Spencer's Additional Continental Regiment, sometimes referred to as the 5th New Jersey Regiment, was an American infantry unit that served for four years in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress authorized sixteen "Additional" Continental Regiments in late 1776 and Colonel Oliver Spencer accepted command of this regiment with rank from January 15, 1777.[1]
Recruiting for Spencer's Regiment took place in numerous New Jersey counties but especially in Essex (now Union), Morris and Sussex Counties and adjacent Orange County in New York. When it assembled at Middlebrook, New Jersey in late May, 1777, nine companies comprised the regiment, including one independent Continental company raised in Pennsylvania.[2] Spencer's Regiment was assigned to Brigadier General Thomas Conway's 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade in late May 1777 [3] and was engaged at the Battle of Short Hills late that June. It was in the thick of the fighting at the Brandywine where it suffered heavy casualties.[4] It sustained further losses during Germantown on October 4, 1777 when Conway's Brigade lead the advance of Wayne's and Sullivan's columns.[5] After Conway was appointed Major General and Inspector General of the Continental Army, Spencer was in acting command of the Brigade throughout much of the brutal winter at Valley Forge.[6] At the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778, Spencer's Regiment took part in Brigadier General Anthony Wayne's late afternoon attack on the British 1st Grenadier Battalion and fought at the hedgerow and Parsonage. It was detached from the 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade July 19, 1778 and assigned to the Hudson Highlands.[7] It spent the winter on the New Jersey frontier at Minisink under Brigadier General Edward Hand.
During the spring of 1779, Spencer's Regiment absorbed the two remaining New Jersey companies of Forman's Additional Continental Regiment and those enlisted men credited to New York from Malcolm's Additional Continental Regiment when those units were reduced. Spencer's Regiment repaired the military road leading to the Susquehanna in advance of Sullivan's Expedition in the summer of 1779, during which it was assigned to the New Jersey Brigade. It overwintered at Jockey Hollow, between Mendham and Morristown, NJ. It lost a handful of men captured while on command at Paramus, NJ on April 16, 1780.[8] In late May it was assigned to the front lines at Elizabethtown, New Jersey.[9] Spencer's Regiment fought in the Battle of Connecticut Farms on June 6–7, 1780 where it suffered more losses than any other Continental unit engaged, including half the officer casualties in the Jersey Brigade and nearly half the wounded enlisted men.[10]
The unit was transferred to the Highland Department in September 1780, where it garrisoned Stony Point until disbanded on the first of January 1781. At that time, Spencer's Regiment was the very last of the sixteen Additional Regiments still in the field that had never been formally incorporated into the Continental regiments of the various states.[11] Its remaining men from New Jersey who had enlisted for the duration of the war were assigned to Captain John Holmes' company, 2nd New Jersey Regiment, while those from New York and a few who remained from Pennsylvania were transferred respectively to the New York and Pennsylvania Lines. Very few of Spencer's officers received new Continental appointments in 1781, but others returned to commands in various militia units.[12]
^National Archives and Records Service (NARS) microfilm publications, publication Number M246, Record Group 93, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; Spencer's Regiment 1777-1780: Roll 127 (161), Roll 128 (162-170), Roll 129 (171-178).
^Based on muster rolls, pension records and other contemporary and secondary accounts, it appears that Spencer's Regiment took at least 34 casualties at Brandywine, including 5 men killed in action, 1 officer and 14 men wounded, 1 officer and 6 men taken prisoner (2 of whom were also wounded), 3 men missing in action, and 4 men deserted.
^From endorsements on muster rolls signed by Spencer in his capacity as acting commandant of "Late Conway's" Brigade, Colonel Spencer was apparently in charge starting in December, 1777 and at least through the Battle of Monmouth at the end of June, 1778, except for a six-week period when he was on command in February and March, 1778 on a "grand forage".
^Based on muster rolls, pension records and other contemporary and secondary accounts, the casualties in Spencer's Regiment at Connecticut Farms appear to be 1 ensign and 1 corporal killed in action, 1 lieutenant and as many as 13 men wounded, and 1 man deserted.
