Revolutionary War Soldiers of North and South Carolina. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, so many men volunteered to join the Associators that a more formal operating structure was required. For most counties, the town or township from which each of the companies were recruited is also given when known. Military: Papers relating to the Province of Pennsylvania prior to the Revolution: PA Archives, Series II, Vol. STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA. This Revolutionary War Militia Arrangement provides a breakdown of the battalions and companies raised in each county and the names of the commanding officers. By Tania Sari | January 9, 2019. Map of the Pennsylvania Colony in 1705. There were hopes that under this new form of government military service would become mandatory. Pennsylvania in the Revolutionary War. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, so many men volunteered to join the Associators that a more formal operating structure was required. Trussell, Jr. (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1977). © Stephanie Hoover 2017 - All Rights Reserved, Directory of Pennsylvania Genealogical & Historical Societies, Pennsylvania Research Reference Materials. Most of the muster rolls that have survived were made up just before the men were discharged from duty. 1841 Revolutionary War Pensioner Census Ancestry . Pennsylvania had two major shifts in government during the war, and also major changes in the types of militia forces that defended the home front. Pennsylvania Revolutionary War Prize Cases - Captured Vessels Prize cases heard on appeal from Colonial and state courts by the Continental Congress and the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture. When the classes were called up, each captain would deliver a notice to each man's dwelling or place of business. Most of the service rendered by members of the Pennsylvania Militia fell into one of three categories. The names of those who actually turned out for muster duty would then appear on company muster rolls listing the men in their new arrangement. The Pennsylvania-German in the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783 Item Preview The "Act to Regulate the Militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" passed 17 March 1777, and the the subsequent Militia Act passed March 20, 1780, together with their amendments, required all white men between the ages of 18 and 53 capable of bearing arms to serve two months of militia duty on a rotating basis. The Pennsylvania Line: Regimental Organization and Operations, 1776-1783 by John B.B. All males aged 20 to 45 - including immigrants seeking citizenship - had to register for the draft. Proudly founded in 1681 as a place of tolerance and freedom. For example, when the 1st Class was called up, the colonel of the 1st Battalion, the lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Battalion, and the major of the 3rd Battalion entered into service commanding the 1st Class active-duty Battalion. A brief history of the Fourth Pennsylvania Veteran Cavalry, embracing organization, … The men in each battalion elected their own field officers who carried the rank of colonel, lieutenant colonel and major and these officers were then commissioned by the state and expected to serve for three years. The Flying Camp? The second type of service was duty on the frontier in Northumberland, Northampton, Bedford and Westmoreland counties. These included associations, militia, and line troops. While all of these types of records reflect enrollment in the militia, only the muster rolls of the actual marching companies demonstrate actual service while the fine books and appeal books are evidence of lack of actual service. The names of these individuals will be found on the appeal lists. As I mentioned in a recent message, I plan to post various record series on this forum for the use and benefit of all Patton researchers.Today I shall post all the Patton records I have dug up from several sources concerning the Revolutionary War records in Pennsylvania… Within each county, the colonels drew lots for their individual rank, which was then assigned to their battalion as First Battallion, Second Battalion, Third Battalion, etc. (When an individual filed an appeal, they could also, however, be placed into a later class.) (Source: James Thacher, “Military Journal during the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783”.) Pennsylvania Military Records. Pennsylvania Revolutionary War Flags. A separate article discussing the various form of military service during this conflict will be added in the near future. During the Revolutionary War, he was the chief spokesperson for the Moravians in Pennsylvania with members of the Continental Congress and other dignitaries. Company returns, battalion returns, and brigade returns were nearly always filled out on standard printed forms when these were available. Associations were replaced by the state militia in 1777, which required most white males from ages 18 through 53 to enroll. Associators remained independent of the Continental (Pennsylvania) Line which was comprised of regular, enlisted infantrymen. After being consecrated a bishop in 1784, he became the head of the Moravian Church in America. Please enable scripts and reload this page. For example, men listed on the permanent roll as belonging to the 2nd Class of the 7th Company of the 6th Battalion would in the active duty battalion be automatically placed in the 6th Company of the 2nd (Active Duty) Battalion. The names of men in each company of each battalion were listed on a roll called "General Returns of the Battalion" together with the names of any substitutes that were provided. Flying Camps were what we today might call mobile military reserves. In 1747, Ben Franklin (only 39 years of age at the time) created the Philadelphia Militia Association, a completely volunteer force totalling 10,000 