Scottish-born American doctor and military officer who helped found what became Martinsburg, West Virginia. He emigrated to North America, where he served in the Province of Virginia's militia under Georg ...
** Captain
Robert Stobo Major Robert Stobo (1726/27–1770) was an 18th-century Scottish-born colonial American frontiersman and soldier. Stobo was an officer in the Virginia militia who, during the French and Indian War, acted as a spy while a prisoner-of-war at Fort ...
** Captain Peter Hog ** Captain
Andrew Lewis Andrew Lewis may refer to: Law and politics * Sir Andrew J. W. Lewis (1875-1952), Scottish businessman and politician; Lord Provost of Aberdeen * Andrew L. Lewis Jr. (1931–2016), American railroad executive and US Secretary of Transportation *And ...
** Captain
Jacob van Braam Jacobus van Braam (b. Bergen op Zoom, in the Netherlands, 1 April 1729, d. 1 August 1792 Charleville, France) was a sword master and mercenary who trained the 19-year-old George Washington in 1751 or shortly thereafter. He was also retained by Wash ...
** Captain Thomas Waggoner ** Captain George Mercer ** Captain William Polson After the
battle of Fort Necessity The Battle of Fort Necessity, also known as the Battle of the Great Meadows, took place on July 3, 1754, in what is now Farmington in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The engagement, along with the May 28 skirmish known as the Battle of Jumonville ...
the Assembly voted to raise the regiment from five to ten companies. The Virginia provincial troops that participated in the Braddock Expedition of 1755, and suffered defeat at the
Battle of the Monongahela The Battle of the Monongahela (also known as the Battle of Braddock's Field and the Battle of the Wilderness) took place on 9 July 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, at Braddock's Field in what is now Braddock, Pennsylvania, ea ...
were unregimented; at the behest of
General Braddock Major-General Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe ...
they were organized in two companies of carpenters, six companies of rangers, and one troop of mounted rangers, in all 450 men. The remaining 350 from the original ten companies of the Virginia Regiment were used to augment the two regular regiments of the expedition. After Braddock's defeat, the Virginia regiment was immediately reformed, and the Assembly voted in 1755 to raise it to 1,500 men in 16 companies. In 1756 its actual strength was 1,400 men, while in 1757 it was reduced to 1,000 men. * Virginia Regiment, Colonel
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 ...
. In 1758 Virginia raised two regiments of a thousand men each for the
Forbes Expedition The Forbes Expedition was a British military expedition to capture Fort Duquesne, led by Brigadier-General John Forbes in 1758, during the French and Indian War. While advancing to the fort, the expedition built the now historic trail, the Forbes ...
. The enlistment period for the first regiment expired in May 1759, and for the second in December 1758:Eckenrode 1913, p. 11. * First Virginia Regiment, Colonel George Washington. * Second Virginia Regiment, Colonel
William Byrd III Colonel William Byrd III (September 6, 1728January 1 or January 2, 1777) was an American planter, politician and military officer who was a member of the House of Burgesses. Early life He was son of William Byrd II and Maria Taylor Byrd, and t ...
. After the fall of
Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
, the Assembly voted in 1759 to fill up the one regiment still in service, and to raise a force of another 500 men that would remain in the province for its immediate defense. The regiment would remain in service until May 1760: * Virginia Regiment, Colonel William Byrd III. * Additional force of 500 men. With the outbreak of the Cherokee War, the Assembly prolonged the Regiments service, adding 300 men in three companies as frontier guards. It remained on the Cherokee frontier until early 1762, when the governor disbanded it:Eckenrode 1913, pp. 12–13. * Virginia Regiment, Colonel William Byrd III; Lieutenant Colonel
Adam Stephen Adam Stephen ( – 16 July 1791) was a Scottish-born American doctor and military officer who helped found what became Martinsburg, West Virginia. He emigrated to North America, where he served in the Province of Virginia's militia under Georg ...
. In 1762 the British government wanted Virginia to raise a regiment that would be put on the regular British establishment, but the General Assembly voted to re-raise the Virginia Regiment. That regiment was disbanded in May 1763, just before the outbreak of
Pontiac's War Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of Native Americans dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754–176 ...
, since the province could not maintain it without the paper money disallowed by the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
. * Virginia Regiment, Colonel Adam Stephen.


Successors

Both the state regiments outside 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 the loyalist regiments, often called provincials attached to 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 ...
, 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 ...
can be seen as successors to the provincial troops of the
French and Indian Wars The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...
era.https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/provincial-military-organizations


References


Citations

{{reflist, 2


Cited literature

* Anderson, Fred (1984). ''A People's Army.'' Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. * Anonymous (1902). "Officers of the South Carolina Regiment in the Cherokee War, 1760–61." ''The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine,'' Vol. 3, No. 4: 202–206. * Arnold, Samuel Greene (1860). ''History of the State of Rhode Island. Volume II.'' Providence, R.I.: Preston & Rounds. * Ashe, Samuel A'Court (1908). ''History of North Carolina. Volume I.'' Greensboro, N.C.: Charles L. Van Noppen. * Baker, Raymond F. (1995). ''A Campaign of Amateurs. The Siege of Louisbourg 1745.'' Ottawa: Parks Canada. * Barry, John Stetson (1856). ''The History of Massachusetts: The Provincial Period.'' Boston: Henry Barry. * Bates, Albert C., ed. (1903–1905). ''Rolls of Connecticut men in the French and Indian war, 1755–1762.'' Connecticut Historical Society. * Beer, George Louis (1907). ''British Colonial Policy 1754–1765.'' New York: The Macmillan Company. * Brumwell, Stephen (2002). 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