^Webb's Additional Regiment had been officially designated the 9th Connecticut; the three understrength Additional Continental Regiments from Massachusetts had been reorganized as the 16th Massachusetts, and Gist's Additional Continental Regiment had been captured at Charleston, South Carolina on 12 May 1780 and was disbanded on January 1, 1781.
^Among those who remained in Continental Service were Lieutenant Colonel William Stephens Smith, who was appointed an aide-de-camp to General Washington 6 July 1781, while Spencer's Adjutant Peter Taulman and Lieutenant David Kirkpatrick both were appointed Captain-Lieutenants in the Corps of Sappers and Miners.
Heitman, Francis Bernard (1914). Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution. Washington, D.C.: Rare Book Shop Publishing Company.
McGuire, Thomas J. (2006). The Philadelphia Campaign: Volume One: Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books. ISBN0811701786.
McGuire, Thomas J. (2007). The Philadelphia Campaign: Volume Two: Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books. ISBN978-0-8117-0206-5.
Morrissey, Brendan (2008). Monmouth Courthouse 1778: The last great battle in the North. Long Island City, N.Y.: Osprey Publishing. ISBN978-1-84176-772-7.
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources Spencer s Additional Continental Regiment news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable independent third party sources June 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Some of this article s listed sources may not be reliable Please help improve this article by looking for better more reliable sources Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed June 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Spencer s Additional Continental Regiment sometimes referred to as the 5th New Jersey Regiment was an American infantry unit that served for four years in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War The Continental Congress authorized sixteen Additional Continental Regiments in late 1776 and Colonel Oliver Spencer accepted command of this regiment with rank from January 15 1777 1 Spencer s Additional Continental RegimentActive1777 1781AllegianceContinental CongressTypeInfantrySize8 to 9 companiesPart ofContinental ArmyEngagementsBattle of Brandywine 1777 Battle of Germantown 1777 Battle of Monmouth 1778 Sullivan Expedition 1779 CommandersNotablecommandersColonel Oliver Spencer Recruiting for Spencer s Regiment took place in numerous New Jersey counties but especially in Essex now Union Morris and Sussex Counties and adjacent Orange County in New York When it assembled at Middlebrook New Jersey in late May 1777 nine companies comprised the regiment including one independent Continental company raised in Pennsylvania 2 Spencer s Regiment was assigned to Brigadier General Thomas Conway s 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade in late May 1777 3 and was engaged at the Battle of Short Hills late that June It was in the thick of the fighting at the Brandywine where it suffered heavy casualties 4 It sustained further losses during Germantown on October 4 1777 when Conway s Brigade lead the advance of Wayne s and Sullivan s columns 5 After Conway was appointed Major General and Inspector General of the Continental Army Spencer was in acting command of the Brigade throughout much of the brutal winter at Valley Forge 6 At the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778 Spencer s Regiment took part in Brigadier General Anthony Wayne s late afternoon attack on the British 1st Grenadier Battalion and fought at the hedgerow and Parsonage It was detached from the 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade July 19 1778 and assigned to the Hudson Highlands 7 It spent the winter on the New Jersey frontier at Minisink under Brigadier General Edward Hand During the spring of 1779 Spencer s Regiment absorbed the two remaining New Jersey companies of Forman s Additional Continental Regiment and those enlisted men credited to New York from Malcolm s Additional Continental Regiment when those units were reduced Spencer s Regiment repaired the military road leading to the Susquehanna in advance of Sullivan s Expedition in the summer of 1779 during which it was assigned to the New Jersey Brigade It overwintered at Jockey Hollow between Mendham and Morristown NJ It lost a handful of men captured while on command at Paramus NJ on April 16 1780 8 In late May it was assigned to the front lines at Elizabethtown New Jersey 9 Spencer s Regiment fought in the Battle of Connecticut Farms on June 6 7 1780 where it suffered more losses than any other Continental unit engaged including half the officer casualties in the Jersey Brigade and nearly half the wounded enlisted men 10 The