Dragoon Diary: The History of the Third Continental Light Dragoons

Dragoon Diary:

The History of the Third Continental

Light Dragoons

By

C.F. William Maurer

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

© 2005 C.F. William Maurer. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 06/08/05

ISBN: 1-4208-3146-1 (ebk)

ISBN: 1-4208-3145-3 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2005902961

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Cover Design by Melissa Maurer

Maurergraphics: njartist@mac.com

Cover Art by Clyde Risley

Text with permission of Nate D. Sanders Auction

Contents

Preface:

I. There Has To Be A Need

II. Send Troops As Soon As Possible - 1777

III. With The Spring Comes Campaign - 1778

IV. Prelude To A Massacre - September 1778

V. The Massacre – September 28, 1778

VI. The Dead and Wounded - October 1778

VII. The Depositions of the Massacre

VIII – A New Commander

IX. Re-organization - 1779

X. New Orders

XI. The Dragoons Move to the South - 1780

XII. Legionary Corps - 1781

XIII. Preparing For the Future - 1782

XIV. We’re Going Home - 1783

XV. The Proposed Peace Time Army

XVI. George Baylor - The Final Days - 1784

Appendix:

Francis Otway Byrd: Second in Command of the Third Continental Dragoons

Major Alexander Clough’s Telescope

A New Assessment of the Baylor Massacre

Works Cited:

End Notes:

About The Author

I would like to thank devoted Third Dragoon historians, family and friends for help and guidance in my writing of this history. John Hayes is the Third Dragoon mentor and a long time friend. Charles Price, a fine author and friend from Burnsville, NC, helped polish the prose in The Massacre section. Ronald Smokey Bassett gave access to his exciting family records. Dr. Lee McGee and historical archivist Sam Fore continually provided encouragement. And to my wife, Shon, for her supporting patience and Melissa and Adam who grew up seeing a lot of cannons on family vacations, thank you all.

C.F.William Maurer

September 2004

Preface:

Military histories focus on the strategic actions of the commander. Recent authors reach into the ranks and pay particular attention to the tactics of the individual soldier, his squad or the members of the rifle company. The cavalry during the Revolutionary War has been barely commented on by historians and when mentioned, is painted with the widest brush strokes. The place of the swift arm, or the eyes and ears of the commander has long been neglected. Seemingly, the only time the cavalry is recorded in histories is when the cavalry carries out its mission as part of a larger and, mostly successful, plan of battle. Suddenly, in these few cases, the cavalry is found at the right spot at the right time, equipped and capably commanded. The everyday life that reflected the patriotism of the unit, the bravery of the men and the many hardships of both man and horse are overlooked.

Neglected are the deserving heroes of the Continental dragoons, the cavalry commanders and more specifically, the individual troopers.

In past excursions on the battlefield, the American colonies had provided the raw militia and were usually supplemented by the King’s Royal (and professional) Army. When the American revolt began and an American Army was needed to fight against George III, the pattern of this army was to be modeled after the strong - and successful - European forces. Lessons learned from combat alongside the British regular army and against the fine French army set a template to guide the formation and the functioning of each militia and regular unit. The two most expensive units to raise and organize were the cavalry and the artillery. Both were mainstays in fighting the European type war. While these expenses never seemed to bother warring kings, the expense of horse and cannon was daunting to the Continental Congress and the sponsoring colonies. Not only was there an almost impossible cost in providing and obtaining cannon for the artillery units, there was training that had to be done. The enemy, however, did have cannons and the captured guns would soon be turned around to fire at their red coats. As to forming the cavalry, one Commander noted, the Continental Congress could not pull farm boys onto horses and expect them to function against the enemy in the field. However, there were certainly more horses available to the army than there were cannons. Therefore, almost by necessity, quite early in the history of the Continental Army, the four Regiments of Light Dragoons were authorized by Congress and several more independent units of horse began to see service. Once organized, man and horse would need to be trained. Once properly equipped and trained - and then led - the cavalry would soon influence the course of the war and win key victories in the fight for freedom some two hundred and twenty-five years ago.

