Congressional Forces

Regiments were raised and equipped by individual states for Continental service, and color, style and condition of clothing and accouterments was anything but uniform. In 1779 Washington ordered all Continental troops to be outfitted with blue regimentals, faced with different colors to indicate the unit' s origin. This order was carried out with moderate success.

Illustrations by Mark Tully, 55th Foot.

Pennsylvania Rifle Battalion Capt. Hendricks Co'y August, 1775 This unit wears mostly civilian dress common along the Pennsylvania frontier fringed hunting shirts, leggings, moccasins, slouched hat and a variety of arms and accouterments. The 90-man company was raised in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in June of 1775 in response to an appeal from Congress for rifle companies to aid in the siege of Boston. In September of 1775, Hendricks company accompanied Benedict Arnolds expedition to Quebec, where Hendricks was killed and all but 18 men from his company were captured.

Contact  Pictures

3rd New York Rgt., Capt. Lewis Dubois' 4th Co'y November, 1775 Short gray regimental coats faced green illustrate one of the earliest uniforms of the Continental Army. Like many other early rebel units, the soldiers of the 3rd New York supplement their incomplete military issue with civilian items and surplus from the earlier war with France. The 3rd New York served with Montgomery and Arnold on their unsuccessful campaign against Quebec in the winter of 1775-1776, and were mustered out of service in April 1776. The regiment was re-raised in 1776 and again in 1777.

Website  Contact Pictures

Culpeper Minute Battalion December 1775 Green fringed hunting shirts with " Liberty or Death" across the chest make this unit instantly recognizable. Blue wool leggings and various civilian clothing completes their uniform and reflects the rural counties where they were raised. Their weapons are civilian as well, mostly rifles. The Culpeper minute battalion was raised in Culpeper, Orange, and Fanquier counties in Virginia. They saw action at Hampton, Virginia and the battle of Great Bridge.

Website Contact  Pictures

6th Virginia Rgt of Foot August, 1776 A short, brown, unfringed hunting shirt trimmed in red, and a narrow brimmed " round" hat illustrate the diversity of early uniforms of the patriot forces. Their small clothes are civilian and their weapons are whatever they could get. Formed early in 1776, the 6th tasted success at Trenton and Princeton. The riflemen of the 6th later joined Morgan's Rifles, while the rest of the regiment, due to their dwindling numbers, was incorporated into the 2nd Virginia Regiment in 1778.

GIR | Pictures | Contact

Capt. Alexander Hamilton's New York Provincial Co'y of Artillery September, 1776 Dark blue coats with buff facings, buff waistcoats and leather breeches mark Hamilton's artillery. Raised by the State of New York for the defense of New York City, they are unusually well uniformed, partly out of the pocket of their captain, the young Alexander Hamilton, later to become the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton' s is the only U.S. military unit of any type to have an unbroken line of service from the war of the Revolution to the present U. S. Army. Today, this unit is battery " D" , 5th field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. They are known today as " Hamilton' s Cannoners."

Pictures

Virginia State Navy, of the Boat " Hero" November, 1776 Short, very loose pants called " slops" and small hats, tarred for weatherproofing, were common among sailors as sensible clothing. Uniforms for sailors had not yet been developed, but the Virginia Navy wears red waistcoats as a sort of uniform article. The officers uniforms were blue faced red and styled after the British naval officers' uniform of the day. The Congressional navy was woefully inadequate, and depended heavily on state supported navies and privateers operating under a Congressional " Letter of Marquee and Reprisal" for coastal defense. Children as young as six years old served aboard ships as powder monkeys and cabin boys.

Pictures

Continental Marines, Dean's Co'y January, 1777 A moss green coat faced white, and a black round hat trimmed white mark the Continental Marines. Their small clothes are white and there is a green stripe on the seam of their breeches. They also wear tall black gaiters. Dean' s Company was raised late in 1775, fought as line troops in the second battle of Trenton, served with the artillery, but never saw service aboard a ship. Dean resigned his commission in July of 1777.

Contact  Website Pictures

1st Regiment of Light Dragoons Capt. Henry Lee's - 5th Troop June, 1777 The 1st Regiment of Light Dragoons, 5th Troop, (also known as the Virginia Light Horse) was raised Virginia in 1776 by Theodorick Bland and was Captained by "Light Horse Harry" Lee . The troop contained 30 men and joined Washington in New Jersey in December of 1776. This troop under the command of Henry Lee was very succesfull in the early years of the war and was highly praised by both George Washington and local press for their meritous service. As proof of their tenacity, Lee's troop served as Washington's body guard in the Battle of Germantown. Uniforms at this time period were blue wool regimental coats with red facings, red wool waiscoats, white leather breeches and leather high top boots. For head protection they wore black leather helmets with vertical shields and white horse hair crests.

GIR | Pictures | Contact | Website

2nd Maryland Regiment August, 1777 Blue regimentals faced red, unlaced, and lined white were popular with rebel units early in the war. The 2nd Maryland wears the uniform that would become standard for Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia troops in 1779. Their hats are bound with white and have a black cockade. Their waistcoats and breeches are also white, as is the waistbelt suspending their bayonets. The 2nd Maryland suffered heavy casualties at Long Island late 1776, and was virtually wiped out at Camden, North Carolina, in 1780.

