List of Continental Army units (1776) explained

The Continental Army was the army raised by the Second Continental Congress to oppose the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. The army went through three major establishments: the first in 1775, the second in 1776, and the third from 1777 until after the end of the war. The 1776 differed in some significant ways from both the 1775 establishment and the 1777 establishment.

Second establishment

The Continental Army was established by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, which is also recognized as the founding date of its successor, the United States Army. On that day, the Continental Congress assumed responsibility for militia regiments that had been raised by the colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. These units and others authorized by Congress served in the Siege of Boston and the invasion of Quebec launched in September 1775. With these operations ongoing, Congress voted to authorize a second establishment of the army for 1776.

The enlistments of most soldiers in the Continental Army of 1775 expired on the last day of the year. On January 1, 1776, a new army was established. General George Washington had submitted recommendations for reorganization to the Continental Congress almost immediately after accepting the position of Commander-in-Chief, but these took time to consider and implement. Despite attempts to broaden the recruiting base beyond New England, the 1776 army remained skewed toward the Northeast both in terms of its composition and geographical focus.

Main Army units

Numbered infantry regimentsThe bulk of the newly organized Main Army (that was commanded by General Washington) consisted of 27 infantry regiments, which were numbered in order of the seniority of the colonel of each regiment, and styled as "Continental Regiments". This differed from the regiments in the Southern Department, which retained state designations, some of which were assigned in the 1775 establishment. The Main Army regiments were created by reorganizing existing units and by encouraging soldiers to reenlist for another year. Each new regiment comprised eight companies, which at full strength fielded a total of 728 men. Of these, 640 provided the firepower (privates and corporals with muskets); the remaining were officers and staff, including three field officers (a colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major), a captain for each company, a surgeon, a quartermaster, drummers, etc.[1] Other units were also authorized.
StateColonels1775 establishment
predecessor		1777 establishment
successor
1stPennsylvaniaWilliam Thompson
Edward Hand (March 7, 1776)		1st Pennsylvania Regiment1st Pennsylvania Regiment
2ndNew HampshireJames Reed3rd New Hampshire Regiment3rd New Hampshire Regiment
3rdMassachusettsEbenezer Learned4th Massachusetts Regiment4th Massachusetts Regiment
4thMassachusettsJohn Nixon6th Massachusetts Regiment6th Massachusetts Regiment
5thNew HampshireJohn Stark1st New Hampshire Regiment1st New Hampshire Regiment
6thMassachusettsEdward Wigglesworth
Asa Whitcomb		None; raised July 11, 177613th Massachusetts Regiment
7thMassachusettsWilliam Prescott9th Massachusetts Regiment
(not to be confused with the 1777 9th Massachusetts Regiment)		Disbanded; remnants joined the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment
8thNew HampshireEnoch Poor2nd New Hampshire Regiment2nd New Hampshire Regiment
9thRhode IslandJames Mitchell Varnum1st Rhode Island Regiment1st Rhode Island Regiment
10thConnecticutSamuel Holden Parsons
John Tyler		6th Connecticut Regiment6th Connecticut Regiment
11thRhode IslandDaniel Hitchcock2nd Rhode Island Regiment2nd Rhode Island Regiment
12thMassachusettsMoses Little24th Massachusetts RegimentDisbanded.
13thMassachusettsJoseph Read
14thMassachusettsJohn Glover23rd Massachusetts RegimentDisbanded.
15thMassachusettsJohn Paterson1st Massachusetts Regiment
16thMassachusettsPaul Dudley Sargent8th Massachusetts Regiment
17thConnecticutJedediah Huntington
18thMassachusettsEdmund Phinney12th Massachusetts Regiment
19thConnecticutCharles Webb
20thConnecticutJohn Durkee
21stMassachusettsJonathan Ward
22ndConnecticutSamuel Wyllys
23rdMassachusettsJohn Bailey2nd Massachusetts Regiment
24thMassachusettsJohn Greaton3rd Massachusetts Regiment
25thMassachusettsWilliam Bond
26thMassachusettsLoammi BaldwinGerrish's Regiment9th Massachusetts Regiment
27thMassachusettsIsrael Hutchinson5th Massachusetts Regiment
Other infantry units
Artillery

Canadian Department units

Initial infantry units
Continental Regiments authorized by Washington on January 19, 1776 after Montgomery's defeat at the Battle of Quebec (December 31, 1775):
Reinforcements dispatched from New York City on April 15, 1776 under Brigadier General William Thompson
Reinforcements dispatched from New York City on April 27, 1776 under Brigadier General John Sullivan
Additional units raised later in the year

Northern Department units

Artillery units:

Eastern Department units

Rhode Island Garrison Regiments.

Two regiments of Rhode Island state troops which served with the Continental Army in 1776, but were not placed on the Continental establishment.[3]

Middle Department units

The Middle Department was created on February 27, 1776,[4] as a military administrative district embracing New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. When the Main Army moved from Boston to New York in April 1776 and Washington opened his headquarters in New York City, he assumed direct command of the department. As a result the Main Army became, for the remainder of the war, the field army associated with the Middle Department.[5] At the same time New York and the Northern Department became practically coextensive; only the Hudson Highlands and parts of New York to the south remained in the Middle Department.[6] These changes left Washington holding three posts at once: Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, Commanding General of the field army under his immediate command, the Main Army, and Commanding General of the Middle Department.

Infantry units

Southern Department units

The Continental Congress established the Southern Department on February 27, 1776.[4] The department was the organizing unit for regiments raised in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.

Virginia infantry
North Carolina infantry
South Carolina infantry
Georgia infantry
Cavalry units
Artillery units

References

Notes and References

  1. Wright, Continental Army, 47, 50.
  2. Lesser, Sinews, 12.
  3. Berg, Encyclopedia, 106.
  4. Wright, Continental Army, 82.
  5. Wright, Continental Army, 84.
  6. Wright, Continental Army, 83-84.
  7. Wright, Continental Army, 72.
  8. Wright, Continental Army, 108.
  9. Wright, Continental Army, 70-71.

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