AmericanRifles

The Delaware Regiment

By PETER DURANTINE
Reprinted with special permission from the News Journal
03/31/2006

•late August 1776, fighting at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill was for history to record, but
American and British troops were lining up in New York for the Battle of Long Island. When it ended,
the regiment from Delaware, fighting for the first time, proved to be Gen. George Washington's most
fierce and reliable force.

The Delaware Continentals, little known today except to historians and buffs of the Revolutionary War,
went on to prove themselves over and over again throughout the war. With a fighting cock as their
mascot -- "Sons of the blue hen, and game to the end" -- they were regarded as the best fighters in a
newly formed army that was ill-trained, ill-equipped and often poorly fed.

The regiment entered service with the best uniforms and best weapons, and had been well trained by
a former British officer. They stayed intact through the war's seven years, often facing impossible
odds. They were not only gallant but effective.

"The State of Delaware furnished one regiment only, and certainly no regiment in the army surpassed
it in soldiership," wrote Col. Henry Lee of Virginia, father of Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general.
According to Christopher Ward's "The Delaware Continentals 1776-1783," "Light Horse" Harry Lee
knew well the "Delawares' " skills, having fought with the regiment in the Southern Campaign.
"This regiment was excelled by no other in the length and continuity of its service, which extended
from its organization in January 1776 to January 1783," wrote Ward. "In those seven years it fought in
every battle of major importance."

Henry Kayser, a re-enactor from Simi Valley, Calif., belongs to the Brigades of the American
Revolution, units that meet outside the original 13 Colonies. He has proudly posed as a soldier in the
Delaware Regiment for nearly 30 years. Kayser said the Delawares fought so well in so many battles
and campaigns that "to pick an actual battle that was their finest moment, well, there were so many."
The Battle of Long Island -- fought in what today is Brooklyn -- was of significant historical importance,
wrote Ward, because "it was the first in which the opposing forces met in the open field in formal battle
array."

Washington's troops were greatly outnumbered by British and Hessian troops, who found and
exploited the weakness in the Americans' left flank; only five soldiers were holding it and they were
captured. Washington was forced to retreat to fortified lines a few miles back, across a tidal creek and
marshlands.

Washington nearly lost an army, but thanks to the Delaware boys, along with their Maryland
companions, British forces were kept at bay to allow time for the Continental troops to escape.
When the Delawares finally pulled up the rear and headed across Gowanus Creek, dodging musket
fire and grapeshot, the tide was in, and a few, in their heavy uniforms and equipment, drowned in the
deep, swirling waters.

"They did well to hold their position against significant numbers and took a beating for it," said Ralph
Nelson, a retired chemical engineer and historian for the Delaware Society of the Sons of the
American Revolution.

Jack Gardner, a retired history professor from Delaware State University and a Delaware Continental
re-enactor, said the regiment constantly experienced heavy fighting.

"They were in the worst bloodbaths imaginable," he said. "They were incredibly brave, almost beyond
belief, and because they were so incredibly brave, very few of them survived the war."

Who were the men of the Delaware Regiment? They were typically farmers, not uncommon in a
society predominantly agrarian, although some worked in shops and others were unemployed.
"They were hard," Gardner said. "They were young, probably scared to death."

The soldiers were lead by officers such as Col. John Haslet, the first to take the regiment into battle.
Popular with the troops, Haslet walked with his infantry rather traveling on horseback as officers did.
"He's responsible for wanting his men to have the best training and best weapons," Kayser said.
Under Haslet, Capt. Thomas Holland initially trained the men. He was with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers
until a minor scandal forced him to leave the British regiment. He came to the American Colonies
looking for a fresh start.

"Holland knew the English drill, he knew how to use a bayonet and he knew how to train them to fight,"
Kayser said.

Haslet was killed in 1777 at the Battle of Princeton. Lt. Col. David Hall was promoted to lead the
regiment. Hall lasted until October when he was severely wounded at the Battle of Germantown. The
regiment would be lead by other able men until 1780, when it was reorganized into two companies
under Capts. Robert Kirkwood and Peter Jaquett. They were the only officers to stay with the regiment
throughout the war, Gardner said.

