1

World of the Common Soldier (Articles, Published and Unpublished)

John U. Rees

136 North Sugan Road,

New Hope, Pa. 18938

Phone: (215) 862-2348

Email: ju_rees@msn.com

Regimental, Battalion, and other Unit Studies

(List 10 of 15)

Huntington’s and Parson’s Connecticut Brigades:

"`None of you know the hardships of A soldiers life …’: Service of the Connecticut Regiments in

Maj. Gen. Alexander McDougall’s Division, 1777-1778 (2009) “I am … Packing up my baggage in order to March”: Service on the North River, and

Movement into Pennsylvania, May to September 1777

“God Grant I may Always be Preserv'd …”: The Battle of Germantown and Schuylkill Expedition,

October 1777

“So small A Garrison never attaind Greater achievments …”: Forts Mifflin and Mercer, and Maneuvers

in New Jersey, November 1777

“Nothing to cover us But ye heavens …”: The Whitemarsh Encampment and Early Days at Valley Forge,

December 1777

“This is a very Different Spirit in the Army …”: Wintering Over at Valley Forge and Spring Training,

January to June 1778

“Sixty three bullet holes were made through the colours …”: Summer Campaign and the

Battle of Monmouth, June 1778

“The Troops of the whole line will exercise and manoeuvre …”: The March to New York and the

White Plains Encampment, July to September 1778

“The Enemy are upon the eve of some general and important move.”: The Fredericksburgh Camp and

Shifting Commanders, September to October 1778

“Their countrymen would … conclude the Devil was in them …”: McDougall’s Division Takes

Post in Connecticut, October and November 1778

“Grievances … Justly complained of by your Soldiers …”: The Connecticut Line Winter Camp,

December 1778 to January 1779

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/CT-Div.pdf and

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/biblio.pdf

2

Lafayette’s Light Troops, 1781 and Wayne’s Pennsylvania Battalions, 1781-1783:

“`Their presence Here … Has Saved this State …’: Continental Provisional Battalions with

Lafayette in Virginia, 1781”

Part 1. “`This Detachement is Extremely Good …’: The Light Battalions Move South” A. “`The Fire of the Light Infantry …cheked the Enemys Progress …’:

Light Battalion Composition and Service”

B. “`Ill founded jealousies, and groundless suspicions.” ‘: Unrest in the Light Battalions”

C. “`The Cloathing you … long ago Sent to the light infantry is not Yet Arrived.‘: Apparel and

Equipment”

The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXXVI, no. 2 (Autumn 2006), 2-23.

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/light.pdf

Appendices for Above

1. Diary of Soldier with Lafayette’s Light Infantry, 1781

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/Atkins.pdf.pdf

2. Asa Redington, Scammell’s Light Infantry Regiment, 1781

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/Redington.pdf

3. Barber’s Light Battalion, 1781 (New Jersey Light Company Personnel)

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/Barber.pdf

“`Their presence Here … Has Saved this State …’: Continental Provisional Battalions with

Lafayette in Virginia, 1781” (continued):

Part 2. “`Almost all old soldiers, and well disciplined …’:

Brigadier General Anthony Wayne’s 1781 Pennsylvania Provisional Battalions” A. “I fear it is now too late …”: The Pennsylvania Line Mutiny, January 1781

The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXXVII, no. 2 (Summer 2007), 2-19.

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/PA-A.pdf Part 3. B. “Our Regiments are yet but very small …”: Settling with the Troops and

Rebuilding the Line

The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXXVII, no. 4 (Winter 2007), 2-15.

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/PA-B.pdf Part 4. C. “The whole Line … behaved in a most orderly manner.”: Organizing and

Disciplining the Pennsylvania Provisional Battalions for the 1781 Campaign

The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXXVIII, no. 1 (Spring 2008), 2-21.

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/PA-C.pdf

(Pennsylvania Battalion series continued on next page)

3

Pennsylvania Battalion Series (continued)

Appendices for 1781 Pennsylvania Battalions

1. “`A Smart firing commenc’d from from both parties …’: Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne’s

Pennsylvania Battalions in Virginia, June to November 1781” Contents:

A. “We will be much inferior to the enemy …”: May 31 to July 5 1781

B. “A charge … under a heavy fire of Grape shot …”:

Battle of Green Springs, 6 July 1781

C. “Cornwallis … threatens every Devastation that fire & sword can produce …”:

Marching and Countermarching, 9 July to 25 August

D. “The batteries were opened and fired with great success …”:

September to November 1781

E. “The Cloathing was drawn near twelve month ago …”:

1780-1781 Pennsylvania Clothing, Letters and Returns

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/Virginia.pdf

2. “`The British army marched out and grounded their arms …’: Pennsylvania Lt. William

Feltman’s Diary, 26 May to 5 November 1781”

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/Feltman.pdf 3. “`Pennsylvania Battalion Troop Returns, 1781-1783’:

(In Camp and on Campaign in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina)”

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/Returns.pdf (Pennsylvania Battalion series continued)

(Future article) D. “We pick’d a Quarrel with the British …”: With Lafayette in Virginia,