enrollees. Mexican War. Were your ancestors part of the Pennsylvania Line? Ohio. The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun.The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of … and were required to show up for their two months of active duty at the time and in the order that their class was called up. Pennsylvania had several different orders of troops in the Revolutionary War era. If you're interested in Pennsylvania history and want information relating to historical events, facts about ancestors, or original documents to support a research paper, the Pennsylvania Archives is an important publication to explore. All white men, aged 15 to 53, were conscripted into military service - although there was no real punishment for those who refused. For an account of the arrangement and operations of the Pennsylvania Line soldiers see When new elections were held for field officers in 1780 and 1783, the colonels elected at that time again drew lots for their rank and this resulted in a new order for the battalions. If you have Pennsylvania ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War, you may be confused by the varying names for forms of service. Allen, William; lieutenant in Colonel Timothy Green's battalion, 1776; wounded at White Plains. [1] The shifts in government were actually instigated by the militia, and so they also dramatically impacted the militia system, besides profoundly upsetting the population. For this reason, a separate permanent billet record and an active duty record would have existed for each individual who saw active duty. During this period, activist elements among Pennsylvania's population organized local volunteer "associations" that were eventually formed into fifty-three battalions. This arrangement represents more of a means of organizing manpower from specific geographical localities rather than reflecting the activity of acting military units that were drawn from this manpower pool. For the rotation of field officers on active duty, it was therefore necessary to substitute Colonel for Captain, Lieutenant Colonel for 1st Lieutenant, Major for 2nd Lieutenant, etc in the column under each Battalion for Company. Pennsylvania Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 Muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83. They were instead the numbers of the battalions from which the men came! (It should be noted, however, that a person serving as a substitute for someone else was not thereby excused from also serving in their own turn.) Pennsylvania played an influential role on both sides of the argument. As such, they were subject to the orders of the Provincial Assembly. Much of the information provided below was extracted by former archivist Henry James Young, and also possibly by archivist Marvin Schlegel, during the 1940s and 1950s from published entries in the various series of the For Bucks County, information has also been provided from the returns for the Committee of Safety (the Associators) for 1775. https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Pennsylvania_Military_Records Revolutionary War Pensioners Living in the State of Ohio in 1818-1819; The Official Roster of the Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in the State of Ohio scanned searchable book (at Ancestry/requires payment) Pennsylvania. It also provided an avenue for conscientious objectors to fulfill their legal obligation to the state without compromising their religious convictions. At the outbreak of hostilities between the Crown and the colonies in 1775 the Pennsylvania Assembly opposed any form of mandatory military service. Free shipping for many products! In Pennsylvania, the Associators once again stepped up to fill these roles, but the cost and commitment of their near continuous service were growing burdensome. When active service occurred, it would have been for only sixty days at a time. Pennsylvania, Women in the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783; Pension papers of soldiers of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Indian wars, who settled in Hickman County, KY., Part 1; Pension papers of soldiers of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Indian wars, who settled in Hickman County, KY., Part 2 Due to the sixty-day turnover, however, none of the men who were at Brandywine in September would have been present at Whitemarsh in December. In their place came a complex system of county battalion classes and officers whose seniority was chosen by the drawing of lots. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. The Kittanning Regiment was so named because it was headquartered in Kittanning, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, neither this stick nor the carrot achieved the desired results. USA (1,142,393) > Pennsylvania (63,181) > Pennsylvania Military Records (1,224) Statewide Military Records. II. These groups assisted state-controlled - yet still temporary - militias. The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 23 (No. Fort Mifflin. Under the provisions of the Militia Act, each individual summmoned had the right to file an appeal asking that their service be delayed and some successfuly avoided service by repeatedly filing appeals. Other examples of this type of service include the large numbers of Pennsylvania militia employed in the summer and autumn of 1777 to oppose the British invasion at Brandywine and on the flanks at the battle of Germantown, though in neither case did they actually see action. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Similar groups, commonly known as Associators, soon sprang up in surrounding counties. Some of the muster rolls provide the date when duty began, and in the case of officers, the date of their commission, and perhaps some additional comments indicating such types of information as whether they were detached on special duty or the dates of any desertions. Concurrent with the establishment of county militias was the creation of five companies of Rangers. They were either used to augment the operations of the Continental Line such as when some of the Associators accompanied General Washington in crossing the Delaware in January 1777. Fort Mifflin was built in the 1770s and is currently the oldest fort still in use by … Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, Battalions and Companies, Arranged by County, Northumberland Co Revolutionary War Militia, Philadelphia City Revolutionary War Militia, Philadelphia Co Revolutionary War Militia, Westmoreland Co Revolutionary War Militia, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access Policy. • Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania - a series of essays written by the Pennsylvania lawyer and legislator John Dickinson, leading up to the start of the Revolutionary War (1767 - 1768) Militias were paid out of Pennsylvania's then-functioning provincial treasury. A fire in the War Department on November 8, 1800, apparently destroyed all Revolutionary War pension and bounty land warrant applications and related papers submitted before that date.6 The pension files now in the National Archives were filed after 1800 and contain either a 10-by-14-inch envelope (if the pension paperwork still exists) or a 10-by-14-inch … This is a flag from the American Revolution: that of the First Pennsylvania Rifles, a militia troop, of sorts. Queen Anne’s War,fought in between 1702 and 1713, cut off trade to the city, causing the city much financial pain. Instead, it protected itself with the passage of temporary laws authorizing organized militias. Volume Reel 0821 American Revolutionary War Service Records; Soldiers--United States--Registers Pennsylvania, Sixth Battalion (1776) Sixth Regiment: L - Z. Ancestry.com. Revolutionary War Timeline Civil War. On these permanent billet rolls the men in each company were listed as being either part of the first class, second class, third class, etc. And, they were still separate from the militias sanctioned by Pennsylvania's Provincial Assembly. Nick Artimovich, 25 April 1996 Or were they Associators? American Flag. In contrast, however, they received uniforms and arms from the state. Museum of the American Revolution - A Philadelphia museum dedicated to telling the story of the American Revolution. Rangers committed to prolonged enlistment periods and rather than fight the war for independence, they patrolled Pennsylvania's western frontier, often fending off Indian attacks. Like the Associators, they were volunteers. Pennsylvania Revolutionary War service Records By David Agricola December 20, 2003 at 04:01:34. The militia did provide a significant defensive force patrolling the south side of the Schuylkill River and engaged in occasional clashes with British outposts and scouting parties including heavy skirmishes at Whitemarsh on December 7. When the American Revolutionary War broke out in early 1775, the colony of Pennsylvania 's Committee of Safety decided that the colony's capital and seat of the Second Continental Congress, Philadelphia, would need to be protected against the incursions of British naval vessels on the Delaware River. … Congress called for a Flying Camp to serve under General George Washington. Authorized for frontier defense in July 1776, the eight-company unit was originally called Mackay’s Battalion after its commander, Colonel Aeneas Mackay. OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. Also important to understand is that the 1777 Militia Act automatically expired in 1780 and was immediately replaced by a new Militia Act that also lasted for three years and was superceded by a third Militia Act in 1783. Philadelphia was the site of both Continental Congresses and served as the de facto capital. 0 Comment. In March 1777, this indeed occurred. The following names are not included in the regular muster rolls. Philadelphia’s Financial Situation Before the Revolutionary War. Pennsylvania Archives volumes and not directly from original archival records. Subsequently, management of these troops was assumed by the Continental Congress. Keystone State. Military: Revolutionary War: ROLL OF ANCESTORS: Pennsylvania Society, Sons of the Revolution, 1898 Membership List Surnames A - G. Surnames H - M. Surnames N - Z. For this reason, a particular private might be listed in a different battalion in 1781 than he was in 1778 but this does not necessarily mean that he was transferred between units or changed residence. Republic of Texas. Largely due to its Quaker roots, Pennsylvania did not initially (like neighboring colonies) form a standing militia. For a more detailed account of how the Pennsylvania militia system worked see "The Pennsylvania Militia in 1777" by Hannah Benner Roach in Organized from 15 July to 15 September 1776 at Kittanning, Pennsylvania in the western part of the state to consist of eight companies of infantry from Bedford (included present-day Fulton and Somerset counties), Cumberland, Westmoreland (included present-day … Recognizing that personal circumstances might in some cases make it inconvenient or even impossible for a particular individual to serve, the fine system was in part devised to provide money in lieu of service in order to hire substitutes. The following is a brief explanation of the differences between these branches of service. Occasionally, militia reinforcements from Cumberland, Lancaster, and York counties would be brought in to reinforce these frontiers as occurred in the summer of 1778. Though the act provided exemptions for members of the Continental Congress, Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council, Supreme Court judges, masters and teachers of colleges, ministers of the Gospel, and indentured servants, as a practical matter anyone could avoid serving either by filing an appeal to delay their service for a period of time or by paying a fine to hire a substitute. NAMES OF PERSONS WHO TOOK THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA, 1777-79. This series contains essential records relating to one of America's earliest colonies, from 1664 to 1780, including military, tax, marriage, and land records, as well as documents from American history covering the Revolutionary War … This active-duty roll was therefore a completely different roll from the permanent billet roll. For Northumberland County, the number of militiamen serving in each company of the 1776 Associator Battalions and for the 1778 3rd and 4th Militia Battalions is provided. Pennsylvania and the American Revolution Like most of the other colonies, Pennsylvania figured prominently in both the developing crisis and the war itself. A County Lieutenant holding the rank of colonel was responsible for implenenting the law with the assistence of sub-lieutenants who held the rank of lieutenant colonel. Most of the Associators now disbanded. When several classes were called up for active duty, a separate roll for each company listed the names of the men who actually served, either in person or as substitutes. The company commanders could also change. Maybe they were militia or Rangers. In 1776, the state's Provincial Assembly was replaced by a General Assembly and a new Pennsylvania constitution. It is known that no Pennsylvania militia served at Valley Forge, Monmouth, or Yorktown. These voluntary "Associators" never represented more than a fraction of the state's total population. The delegates to the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to discuss freedom and it was here that the debate for independence would be argued. In 1776, when a new army was raised following the expiration of enlistments at the end of 1775, the rifle regiment, whose term of enlistment did not expire until July 1, as the first troops to enlist as Continentals, received the honor of being named 1st Continental … The act called for eight battalion districts to be created in Philadelphia and in each of the eleven extant counties. When General Washington asked for the middle Atlantic states to provide additional reinforcements willing to serve for six months duty in 1776, the Associator units were tapped as a manpower pool, though the individual units did not themselves become part of the Pennsylvania Line forces. The first battle, the Battle of Saratoga, took place in October of 1777 in eastern New York. In response to the Associators' building dissatisfaction, the Provincial Assembly passed a tax on men aged 16 to 50 who did not volunteer, and paid a bonus to those who did. Re Revolutionary War Historical Sites in Pennsylvania Revolutionary War Sites in the Philadelphia Area. This time, the question of military service was no longer optional. Though they held military titles, these were actually civilian officers not to be confused with the military officers holding the same ranks in the Continental Army. Valley Forge National Historic Park - The 3600 acre park where George Washington forged his Continental Army into a fighting force in the winter of 1777-1778. They required six-month enlistments. Associators remained independent of the Continental (Pennsylvania) Line which was comprised of regular, enlisted infantrymen. The men elected new officers at this time and the militia battalions were renumbered according to the relative seniority of their commanders. Under the Militia Act of 1777, the numbering of the militia units changed every three years though the composition of each unit recruited from a given area tended to remain more or less the same except for casualties and new recruits. Pennsylvania in the war of the revolution, battalions and line. Indians. For example, what had been Colonel White's 1st York County Battalion continued to be made up of the same men, but could now be designated as perhaps Colonel Black's 7th York County Battalion. Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution: battalions and line, 1775-1783 [database on-line]. Pennsylvania Revolutionary Soldiers. The geographical boundaries for each district were drawn so as to raise between 440 to 680 men fit for active duty as determined by information contained in the local tax rolls. Refusal to turn out for military exercises would result in a fine, the proceeds from which were used to hire substitutes. Associations were groups of local troops that assembled voluntarily. Volume Reel 0822 American Revolutionary War Service Records; Soldiers--United States--Registers Pennsylvania, Seventh Battalion (Cumberland County Militia), Seventh Regiment: A -F By the end of that year, Pennsylvania had adopted a new more radical constitution that wrested control from the older conservative Assembly and in early 1777 the new Assembly passed Pennsylvania's first militia law requiring compulsory military service. Try our genealogy search engine. Overview of Revolutionary War. The individuals who volunteered at this time were formed into battalions by county and were known as "Flying Camps" that served on active duty until November 30, 1776. The County Lieutenants ensured that militia units turned out for military exercises, provided the militia units with arms and equipment at the expense of the state, located substitutes for those who declined to serve, and assessed and collected the militia fines. Under the provisions of the Militia Law, the men called up for active duty were automatically assigned to companies whose numbers were different from their own company numbers on the permanent billet rolls. After the British victory in Philadelphia, General William Howe decided to camp 9,000 of his troops in Germantown. Congress passed the first national conscription act in the country's history. The 8th Pennsylvania Regiment or Mackay’s Battalion was an American infantry unit that became part of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Subsequently, management of these troops was assumed by the Continental Congress.
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