The regiment started the war with the best weapon -- each man had an English Brown Bess, a .75-
caliber, smooth-bore musket from the French and Indian War -- and dashing blue uniforms. It ended
the war less well-equipped.

Congress had no money to pay the army, and by the time the Delawares reached the South in the
last years of the war, they wore linen hunting shirts and striped trousers sewn by "a bunch of ladies
from North Carolina," Kayser said.

As infantry, the regiment fought as far north as Peekskill, N.Y., and as far south as South Carolina.
They often marched to battle on little food. Gardner estimated a soldier in the regiment who survived
the war may have marched 10,000 miles.

The question of what compelled these men to fight so hard when they were hardly paid can be difficult
to grasp. But historians such as Nelson and Gardner say it was simple: The regiment had esprit de
corps.

The clothes make the soldiers

The Delaware Regiment was the best-dressed and -equipped in the Revolutionary War. The blue
jacket was lined in red, worn with a white vest and buckskin trousers. Soldiers also wore white knit
stockings and canvas gaiters (that protect the legs and ankles below the knee).

The buttons (pewter for the average soldier and gilt in gold for officers) were marked with "D B," for
Delaware Battalion. Soldiers donned black leather caps with a high peak bearing the unit's insignia.

Knapsack: Made of linen and painted to waterproof it, this was strapped to the back and carried extra
clothes and other supplies.

Haversack: Made of linen and hung from a sash, this bag carried food and small items.
Canteen French musket: Capable of firing a .65-caliber ball, this long-barreled, smooth-bore musket
was 42 inches long and could mount a long bayonet.

Paper cartridge: A folded piece of paper with a measured gunpowder charge with a musket ball.

Cartridge box: A leather pouch containing a wooden block with holes for holding paper cartridges.

Shot mold: American soldiers carried lead that was melted in pots over a camp fire. The molten lead
was poured into a shot mold. When cool, the mold was opened and shot was saved for use in battle.

Ax Bayonet: Because reloading a rifle took a long time during battle, the bayonet could be attached to
the rifle's barrel and used like a sword.

Waist belt and scabbard: This belt made it easier to carry equipment into battle.

Powder horn: Was used to carry gunpowder.

Key battles

Aug. 27, 1776
Long Island
Gen. George Washington, in an attempt to defend New York City and the Hudson River Valley from
British troops stationed on Staten Island, marched his forces to Long Island. Though the British won
the day, the American force escaped capture. Other New York battles occurred at Harlem and White
Plains.

Dec. 26, 1776
Trenton
Washington and his army crossed the Delaware River to escape a 20,000-man British force. Once
across the Delaware, Washington attacked a camp of Hessians in Trenton. The Delaware Regiment
formed the center of Washington's battle line. The Americans overwhelmed the Hessians and gave
the fledgling American revolt a major victory.

Jan. 3, 1777
Princeton
Encountering a strong British force under the command of Gen. Charles Cornwallis, Washington
attempted a surprise nighttime withdrawal but encountered several English regiments coming to
reinforce Cornwallis. The British got the better of the Americans, and the Delaware Regiment lost its
commander, Col. John Haslet.

Sept. 11, 1777
Brandywine
The daylong Pennsylvania battle resulted in an American defeat. However, Washington, in a move he
would often repeat during the war, retreated, keeping his army intact.

Oct. 4, 1777
Germantown
The Pennsylvania battlefield was shrouded in fog. This lead to the collapse of the multipronged
American attack when some of Washington's troops fired on one another. The British were victorious,
but the bulk of the American army escaped.

June 28, 1778
Monmouth Court House
Beginning as a small skirmish in New Jersey with the rear echelon of the British army's supply train, a
full battle soon ensued.

Aug. 16, 1780
Camden
The forces of British Gen. Horatio Gates and Cornwallis engaged the Americans at Camden, S.C.
After only a few minutes, the Colonials retreated in defeat.