6th Pennsylvania Regiment, 1777 to 1783

"Revolutionary Services of Captain John Markland," Pennsylvania

Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 9, 105-106 (Brandywine), 107108 (Germantown).

Capt. Jacob Bowers company, 6th Pennsylvania Regiment

Valley Forge, March 2013

Above: Jacob Bower rifle, circa 1765. This pre-Revolutionary War American rifle is
attributed to gunsmith George Schroyer, working in Reading, PA until about 1768.
Based on the inscription found on the underside of the patchbox door, we know it
was carried by Capt. Jacob Bower, [6th Regiment] of the Pennsylvania Line, during
the war. Partial gift of Wallace B. and Elizabeth P. Gusler; acquisition funded by the
Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections, Acc. No. 2010-130. (Courtesy of Colonial
Williamsburg).
Below: Inscription inside patchbox cover, "Jacob Bower Sept. 6, 1777."

Brief History of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment of 1777

John U. Rees
November 16, 1776 - Formerly known as the 5th Pennsylvania Battalion the entire unit
was captured at Fort Washington, New York. The enlisted men were held by the British
until December 26, 1776 when they were set free on parole and likely exchanged for
prisoners held by Continental forces.
January to June 1777 - During this period the unit was reorganized as the 6th Regiment
with Col. Henry Bicker commanding. Many of the men who served in 1776 reenlisted and
to these were added new recruits to fill out the regiment. In June the men refused to report
at camp for duty as they thought they were still on parole and had not been properly
exchanged. These concerns were overcome and the regiment joined the army later in the
month.
June 26, 1777 - As part of Maj. Gen. William Alexander, Lord Stirling's Division the
regiment probably joined the army in time to participate in the Battle of Short Hills.
Stirlings Division included Brig. Gen. Thomas Conways brigade (3d, 6th, 12th
Pennsylvania Regiments, Malcoms and Spencers Additional Regiments), and Brig. Gen.
William Maxwells brigade (1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th New Jersey Regiments).
July to August 1777 - With the rest of Gen. George Washington's army the 6th Regiment
marched and countermarched across New Jersey, into New York and Pennsylvania while
trying to ascertain the destination of General Sir William Howe's army then at sea and
supposed headed south. During this time Conways brigade was reputed to be "the best
instructed and disciplined" in the army. This was in spite of the fact that Conway was
detested by the officers of his brigade ... because he makes his brigade work and
personally drills and instructs it, instead of leaving it idle in camp."
September 11, 1777 - Stirling's Division takes part in the action at and near Birmingham
Hill, on the right of the Continental army during the Battle of Brandywine. In this contest
"Lord Sterlings Division & particularly Conways Brigade" were seen to have "remarkably
Distinguished themselves." During the action "the wives of several of the soldiers belonging
to the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment ... took the empty canteens of their husbands and
friends and returned
with them filled with water ... during the hottest part of the engagement, although
frequently cautioned as to the danger of coming into the line of fire."
October 4, 1777 - Possibly because of their services at Brandywine, Conway's Brigade was
chosen to lead the main column of General Washington's army in the attack on Crown
forces at Germantown, just outside Philadelphia. One of Conways regiments, possibly the
6th Pennsylvania, attacked the pickets at Mount Airy.Conway's Brigade continued the
attack and eventually drove "the Enemy a mile & a half below Chew's House" before being
forced to retire. At least one company of the regiment joined in the assaults on the Chew
House and lost several men.
December 19, 1777 - After an encampment of almost six weeks at Whitemarsh,
Pennsylvania the army moved into winter quarters at Valley Forge where they would
remain for the next six months. There, on 1 January 1778, they received a new commander,
Lt. Col. Josiah Harmar. Harmar was still in command at the time of the January 1781

Pennsylvania line mutiny at Morristown, New Jersey, and that spring was assigned to one
of three Pennsylvania provisional battalions sent to Virginia in May 1781, to serve under
Maj. Gen. the Marquis de Lafayette. The Pennsylvania battalions marched to South Carolina
in November 1781 where they joined Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greenes army. In December
1782 the Pennsylvania line was reduced and Harmar was appointed colonel of the
reconstituted 1st Pennsylvania Regiment; that unit continued in South Carolina until June
1783 when it returned to Philadelphia and was mustered out of service. After the war
Josiah Harmar became the commander of the First American Regiment, for a time the only
infantry unit in the fledgling army of the independent United States.
Sources
John U. Rees, 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. Includes:
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

Stanley J. Idzerda, ed., Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and
Papers, 1776-1790, vol. I, (Ithaca, NY, 1977), 79, 81.
Otis G. Hammond, ed., Letters and Papers of Major-General John Sullivan Continental Army
Hammond, vol. 3 (Concord, 1939), 474 (Brandywine), 543-546 (Germantown).
"Revolutionary Services of Captain John Markland," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and
Biography, vol. 9, 105-106 (Brandywine), 107-108 (Germantown).
Order Book of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment January 1, 1778 to August 10, 1779, Josiah
Harmar Papers, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan.
For more on the post-mutiny service of the Pennsylvania Line, see:
John U. Rees, `Their presence Here Has Saved this State : Continental Provisional
Battalions with Lafayette in Virginia, 1781 :
Part 2. `Almost all old soldiers, and well disciplined :
Brigadier General Anthony Waynes 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