History books, much original source material and even some diaries of the period, report that the Third Continental Dragoons contributed little more to the American Revolution than being bayonet targets for the British when the horsemen were caught sleeping in barns in old Tappan in the fall of 1778. Recent research illustrates that the individual officers and men of the Third Dragoons, often chosen from George Washington’s personal military family, were the children of his friends and when called upon, showed the personal courage and American spirit historically epitomized by our soldiers. This spirit of individuality, so early in American military history, is seen in this cavalry unit from its conception at the Battle of Trenton to the end of the war.

The Third Dragoons did not appear for this one massacre and then disappear and fade into history. As in all wars, there had to be a reason for a military unit to be formed; a unit that would fit into the strategic plan of battle and be organized, trained, supplied and properly led to fill the perceived need of the commander. Whether the need is for more specialized troops as in today’s modern army using Special Forces, Ranger battalions, Mountain troops or the complete range of Special Operations, the expense of organizing, staffing and supplying an elite unit demands a major funding commitment. Cavalry (and artillery) units raised during the American Revolution fitted the criteria of specialized units, and provided a way that General Washington, the Commander in Chief, could repay young officers of his favored families with a prestigious position. A troop of horse while expensive to the young army was also seen as the gentleman’s way of going to war.

The history of the Third Regiment of Light Dragoons begins differently from many regiments in the way the personnel of the unit were selected. From the formation of the Regiment, the unit received favors and considerations directly from George Washington. The young officers and many men in the ranks were from the finest family connections in Virginia and Maryland. This unit, initially raised and paid for by Virginia, came to contain men enlisted and commissioned from Massachusetts Bay colony down to the Carolinas and was a true cross section of the individuals who fought for independence.

The author has endeavored to reduce the what if in compiling this study of the Third Dragoons. History writes itself and using source material supports this premise. The letters and diaries that are quoted often have the original spelling and some have grammatical errors. Records written in the field are sometimes careless as to the location and the date. If this is recognized and changed from the original, there is a note explaining the correction.

I. There Has To Be A Need

The Third Regiment of Dragoons does not enter the history books with a cavalry charge nor begin at the massacre in Old Tappan. Before shots were fired in New England and before the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, the signs of an impending war were evident. In Virginia, the men who were to play important rolls in the history of the Third Continental Dragoons began to take up first the pen and then the sword and line up for their places in the history of the American Revolution.

An observer of these troubled events was Edmund Pendleton. On June 15, 1775, Pendleton, on business in Philadelphia, wrote to Joseph Chew about the dissatisfaction felt at home.

All our friends as far as I hear are well in Virginia where we have had a small taste of the troubles of the times. Lord Dunmore very imprudently had 15 half Barrels of Powder removed in the night from the Magazine on board a Man of War, whether Crown or Country property is uncertain. This alarmed the Country and I suppose 1,000 men were in arms to go to Williamsburg on the Occasion, but sent an express there to know the true state of things. The Corporation requested they would not come down, as they had force enough in the neighborhood to effect any thing necessary to be done, but they believed him sincere in his professions that he only meant to secure it from the slaves and would return it - the greater part was satisfied; however 150 marched on to make Reprisals, but the Receiver General met them and having paid them a high value for the Powder they returned and that appeared to be Over. Our Assembly have since met and seemed to be going on smoothly in business, but we now hear the Governor has fled with his family on board a Man-of-war and refused to return, saying his Assassination was resolved on, tho’ the Assembly sent him a Message that they would protect him and be pledged for his safety. We have no certain account of the beginning of this Affair, but it was probably this - there are many stands of Arms in the Magazine from which the locks have been taken, and the people uneasy lest the Guns should also be taken away.

Curiosity led a Burgess and two other men to go and open the door. Upon their doing it three guns went off, being so fixed as to do so on Opening the Door and so well placed as to wound every one of the three - this made a noise, the Governor was applied to and he threw it upon his servants, who to his face, avowed it to be done by his Orders; if this was the Case he might well fear what he must have been conscious he deserved, Assassination - it seems he privately sent to the Man of War for Marines to protect him (as he had done before) the Burgess told him if they came, there should not a man of them return alive, and then he fled to them, since which we have not heard from them. I imagine I have by this time tired you and will only Add what we are at liberty to Publish, that Colonel Washington is appointed General and Commander in Chief of all the American Force and that a Committee of the whole Congress have voted to raise 15,000 men and to emit a Continental Currency to the amount of 2 Millions of Dollars to pay and provide for them…" ¹

