The 9th Connecticut Regiment was a regiment of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. It was first called Webb's Additional Continental Regiment (after its colonel, Samuel Blachley Webb) before being added to the

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

in 1780. It saw action at

Setauket Setauket is a hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, on the North Shore (Long Island), Nort ...

in 1777,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

in 1778, and Springfield, New Jersey, in 1780, and was generally active in the defense of Connecticut, southern New York, and northern New Jersey. It was merged into the reorganized

2nd Connecticut Regiment The 2nd Connecticut Regiment was a regiment in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. It is not to be confused with the 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment which served during the American Civil War. History The 2nd Conn ...

in January 1781.

Formation

The regiment was raised on January 11, 1777, at

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

, by Colonel Samuel Blachley Webb, a stepson of Connecticut politician

Silas Deane Silas Deane (September 23, 1789) was an American merchant, politician, and diplomat, and a supporter of American independence. Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, and then became the ...

. It was one of several so-called " additional regiments" authorized by the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

that were not associated with any particular state quotas.

History

The regiment first saw action at the

Battle of Setauket The Battle of Setauket (August 22, 1777) was a failed attack during the American Revolutionary War on a fortified Loyalist outpost in Setauket, Long Island, New York, by a force of Continental Army troops from Connecticut under the command of ...

in August 1777 under Brigadier General

Samuel Holden Parsons Samuel Holden Parsons (May 14, 1737 – November 17, 1789) was an American lawyer, jurist, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 428. in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Countr ...

. It was then sent to the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

Valley, where it served under General George Clinton in the aftermath of the October

Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery The Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery was an American Revolutionary War battle fought in the Hudson Highlands of the Hudson River valley, not far from West Point, on October 6, 1777. British forces under the command of General Sir Henry Cli ...

. In December 1777 the regiment was involved in a failed expedition to Long Island (a more elaborate attempt on Setauket than that of the previous August) in which Colonel Webb was captured. The regiment spent the winter of 1777–78 at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, where it assisted in the construction of fortifications (including the Webb redoubt, probably named for the colonel). In 1778 the regiment was attached to the brigade of General

James Varnum James Mitchell Varnum (December 17, 1748 – January 9, 1789) was an American legislator, lawyer, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 559. in the Continental Army, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country.Wilkins, ''Memoirs of the R ...

. As part of a combined Franco-American attempt to retake British-occupied

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, the brigade marched to Rhode Island, where it was involved in the August 29

Battle of Rhode Island The Battle of Rhode Island (also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill) took place on August 29, 1778. Continental Army and Militia forces under the command of Major General John Sullivan had been besieging the British forces in Newport, Rhode Isl ...

. The battle was tactically indecisive, but the regiment was noted for its performance. The regiment wintered in Rhode Island. The regiment spent most of 1779 in Rhode Island, but was sent to winter quarters at

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

. In the spring of 1780, the remnants of

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

were merged into the unit, and it was formally added to the Connecticut Line as the 9th Connecticut Regiment. That June, the regiment was involved in the Battle of Springfield, in which a British attempt to penetrated from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to the Continental Army camp at Morristown was repulsed. Its winter quarters for 1780-81 were in the Hudson valley.

Disbandment

The regiment was merged into the

on January 1, 1781, at

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

, which was disbanded at the end of the war on November 15, 1783. Colonel Webb, who was exchanged in 1781, was then given command of the reorganized

3rd Connecticut Regiment The 3rd Connecticut Regiment was authorized on 16 September 1776 and was organized between 1 January - April 1777 of eight companies of volunteers from the counties of Windham and Hartford in the state of Connecticut. On 3 April 1777 it was as ...

Field officers

*Colonel Samuel B. Webb - 1 January 1777 to 1 January 1781 *Lieutenant Colonel William S. Livingston (soldier) - 1 January 1777 to 10 October 1778 *Lieutenant Colonel

Ebenezer Huntington Ebenezer Huntington (December 26, 1754 – June 17, 1834) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and afterwards United States Representative from Connecticut. Early life Ebenezer was born on December 26, 1 ...

- 10 October 1778 to 1 January 1781 *Major Ebenezer Huntington - 1 January 1777 to 10 October 1778 *Major John P. Wyllys - 10 October 1778 to 1 January 1781 Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army. Francis B. Heitman. pg. 25.

Formation

History

Disbandment

Field officers

References

Further reading