Appendices for 1781 Pennsylvania Battalions

1. `A Smart firing commencd from from both parties : Brig. Gen. Anthony Waynes 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 Feltmans
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

The first part of that series detailed service of Lafayettes 1781 light battalions, and contain
more information on the 1781 Virginia Campaign:
John U. Rees, `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 Lafayettes Light Infantry, 1781
http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/Atkins.pdf.pdf
2. Asa Redington, Scammells Light Infantry Regiment, 1781
http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/Redington.pdf
3. Barbers Light Battalion, 1781 (New Jersey Light Company Personnel)
http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/Barber.pdf
John Rees has written over 150 articles and monographs since 1986 on various aspects of the
common soldiers' experience, focusing primarily on the War for Independence. Current works and
interests include soldiers food (1755 to the present day), Continental Army conscription (17771782), the organization and service of the late-war Pennsylvania battalions, officers campaign and
cooking equipment, and the common soldiers burden.
Johns work has appeared in the ALHFAM Bulletin (Association of Living History, Farm, and
Agricultural Museums), American Revolution (Magazine of the American Revolution Association),
The Brigade Dispatch (Journal of the Brigade of the American Revolution), The Continental Soldier
(Journal of the Continental Line), Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, Journal of the
Johannes Schwalm Historical Association, Military Collector & Historian, Minerva: Quarterly Report on
Women and the Military, Muzzleloader Magazine, On Point: The Newsletter of the Army Historical
Foundation, and Percussive Notes (Journal of the Percussive Arts Society). He was a regular
columnist for the quarterly newsletter Food History News for 19 years writing on soldiers' food,
wrote four entries for the Oxford Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, thirteen entries for the
revised Thomson Gale edition of Boatners Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, contributed a
chapter to Carol Karels The Revolutionary War in Bergen County (2007), and two chapters to
Barbara Z. Marchants Revolutionary Bergen County, The Road to Independence (2009). An article
list plus many complete works are available online at
http://www.scribd.com/jrees_10
and
https://www.scribd.com/doc/236104178/World-of-the-Common-Soldier-Comprehensivelist-of-articles-and-monographs-by-John-U-Rees-updated-August-6-2014
(Elected Fellow of the Company of Military Historians, April 2009.)

__________________________
Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment Troop Strength
November 10, 1777 (earliest return for the year)
2 captains, 3 lieutenants, 2 ensigns, 12 sergeants, 7 fifers
and drummers.
Rank & file: 92 present fit for duty, 3 sick present, 38 sick absent, 21
on command.
Total: 154
Revolutionary War Rolls, National Archives Microfilm Publications, Record Group 93, M246
(Washington, 1980), reel 136, section 33-1.
December 1777
Present Fit for Duty
23 officers, 17 non-commissioned officers, 1 staff officer,
97 rank & file. Total Present - 138
Rank & File, Sick, On Furlough, etc.
6 sick present, 46 sick absent, 16 on command.
Grand Total - 206
Charles H. Lesser, The Sinews of Independence Monthly Strength Reports of the Continental
Army (Chicago, 1976)
Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment Clothing Issues
"A Return of Cloathing Issued the Twelve Pennsylvania Continental Regiments, 1777, by
James Mease, Clothier General... Issued to the Pennsylvania Troops, from January to 23d
September, 1777."
6th Pennsylvania Regiment: 298 coats, 319 vests, 275 breeches, 634 pairs of shoes, 480
pairs of hose, 555 shirts, 142 hats, 201 blankets, 20 hunting shirts, 209 overalls.
Samuel Hazard, ed., Pennsylvania Archives Selected and Arranged from Original Documents...
(Philadelphia, 1853), vol. VI, 46.
"Return of Clothing deliver'd to the Non:Commissioned Officers and Privates of Captain
Jacob Bowers Company of Colonel Magaws Regiment of Foot in the year One Thousand
seven Hundred & Seventy Seven" (See previously sent document.)
Revolutionary War Rolls, National Archives Microfilm Publications, Record Group 93, M246
(Washington, 1980), reel 82, section 33-1.
"A General Return Of Clothing Issued by the Clothier General to 1st Jany. 1778"
6th Pennsylvania Regiment: 256 coats, 289 jackets, 266 breeches, 894 shirts, 542 shoes,
458 stockings, 142 hats, 195 blankets, 20 hunting shirts, 104 overalls.
The Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789 (Microfilm Collection) (Washington,
1978), reel 38, p. 29.

"A Return of Clothing Issued at Camp from 15 September 1777"

6th Pennsylvania Regiment: 44 coats, 33 waistcoats, 88 breeches, 63 shirts, 185 stockings,
107 shoes, 75 overalls, 15 blankets, 72 caps [probably leather], 36 mitts
The Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789 (Microfilm Collection) (Washington,
1978), reel 38, p. 27.
"Return of Cloathing Wanting in the following Brigades of Continental Troops..." 13 October
1777.
6th Pennsylvania Regiment: 81 coats, 83 waistcoats, 114 breeches, 123 stockings, 105
shoes, 121 shirts, 110 blankets, 52 hats, 22 knapsacks.
The Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789 (Microfilm Collection) (Washington,
1978), reel 168, p.117.
_______________________

Return of Clothing delivered to NCOs and Privates of Capt. Jacob Bowers Company,
6t h Pennsylvania Regt. in 1777. (No Hunting Shirts, Mitts, Linnen Leggins, or
Mild [milled wool] caps were issued.) (Transcribed by John U. Rees)