Captain George Montague was the commanding officer of the frigate H.M.S. Fowey standing off the Virginia shore. Montague came to the aid of Dunmore at the time of the powder incident and evacuated the Governor’s family by ship, much to the disgust of the Virginians who knew them to be in no personal danger. As tempers flared, a young naval cadet, Francis Otway Byrd, jumped ship - ending his relationship with the British navy - and returned home to his father’s plantation, Westover, on the James River a short distance outside of Richmond. ²

At Newmarket plantation, north of Richmond in Caroline County, George Baylor had - at the age of twenty-two - opposed Colonel James Taylor, a man many years his senior, for a seat in the House of Burgess. George was the second son of Colonel John and Fanny Walker Baylor who, by royal decree, owned the plantation named for the famous racetrack in England. The Baylor family’s skill in raising horses would serve George well during the coming war. ³

Colonel John Baylor Sr. was a close friend of General Washington and had served with him during the French and Indian War. John Baylor’s relationship led to Washington once ordering his shoemaker to make a pair of shoes from the lasts of Colonel Baylor. Both men shared a love for good horses and for the plantation life of the aristocracy of Virginia.

George Washington, John Baylor, and William Byrd III - whose grandfather surveyed and laid off the town of Richmond in about 1737 - were among the landed gentry and aristocracy that controlled both the political and social life of Virginia. Baylor’s son, George, and Byrd’s son, Otway would become the key officers in the formative years of the Third Dragoons.⁴

On July 11, 1775, John Hancock, as the President of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, wrote a short note to General David Wooster that read,

The Bearer Mr. Baylor, a gentleman from Virginia, going to the General at our Camp, I take the Liberty to Recommend him to your Notice and Civilities, he is a Gentleman of Reputation and warmly attach’d to our cause. Any Civilities or Assistance Afforded him I shall Esteem as done so. Sir, Your most obed’t Servant.⁵

A mutual friend of the three senior gentlemen, Washington, Baylor and Byrd, was the respected Edmund Pendleton. When war broke out, Pendleton, too, recommended young George Baylor to General Washington for a staff position in the official military family. Still in Philadelphia, on July 12, 1775, Pendleton wrote to George Washington urging the General to favor young Baylor with an appointment to the General’s staff:

Dear General,

We take the liberty to recommend to your countenance and favor the bearer Mr. George Baylor, not only on account of the memory of his worthy father, with whom you was acquainted, but for his own merit. He is a Lieutenant in the Caroline Independents where he has distinguished himself by attention to discipline and indicated Bravery when called to it’s exertion; this ardor in the noble cause has drawn him to your school for instruction and employment as far as his services may be required, and in which we doubt not he will prove himself worthy of any marks of your regard. We are, Sir, Your most humble Servants,

/s/

           P. Henry Jr.; Rich. Lee;

      Edmd Pendleton, Benj. Harrison ⁶

Freeman writes in his History of George Washington, that Washington read in the Virginia Gazette in 1754 that General Braddock was visiting Williamsburg. Accompanying the General were Captain Orme as Aide de Camp and Mr. Shirley as secretary. These young men were serving exactly as Washington would have liked to have served in the army; Orme and Shirley were in close daily relationship with the experienced General Braddock, an officer of long service from whom they could learn much of the military arts that had fascinated Washington. Now, twenty years later, Washington was offering this rare opportunity to the aristocratic young men of Virginian prominence.⁷

During the summer of 1775, The Marquis de Lafayette, a captain in the French Noailles Dragoons, was stationed at Metz on active duty. At a dinner given by his commander, the Comte de Broglie, Lafayette heard the Duke of Gloucester speak of the American problem and the possible war. On June 11, 1775, the Marquis was put on reserve status and on December 7, 1775; he signed an agreement to serve as a major general in the American army.

On August 15, 1775, George Baylor had received his commission as a Captain and left Virginia to join General Washington’s staff. Orders received in Hartford, Connecticut on August 28, noted that Congress had appointed Colonel Mott as the Chief Engineer to serve under General Schuyler. General Washington also appointed Major Thomas Mifflin as Quarter Master General with John Parker, Esq. as the Assistant Quarter Master General. John Trumbull, Esq., of Connecticut and Richard Cary, Esq. were appointed Major of Brigade. To take the place of the promoted Majors, and Mifflin and Trumbull, Edmund Randolph and George Baylor, Esqrs. were appointed as aides-de-camp to the Commander in Chief as of August 16.

