I'm a bit shook, as the kids today like to say. Tomorrow evening I'll be giving my first on-camera interview since Laury's Island was published back in 2020. Alton Northrup, of WHTM ABC 27 in Harrisburg, was introduced to my blog by Kaylee Lindenmuth of the Shenandoah Sentinel and he wants to ask me some questions about it. Unlike last week's disappointment with the publisher scam, this one's legitimate and actually going to happen. I still haven't decided what I'm going to wear. (Thank you, Kaylee!)
Meanwhile, a post! This week's topic ended up being a bit more complex than I expected. It's actually spread across four different markers in four different counties, although this is the primary one and the others are sort of supplemental material, if that makes sense. I don't have the other three, but I'll give them posts when I do and connect them with this one. The other markers are about some of the companies which served in this battalion of lore, so I'm sure they've got some interesting stories of their own. As I've said in a few other posts, Pennsylvania is a treasure trove of American firsts, and this is no exception: we provided the Revolutionary War with the very first battalion authorized by Congress itself. (And really, is anyone surprised by that?) To put it another way, the Army of the United States was born here.
 |
| The marker stands at 41 East South Street |
The three companies joined forces under the leadership of William Thompson, a native of County Meath in Ireland. He had participated in the French and Indian War as a captain in the Kittanning Expedition, under the command of General John Armstrong. Congress appointed him to lead the newly formed battalion, making him the first person ever to hold the rank of Colonel in the United States Army. At that time, British traditions were still sometimes popular here in the States even though we were in the midst of declaring our independence from Britain, and one of these was the tradition of naming a military regiment after its commanding officer. Thus, our band of riflemen became known as Thompson's Rifle Battalion.
Incidentally, Thompson is the generally accepted spelling of William's last name. However, there are documents from the time which give it as Thomson, including the formal commission from Congress appointing him to his post.
Additional companies were approved in the ensuing weeks, and the battalion ultimately was made up of nine Pennsylvania units. A few of these were led north by William to Massachusetts, where they took up defense of the city of Boston. According to the writings of Dr. James Thatcher, these were "remarkably stout and hardy men, many of them exceeding six feet in height. They are dressed in white frocks, or rifle-shirts, and round hats. These men are remarkable for the accuracy of their aim; striking a mark with great certainty at two hundred yards distance." Their skill and deadly accuracy apparently terrified their opponents, who were unused to their way of fighting. George Washington himself, recently appointed to commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, arrived in Boston and sent some of the riflemen to Cape Ann, where they were to protect the citizens and "distress and annoy" the British soldiers. Yes, Washington explicitly directed his men to annoy the Redcoats. I don't know why this tickles me so much, but it does.
Next to the strictly disciplined Redcoat soldiers, our frontier boys were a bit wild and unpredictable. Apparently this was not just their fighting style, but part of their personalities. Washington himself had to intervene when a riot broke out between the Pennsylvania riflemen and members of another unit, John Glover's Regiment. In September, 33 members of Thompson's Battalion were court-martialed for their unruly antics, and convicted of "disobedient and mutinous behavior." They each were fined 20 shillings and ordered to serve six days in jail. The entire battalion was then assigned to regular camp duties.
In November (yes, this is all still in 1775), William led his men to victory by preventing British troops from landing in Boston. The British had landed at a place known as Lechmere Point, which during high tide becomes an island cut off from the mainland, and our Pennsylvania riflemen used this time to launch an attack to drive the British back into their boats. For this heroism, William was personally commended by General Washington, and given a promotion to the rank of Brigadier General. Command of the battalion was then given to Lt. Col. Edward Hand, a resident of Lancaster, whose beautiful home at Rock Ford was the subject of one of my previous posts. During his leadership, the Continental Army was reorganized, and the unit formerly known as Thompson's Rifle Battalion was given the new name of the First Continental Regiment. All regiments in the army were directed to create flags for themselves, so Col. Hand designed one depicting a soldier attacking a captured tiger, and the unit adopted the motto of Domari Nolo - "I refuse to be subjugated."
Meanwhile, Hand's First Continental Regiment (as they were then called) left Boston after the British abandoned it in March 1776. They headed for New York, where the riflemen joined Washington's plans for the defense of that state. Given the new name of the First Pennsylvania Regiment, they took up position in Brooklyn Heights and battled the British in the summer heat. While the rest of the army retreated to Manhattan, the Pennsylvania riflemen remained behind to cover their escape, and were the last regiment to leave Long Island. They continued to fight at Washington's side throughout a series of losing battles in New York and New Jersey, escaping into Pennsylvania at last. They joined Washington in the famous crossing of the Delaware on Christmas 1776, turning the tide of war and helping him to gain fresh victories in Trenton and Princeton.
Like William Thompson before him, Col. Hand was promoted to Brigadier General the following spring, so Col. James Chambers (of the family for whom the city of Chambersburg is named) took command of the regiment. 1777 was a rough year for our men, but they performed admirably at the Battle of Brandywine in September, and the Battle of Germantown in October they redeemed themselves before going into winter quarters with Washington at Valley Forge. There they learned to use muskets and bayonets instead of rifles, and in the spring of 1778 they put their new skills to use chasing the British out of Philadelphia.
In 1781, the men of several Pennsylvania regiments, including this one, rose up in mutiny. After years of hard work and patriotic fervor, they were frankly tired of receiving low wages, lousy food, and insufficient supplies. The mutiny itself failed, although many of the men were given their discharges, which was what they really wanted anyway. The Pennsylvania regiments were reorganized after that, and those of the First Pennsylvania who remained in service joined the siege of Yorktown that same year, followed by skirmishes in South Carolina the next year. Fortunately for them, at that point the war was nearing its conclusion. The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783.
Exactly two months later, in Philadelphia, the First Pennsylvania Regiment was mustered out. The war was over. Their service was done. The Continental Army would be transformed into what today is the United States Army. And the regiment, with its original name of Thompson's Rifle Battalion still respected by history, would forever be remembered as the first of its kind.
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I would love to hear from you!