Pictures

Capt. Charles Turnball's 1st Co'y, Proctor's Artillery June, 1778 Cocked hats bound with yellow tape and topped by a distinctive bright red plume mark Proctor's Artillery. They wear dark blue coats with red facings and lining, and white small clothes with gaitered trousers. Dark blue or black regimental coats were common with artillery of both sides. The companies of artillery regiments were rarely united in service, but were assigned by companies or detachments to support infantry units or defend fortifications. Proctor' s artillery was formed in October, 1775, served wherever it was needed, and was eventually disbanded at the war' s end.

GIR | Pictures | Contact

2nd Pennsylvania Rgt, Capt. Jacob Ashmead's Co'y June, 1778 Brown regimentals faced green, cocked hats, and white waistcoats and overalls give the 2nd Pennsylvania an unusual look. Their canteens are marked " 2nd Penna". Brown regimentals faced different colors were actually quite common among the patriots early in the war. The 2nd Pennsylvania was unusually well outfitted, in clothing and equipment, by their resourceful colonel. They look as they did upon marching out of Valley Forge toward Monmouth.

Pictures

Capt. Joseph Bowman's Co'y, Illinois Rgt., Virginia State Forces August, 1778 Raised in frontier Virginia for the defense of Virginia's claimed Illinois Territory, Bowman's Company served without uniforms. Their civilian clothing reflects the rigors of frontier life, and the ingenuity of early frontier people. Their service took them west to capture and garrison Cahokia on the Mississippi River, then on with George Rogers Clark to capture Vincennes.

Contact  Webpage Pictures

First Continental Artillery, Harrison's Rgt. - 1779 Uniformed members of Harrison's Regiment wore dark blue coats with red facings and turnbacks with yellow lace, a black cocked hat bound in yellow, and usually white small clothes. It was common for artillery to recruit or draft regular infantry from other units to assist handling the guns. These men would wear the clothing typical to whatever unit from which they came, and occassionally wore mixed uniforms. Artillerymen could wear swords, if they were to be had. Harrison' s Regiment served primarily as a garrison unit defending cities in the north, and saw considerable service in the south.

Pictures

4th Continental Rgt. of Light Dragoons (Dismounted service), Capt. John Craig's Troop July, 1779 A visored leather helmet with a bearskin crest and green turban, tall boots and a red waistcoat make the 4th Continental Dragoons easy to identify. They may be seen in either their green regimental coat with red facings or fringed frock coats of various colors. Formed in 1777, the regiment served throughout the entire war. Raised primarily in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, they served in both the northern and southern campaigns. They had both mounted and dismounted troops.

Contact  Pictures

Capt. Richard McCarty's Co'y, Illinois Rgt. Virginia State Forces October, 1779 Short, dark blue jackets with red cuffs and no lapels, and a narrow-brimmed round hat turned up in back mark McCarty's Company of the Illinois Regiment. The red shoulder stripe denotes a sergeant. The brown belly boxes with red markings and brass banded muskets carried by some were provided by the Spanish, allies against the British. Raised in 1778, McCarty's succeeded Bowman's Co'y, and served primarily as a garrison force at Cahokia on the Mississippi River until early 1780, when the company was disbanded.

Website | Contact Pictures

Capt. Abraham Kellar' s Co'y, Illinois Rgt. Virginia State Forces January, 1780 Kellar' s company wears short, blue coats faced white, white small clothes, and black cocked hats. Note the tri-colored alliance cockade - black for the Continental Congress, white for France, and red for Spain. Kellar' s carry a variety of arms and accouterments, some of Spanish origins. Kellar' s Company saw service at Vincennes. and the company was garrisoned there through the winter of 1779-1780. Abraham Kellar resigned his commission in 1781.

Website | Contact  Pictures

Webb's Additional Rgt., Band of Musick May. 1780 Five to eight musicians in dark yellow coats faced red, with black cocked hats trimmed yellow, form the Band of Musick. Their coats are British musicians' coats, captured with a supply ship full of uniforms bound for the British army in America. As part of its effort to uniform the army, captured British uniforms were often used by the patriot forces. Regimental Musicians typically wore their regiment' s coat and facing colors reversed. This officer' s band of two oboes, two clarinets, two horns, and two bassoons played for military ceremonies, dinners, and dances. These musicians were all promoted to serjeant in May 1780.

Pictures

Capt. Edward Worthington's Co'y, Illinois Rgt. Virginia State Forces October, 1780 Worthington' s wear short blue coats faced white, cocked hats bound white, and carry a variety of weapons and accouterments, many of which were provided by the Spanish. On their hats they wear a black cockade common to Congressional forces. Raised in 1778 of eastern farmers, Ohio Valley longhunters and French from the Illinois country, Worthington' s were with Clark at Vincennes and saw action against Indians and French militia as well. They fought in the engagement around St. Louis and Cahokia in late spring of 1780, and in October of that year, they were at the mouth of the Ohio on the Mississippi River defending Fort Jefferson against Chickasaw Indians.