In New Jersey during the fall of 1775, after being passed around in committee for several months, finally on November 7, 1775, the Continental Congress balloted and duly elected the gentlemen recommended to the command and staff of the First and Second Battalions, of the Jersey Line. The field officers and staff of the First Battalion, First Establishment were:

William Alexander (Lord Stirling)          Colonel

William Winds            Lieutenant Colonel

William D’Hart                    Major

Alexander Clough                    Adjutant

Matthias Halsted                 Quartermaster

Aaron Ogden                         Paymaster

William M. Barnet                    Surgeon

Soon Colonel Alexander would be promoted to a Brigadier in the Continental Army, and William Winds would be appointed to Colonel. Colonel Winds later leaves the Continental Service and is appointed a Brigadier General of the New Jersey Militia in March 1777. ⁸

There were eight companies of the battalion. In the Sixth Company, commanded by Captain Andrew M’Mires, Isaac Morrison was appointed First Lieutenant and Alexander Clough was the second Lieutenant with the additional duty of Adjutant.⁹ Clough later served as the Adjutant of the First Battalion, Second Establishment. In January 1777 he received orders from General Washington to leave the unit and assume a Majority with the dragoons.¹⁰

On September 2, the newly appointed aide and newly promoted Captain, George Baylor, was sent on his first military mission to purchase a quantity of gun powder, lead and 500 stand of arms at Providence, Rhode Island.¹¹ On November 5th, Baylor went on a personal mission for General Washington to pick up the General’s household goods and a month later, Baylor was sent to escort Mrs. Washington to Cambridge to be with her husband. On December 5-6, Martha Washington spent the night in Beers Tavern, in Connecticut. With her were Mrs. Horatio Gates, Mr. and Mrs. John Parke Custis (Mrs. Washington’s son and daughter-in-law), and Mr. and Mrs. Warren Lewis. The party arrived in camp on December 11, 1775. In February of 1776, Baylor was sent to Norwalk again on a marketing expedition. He seemed to accomplish these tasks better than his military duties, for General Washington wrote to a former aide, Joseph Reed, that Mr. Baylor, contrary to my expectation, is not in the slightest degree a penman – though spirited and willing.

Another aide, this one to General Charles Lee, second in command of the army, had some problems at home. Colonel Landon Carter made an entry in his diary about William Byrd III, patriarch of an old Virginia family and his son, Otway:

It is said Byrd is going to the Congress to solicit an appointment to be Majr. Genl. Here. I know some such Panders to him as to wish him success; but I would never trust him, and shall always remember his treatment of our young Effingham, his Son (Frances Otway Byrd, 1756 – 1800) who left the Navy to assist his own country even against the treats of being disinherited by his father."¹²

General Lee, wrote to Washington about his aides on February 19, 1776, Messieurs Griffin and Byrd are very good young men, but pretty much in the predicament of your Baylor. They can ride, understand, and deliver verbal orders; but you might as well set them to the task of translating an Arabick or Irish manuscript, as expect that they should, in half a day, copy a sheet of orders…¹³

As General Braddock had done with his two aides, General Washington had provided Baylor, Byrd and the young Frenchman Lafayette with positions to learn the art of war.

In addition to these staff appointments, at twelve noon, March 12, 1776, pursuant to a General Order, General Washington began forming his personal guard. The cream of each Regiment, chosen from each of the colonies represented in the Boston area, was to serve in this elite unit. Caleb Gibbs of Massachusetts was named as the Captain and George Lewis, son of General Washington’s sister, was named a Lieutenant and second in command. The Guard had but one purpose, the personal protection of General Washington and his military family. The order specified that the men for this personal guard should be between five feet eight and five feet ten, well drilled, and to be handsomely and well built. The next day, Caleb Gibbs and George Lewis were commissioned to command and institute the details of the unit. On the 16th of May 1776, both were added to the list of Aides de Camp. The General now had his military family organized.