June to December 1781

(Future article) E. “Trivial skirmishes happen daily but nothing worth relating …”:

Operations in South Carolina, January to September 1782

(Future article) F. “Now incorporated into one regiment of six hundred men …”:

Winding Down, October 1782 to November 1783

Lafayette’s Light Division, 1780:

“`Firm built men inur'd to the Field ...’: The Embodied Corps of Light Infantry, 1780”

(manuscript)

4

2nd New Jersey Regiment:

"I Expect to be stationed in Jersey sometime...": An Account of the Services of the Second

New Jersey Regiment: Part I, December 1777 to June 1778 (1994, unpublished, copy held in the collections of the

David Library of the American Revolution, Washington Crossing, Pa.), contains seventeen

appendices covering various subjects including studies of the casualties incurred by the New

Jersey Brigade (1777-1779), the uniform clothing of the New Jersey Brigade (1776-1778), the

use of the nine-month draft in 1778, and names of all the officers and enlisted men of the regiment.

Also included is a collection of pension narratives of the common soldiers of the New Jersey Brigade: The March to Winter Quarters: 13 December to 25 December 1777

General Orders, 20 December to 25 December 1777

Countering the "depredations of the Enemy": 23 December to 28 December 1777

The Valley Forge Camp in the Waning Days of 1777 A. General Orders: 25 December to 31 December 1777

B. "I fancy we may ... Content ourselves in these Wigwams ...": 1 January to 19 March 1778

Valley Forge in the First Months of 1778

General Orders, 1 January to 19 March 1778

"I Expect to be stationed in Jersey sometime ...": 22 March to 1 April 1778

General Orders of the Army, 20 March to 28 March 1778

"The Enemy Giting intelligence of our movement ...": 4 April to 30 May 1778

General Orders of the Army, 8 April to 6 May 1778

Reinforcements and Alarms: The Actions of Brigadier General William Maxwell and

the Remainder of the Jersey Brigade, May 7 to May 24, 1778

The Institution of Nine-Month Enlistments from the New Jersey Militia, February to June 1778

Procuring Arms and Equipment for the Regiment, March to June 1778

Clothing the Men in the Spring of 1778

The Jersey Brigade is Reunited, May 28 to June 19, 1778

Appendices (partial list)

Company Strengths and Dispositions, December 1777 to May 1779

(including tables of casualties, deserters, etc.)

Monthly Regimental Strength as Taken from the Muster Rolls, December 1777 to May 1779

Listing of Field Officers, Company Officers, and Staff, December 1777 to May 1779

Company Organization, December 1777 to May 1779

A. Lineage of Companies, 1777 to 1779

B. Continuity of Company Command Through May 1779

Proportion of Men from 2nd N.J. of 1776 Who Reenlisted in 2nd N.J. of 1777

A Listing of Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates of the 2nd N.J. of 1778

Part II, June 1778 to June 1779, covers the period from the onset of the 1778

Monmouth Campaign to the unit’s departure for the 1779 expedition led by Major General

John Sullivan against the Iroquois (manuscript).

1st Pennsylvania Regiment of 1777:

Documentation of the Clothing Worn by the1st Pennsylvania Regiment of 1777

(unpublished, 1991), 15 pages.

Reflections on the Clothing Worn by the Soldiers of the Rifle Company of the 1st

Pennsylvania Regiment of 1777 with Additional Thoughts Concerning Riflemen in the

Continental Army (unpublished, 1994), 43 pages with 1 map and 17 illustrations.

(manuscript)

5

5th Pennsylvania Battalion of 1776:

The Fifth Pennsylvania Battalion of 1776 (1987, unpublished, copy held in the collections

of the David Library of the American Revolution, Washington Crossing, Pa., U.S.

Military History Institute, Carlisle, Pa., and Spruance Library, Bucks County Historical

Society, Doylestown, Pa.) Including a 65 page narrative history, 5 page

appendix and 31 page addenda with 12 maps, 6 charts and 2 illustrations. Including

A Brief Itinerary of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment of 1777 (unpublished, 1991): Formation

Equipment and Clothing

Beginning of Active Service, June 1776

Action on Long Island, 27 to 30 August 1776

The American Evacuation of New York, 30 August to 16 September 1776

Council of War and Condition of the Army

Service on the Lines, 13 September to 8 October 1776

The British Move: Prelude to Fort Washington, 9 October to 4 November 1776

The Fall of Fort Washington, 18 October to 16 November 1776

Prisoners of War, 16 to 19 November 1776

Parole and Release of the Prisoners, 20 November 1776 to 2 June 1777

Appendices

Chronology of the 5th Pennsylvania Battalion

Brief History of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment of 1777

Miscellaneous Information

Names and Service of 5th Pennsylvania Battalion Officers

Battalion Strength Returns, 28 May to 15 November 1776

Bibliography for Narrative

List of Muster Rolls and Sources for Same

Alphabetical Listing of Known Personnel

Material from Nathaniel Vansandt Papers

Letters to and from Thomas Mifflin and William Heath

List of 5th Pennsylvania Battalion Soldiers Likely Reenlisted in 6th Regiment of 1777