Contact | Website  Pictures

Lauzun's Legion October, 1781 Powder blue regimentals with yellow facings and very tall gaiters distinguish this ally of the rebel cause. The coat is long with short lapels and large pocket flaps, indications of the French origin of Lauzun's Legion. They carry canteens made from gourds. The importance of the French contribution to American independence cannot be overstated. After Burgoyne's defeat in October of 1777, previously half-hearted support became generous, with major supplies of uniforms, weapons, troops, and even ships. The surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, the climactic battle of the American Revolution, could not have been won without the aid of both the French army and navy. Lauzun' s Legion defeated Tarleton at Gloucester Point, across the Chesapeake Bay from Yorktown, and thereby closed a possible escape route for the British Army.

Pictures

Lee's Legion 1781 The time period portrayed by the Legion is 1781.During this time period Lee’s Legion was on campaign in South Carolina mostly after Cornwallis moved his army into North Carolina. Riding with Francis Marion, aka the Swamp Fox, and Thomas Sumter, surprising British Regiments left at key outposts such as Ninety-six. Lee’s Legion were primary in the Battle of Eutaw Springs and the retaking of Savannah, GA.  The Legion is composed of Dragoon (light Cavalry) and Light Infantry either on horseback or on foot. Though uniforms were scarce, the Legion had a uniform for this time period that mimicked if not were acquired from the infamous British Legion. The Dragoons wore a green wool round coat with black cuffs and collar and brass buttons, doeskin or a heavy white linen breeches, a white linen weskit (short waistcoat) and white linen shirt, black neckstock, boots, boiled leather helmet with bear fur and a green turbin. Weapons would be a sword and carbine or pistol. A belly box, sling, baldric, & haversack would compliment their uniform. The horse General Washington encouraged to be of a brownish color, ideally 15 to 16 hands, in good health & preferably a gelding. Tack then looked much alike to the English or Dressage versions seen today. The Infantry wore a green wool short coat, white linen weskit, white linen breeches, black wool gaiters or splatter dashers, footwear, a helmet or cocked hat, & white linen shirt.  A cartridge box, haversack, canteen & musket or carbine would complete their uniform.

Pictures

Royal Deuxponts, Rgt. 104, Brigade Bourbonnais October, 1781 Dark sky blue coats with citron yellow facings and tall black gaiters cut a figure similar to Lauzun' s. Their sleeved waistcoats have blue cuffs and collars. Their hats have three alliance cockades, white for France, red for Spain, and black for America. The red Pom pon, sword, and fringed epaulets identify them as a grenadier company. This German-speaking regiment became part of the French line under a treaty of alliance between Christian von Zweibrucken (Deuxponts) and Louis XV in 1757. They were at the battle of Yorktown and participated in the storming of Redoubt No. 9.

Pictures

Col. John Sevier's Militia of Washington County, North Carolina Late 1781 Militia companies were usually raised for local defense, and pressed into temporary service as needed. They were generally poorly trained and disciplined, their clothing and weapons generally civilian and reflecting local life-styles and ethnicities. Sevier's militia was raised in a frontier county, and looks even more crude than the average militia unit. Their clothing and manner reflect the hardness of frontier life.

Pictures

	2nd Virginia Rgt. June, 1782 The 2nd Virginia wears the standard uniform from the 1779 regulations for the Southern Division - blue faced red with white turnbacks, waistcoats and overalls. Their hats are black, cocked and bound white. The 2nd was formed in the fall of 1775, and served from New York to Georgia for the duration of the war.
	Pictures

Capt. John Holder' s Co'y of Boonesborough Militia August, 1782 Holder' s Company wears civilian clothes common in the harsh frontier wilderness: moccasins, breechclout, leggings, hunting shirt, and round hat. John Holder was a militia leader from 1777-1782 in Virginia' s Kentucky frontier counties. His company defended the area around Boonesborough, and marched against the Indians north of the Ohio with John Bowman and George Rogers Clark. Service was often mandatory, usually 40 days or until they returned, and the men were paid in either specie or plunder.

Pictures

Commander in Chief's Guard Sept., 1782 Dark blue regimentals faced buff with brass buttons, red waistcoats and gaitered trousers mark Washington's Lifeguard. Their cocked hats are bound in white with the alliance cockade of black and white silk. All their clothes are in unusually good condition. The officer pictured here has a gorget at his breast, a red silk sash and a silver epaulet on his left shoulder, all symbols of rank, in this case a lieutenant. He also carries a spontoon. The Commander in Chief's Guard was formed March 12, 1776 at Cambridge Massachusetts, during the siege of Boston. It served as General Washington's personal bodyguard, and as a training vehicle for the entire Continental army until June 6, 1783 when it's duties were taken up by members of the New Hampshire Line.

Pictures

NWTA Home | Field Guide | Crown Forces | Congressional Forces | Civilian

NWTA Field Guide ©1995-2002 Northwest Territory Alliance. Page revised 2/17/2006