Less than a week later, on March 17th, the British boarded ships and left Boston, probably, as Washington correctly guessed, for the loyalist city of New York. Washington left his headquarters in Cambridge and headed for New York on Thursday afternoon, April 4, 1776, arriving at his new headquarters at 180 Pearl Street on April 13th. Far from the preparations of war taking place in New York City, the usual preoccupations with horse racing were still taking place to the southward. On April 24, 1776, some of the finest horses in the country were being raced around the tracks in Maryland and Virginia:

Regulus, horse of Mr. Fitzhugh of Chatham won 50 Pounds at Port Royal, 5 Pounds at Annapolis, 50 Pounds at Upper Marlboro, 50 Pounds at Leedstown, 100 Guineas at Fredericksburg Jockey Club. He beat Mr. Page’s horse Damon, Mr.Brent’s horse Figure, Spotswood’s horse Eclipse. Michael Yates at his Plantation in upper Caroline Co. offers his horse Laurel, got by Fearnought, bred by George Baylor Esq. It is esteemed equal to any horse in the Colony. ¹⁴

This intimate group of breeders and owners, Messrs. Fitzhugh, Page, Spotswood, Yates and Brent represented the finest of the blueblood of southern nobility and of horse breeders. The sons of Messrs. Fitzhugh and Page would join the Third Dragoons and both families would provide cavalry horses in a year or so for the new unit. The horses would play a role in military history too. Regulus would die in a young Captain’s arms and a colt of Fearnought, Baylor’s horse, would win a race hightailing it from the British with an American general on his back.

On May 21st, General Orders read that, Any orders delivered by Caleb Gibbs and George Lewis, Esquires - officers of the General’s Guard, are to be attended to in the same manner as if sent by an aide-de-camp. The details of setting up General Washington’s headquarters in New York were left to the aides and the Guard, while the task of setting up the infant army and the gathering of intelligence occupied the attention of General Washington.

General Washington left New York for Philadelphia to confer with the Continental Congress and upon returning on June 6th, moved his headquarters to the Mortier House, near the spot the Guard had previously taken up their quarters on May 24th.

Daily intelligence reports had the British forces under the combined army and navy command of the Howe brothers due momentarily in New York. At this point, General Washington and his staff heard rumors of a conspiracy and they began a quiet investigation. The plotter’s plan was to assassinate General Washington and his staff. At the same time the Tories were to rise in rebellion, destroy communications and access to and from Manhattan Island, thus creating confusion and setting the stage for an easy attack by the British combined forces. While Washington was in Philadelphia, two members of his new Guard - Privates Hickey and Lynch - had been arrested for forgery and counterfeiting.

On June 21, three members of the Commander-in-Chief’s guard were arrested and it was soon discovered that the forgers, Hickey and Lynch, were also conspirators in the plot. On June 26, a General Court-Martial was held and Private Hickey was convicted and sentenced to death. Washington confirmed the decision and two days later, at eleven o’clock, Private Hickey hanged.

Ironically, the first soldier of the infant army to hang was a member of the handpicked, carefully chosen Guard. The remainder of the Guard was then again screened and Washington began to earnestly recruit for the intelligence network he so often used and depended on throughout the war. After removing these initial traitors, the Guard of the Commander-in-Chief was respected as having the finest men that the colonies could supply. It may be pointed out that indiscretions did take place by individual members and these were severely dealt with by General Washington. ¹⁵

Second in Command in the Continental Service was General Charles Lee . Early in the war, Lee saw a need for cavalry and urged General Washington to petition Congress for a thousand cavalry to be used as an important arm of the army for not only combat but for intelligence gathering. Governor Trumbull of Connecticut had obliged this request by sending Colonel Seymour’s Connecticut Light Horse of about five hundred mounted men to New York …most of them, if not all, men of reputation and property.

But on July 16, General Washington dismissed them. Washington maintained that the old Connecticut law that these men claimed exemption from fatigue duty so as to be able to take care of their horses was unwarranted. The Connecticut troopers also refused to fight on foot, if needed or ordered. Washington wrote, they can no longer be of use here where horses cannot be brought into action.