unit was transferred to the Highland Department in September 1780 where it garrisoned Stony Point until disbanded on the first of January 1781 At that time Spencer s Regiment was the very last of the sixteen Additional Regiments still in the field that had never been formally incorporated into the Continental regiments of the various states 11 Its remaining men from New Jersey who had enlisted for the duration of the war were assigned to Captain John Holmes company 2nd New Jersey Regiment while those from New York and a few who remained from Pennsylvania were transferred respectively to the New York and Pennsylvania Lines Very few of Spencer s officers received new Continental appointments in 1781 but others returned to commands in various militia units 12 Service record editDesignation 13 Date Brigade DepartmentSpencer s Additional Regiment 11 January 1777 none Main ArmySpencer s Additional Regiment 22 May 1777 3rd Pennsylvania Main ArmySpencer s Additional Regiment 19 July 1778 none HighlandsSpencer s Additional Regiment 16 November 1778 none MiddleSpencer s Additional Regiment 1 April 1779 none consolidatedSpencer s Additional Regiment 26 June 1779 New Jersey Main ArmySpencer s Additional Regiment 16 September 1780 none HighlandsSpencer s Additional Regiment 1 January 1781 none disbandedNotes edit Heitman 1914 pg 511 National Archives and Records Service NARS microfilm publications publication Number M246 Record Group 93 Revolutionary War Rolls 1775 1783 Spencer s Regiment 1777 1780 Roll 127 161 Roll 128 162 170 Roll 129 171 178 General Orders 26 May 1777 https founders archives gov documents Washington 03 09 02 0525 Based on muster rolls pension records and other contemporary and secondary accounts it appears that Spencer s Regiment took at least 34 casualties at Brandywine including 5 men killed in action 1 officer and 14 men wounded 1 officer and 6 men taken prisoner 2 of whom were also wounded 3 men missing in action and 4 men deserted General Orders For Attacking Germantown 3 October 1777 https founders archives gov documents Washington 03 11 02 0404 From endorsements on muster rolls signed by Spencer in his capacity as acting commandant of Late Conway s Brigade Colonel Spencer was apparently in charge starting in December 1777 and at least through the Battle of Monmouth at the end of June 1778 except for a six week period when he was on command in February and March 1778 on a grand forage General Orders 19 July 1778 https founders archives gov documents Washington 03 09 02 0525 To George Washington from Captain Jonathan Hallett 16 April 1780 https founders archives gov documents Washington 03 25 02 0286 From George Washington to Brigadier General William Maxwell 28 May 1780 https founders archives gov documents Washington 03 26 02 0148 Based on muster rolls pension records and other contemporary and secondary accounts the casualties in Spencer s Regiment at Connecticut Farms appear to be 1 ensign and 1 corporal killed in action 1 lieutenant and as many as 13 men wounded and 1 man deserted Webb s Additional Regiment had been officially designated the 9th Connecticut the three understrength Additional Continental Regiments from Massachusetts had been reorganized as the 16th Massachusetts and Gist s Additional Continental Regiment had been captured at Charleston South Carolina on 12 May 1780 and was disbanded on January 1 1781 Among those who remained in Continental Service were Lieutenant Colonel William Stephens Smith who was appointed an aide de camp to General Washington 6 July 1781 while Spencer s Adjutant Peter Taulman and Lieutenant David Kirkpatrick both were appointed Captain Lieutenants in the Corps of Sappers and Miners Wright 1989 324 325Bibliography editBoatner Mark M III 1994 Encyclopedia of the American Revolution Mechanicsburg Pa Stackpole Books ISBN 0 8117 0578 1 Heitman Francis Bernard 1914 Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution Washington D C Rare Book Shop Publishing Company McGuire Thomas J 2006 The Philadelphia Campaign Volume One Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia Mechanicsburg Pa Stackpole Books ISBN 0811701786 McGuire Thomas J 2007 The Philadelphia Campaign Volume Two Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge Mechanicsburg Pa Stackpole Books ISBN 978 0 8117 0206 5 Morrissey Brendan 2008 Monmouth Courthouse 1778 The last great battle in the North Long Island City N Y Osprey Publishing ISBN 978 1 84176 772 7 Wright Robert K Jr 1989 The Continental Army Washington D C United States Army Center of Military History CMH Pub 60 4 nbsp This United States military history article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Spencer 27s Additional Continental Regiment amp oldid 1171686164, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