Two points should be made concerning General Washington’s actions in returning the Connecticut Light Horse. First, and Washington later emphasizes in instructions to George Baylor, that when choosing officers you must be circumspect in the choices and, secondly, that for the battle of Long Island in August, no cavalry would be available where horses could be used and brought into action. Some historians have argued that even minimally trained men pulled onto horse back would have been valuable in reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. The Connecticut Light Horse could have performed this function; others maintain that this unit was so ill equipped that they were not capable of taking the field under any circumstances.

With British pressure on both land and sea, the American Army began the retreat from Long Island, crossing to Manhattan Island and heading north. On October 23rd, Washington set up headquarters in White Plains, New York. Five days later at the battle of White Plains, without any cavalry, the members of the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard were with his Excellency performing guard duty at his headquarters.

When the Americans hurriedly left Fort Lee, New Jersey, November 20, 1776, the Guard accompanied General Washington, picking up what equipment and household articles that could be gathered of the General’s personal gear from his headquarters in Hackensack. Traveling with the army, the Guard passed through Hackensack, Newark, New Brunswick and Princeton, arriving in Trenton on December 2, 1776.

On December 8th, Washington crossed the Delaware River and encamped at the Berkley House, Morrisville, opposite Trenton. On December 14th, the Guard moved the headquarters to a farmhouse owned by William Keith on the road from Brownsburg within half an hour’s ride from Newton, near McKonkley’s Ferry.¹⁶

General Charles Lee tarried in joining the American Army when in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. A cavalry unit of his old British regiment consisting of about thirty dragoons captured Lee. By this sudden move at White’s Tavern, the British removed General Lee - a continual problem for Washington - from the war until Lee was exchanged in the spring of 1778. At Monmouth Battlefield General Washington took the opportunity to remove him for the rest of the war.

Lieutenant Lewis was detached on December 14, to finally raise a troop of cavalry for the Guard. Some twenty men of the Guard were given their discharges with the proviso that they enlist for three years in the troop of cavalry. This unit would later become the First Troop of the 3rd Dragoons and the members were drawn from colonies other than Virginia. Once re-enlisted, they were to rendezvous at Newton. (Godfrey 39)) Lieutenant Lewis went about recruiting this command and missed the marching orders of December 25th for the surprise attack on Trenton. In part these orders read, … Captain William Washington and Captain Flahaven, with a party of forty men each, to march before the divisions and post themselves on the road about three miles from Trenton, and make prisoners of all going and coming out of town. ¹⁷

After the humiliating retreat through the Jerseys, the Americans were mentally ready for the battle of Trenton on Christmas Day, 1776. Captain George Baylor was at the side of the Commander in Chief, near the front of the American forces. Pushing the Hessians back, resistance snapped and the Hessians took flight. Colonel George Weedon was given the mission of capturing the Hessian cannon, and in turn he ordered Captains William A. Washington and James Monroe forward along with several men. In a dash, the small group ran to the field pieces. Captain Washington was wounded in both hands and Monroe suffered a severe wound in his shoulder.

Hessian Colonel Rall gathered what men were nearby and led his troops to the east side of the town where, hopefully, in the cover of an apple orchard he felt he could regroup or make a dash to the Princeton Road and safety to be able to fight another day. Colonel Rall was wounded and ordered his adjutant, Major Piel, to check on the condition of the bridge and report back. Piel dashed for the bridge and was within thirty paces when he realized that the Americans now held the bridge. Colonel Rall tried again to reach the orchard but as he gave the command, he fell from his horse. Two soldiers picked up their colonel and carried him to the Methodist Church on Queen Street.

The Hessian troops who had reached the orchard raced to ford the creek and before reaching the far bank, received a galling fire from the Americans at some fifty paces. Now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Scheffer, the small command was surrounded. Through the cheers and noise, Scheffer heard the Americans shouting in English and German for his band to surrender and to throw down their arms. Scheffer called to an American officer for quarter and Captain George Baylor rode up, spoke to Scheffer and Major van Halstein, and trotted back to General Fermoy to tell of the Hessian surrender.¹⁸

On December 27, General Washington at Newton wrote to the President of Congress, meeting in Baltimore,

…Colonel Baylor my first aide-de-camp, will have the honor of delivering this to you (a captured Hessian flag), and from him you may be acquainted with many other particulars; his spirited behaviour upon every occasion, requires me to recommend him to your particular notice.¹⁹

The Society of the Cincinnati has on loan a silver lion’s head pommel from the sword presented by Congress to Col. Baylor. From family letters furnished to William Randolph Robins, Jr. at the time of the loan to the Society in 1957, the tradition is that the sword was passed down through the family and used by Colonel George Wythe Baylor of the Confederate States. Subsequent to that war, at some time unknown, the blade was removed, and the lion’s head was made into a gentleman’s cane. This was the period when the south …beat their swords into plough shares and their spears into pruning hooks… ²⁰

To Colonel John Cadwalader, General Washington wrote,

…You have the number of Officers &ca taken below. The Damage we sustained was very inconsiderable, not more than a private or two killed, one or two wounded and Captain Washington of the Third Virginia Regiment. ²¹

As a result of this victory, the morale of the Americans was so greatly improved that the remaining men in the Commander in Chief’s Guard promised to stay on for another six weeks as their enlistments were scheduled to end momentarily. This keystone battle in the earliest days of the American Revolution provided the leadership of the Third Continental Dragoons for the remainder of the war.

II. Send Troops As Soon As Possible - 1777

January 1, 1777 – In Baltimore, at the session of the Continental Congress, a discussion was held about a resolution that

Resolved, that 2,000 dollars be advanced to the Committee of Secret Correspondence; they to be accountable:

That 150 dollars be advanced to the Board of War; they to be accountable.

Congress being informed that [Lieutenant] Colonel Baylor, General Washington’s aide de camp, who brought the dispatches from General Washington, read yesterday, was at the door,

Ordered, That he be admitted.

Lieutenant Colonel Baylor being ∥ accordingly∥ admitted, gave a particular account of the late action at Trenton, and withdrew.

Resolved, That a horse, properly accoutered caparisoned for service, be presented to Lieutenant Colonel Baylor, and that he be recommended to General Washington to be promoted to be colonel of a appointed to the command of a regiment of light horse; and that he rank with Colonel Sheldon, lately appointed to the same command, saving to Colonel Sheldon any preference which arises from the senior date of his commission.²²

January 1, 1777 - From John Hancock, the President of Congress, meeting at Baltimore to General Washington:

Sir,

I am to acknowledge the receipt of your several favors, to the 27th ultimo. Your letter of that date, containing the very agreeable intelligence of the success of the Continental arms under your command, was last night delivered to me by your Aid-de-camp, Colonel Baylor, together with the Hessian standard. I entertain the most pleasing expectation that our affairs will henceforth assume a better complexion…. From the inclosed resolve, you will perceive Congress have determined, that a horse, properly caparisoned, be presented to your Aid-de-camp, Colonel Baylor, and to recommend it to you to promote him to be a Colonel of a regiment of Light Horse. As the Congress have been pleased to intrust me with the execution of this resolve, I must beg you will do me the favor to give directions to the Quartermaster, or other proper person, to purchase as handsome a horse, for this purpose, as can be found. The reason for my making this application, is an information I had received, that some Light Horse were taken at Trenton, and are to be publicly sold for the benefit of the soldiery. Should this be the case, I must further ask the favor of you to give directions at the same to time to purchase one or two for my own use. The money shall be immediately remitted, whatever it may be. I should be glad to know what kind of horse furniture you think the most proper, as I would, by all means, wish to procure the best; but, without your advice and assistance, I am apprehensive I shall not succeed. If the horses are to be had, be pleased to order them to be sent to me, and every expense shall be paid arising thereon.

     This recommendation of Colonel Baylor, I doubt not, will meet with your approbation, and that, on his return from Virginia, you will give him a commission, and with such pay as you think suitable and adequate…²³

January 9, 1777 - General Washington instructs Colonel Baylor by letter from Morristown:

Dear Baylor: Your letter of the 1st from Baltimore came to my hands this day; Your desires of commanding a Regiment of Horse I cheerfully yield to, because it is the recommendation of Congress, your own wish, and my desire.

As nothing contributes so much to the constitution of a good Regiment, as a good Corps of Officers, and no Method so likely to obtain these as leaving the choice, in a great measure, to the Gentleman who is to reap the honours, or share the disgrace arising from their Behaviour, I shall vest you with the power of Nominating the Officers of your own Regiment, except the Field Officers, and those of the Troop commanded by Geo. Lewis, which I shall annex to your Regiment (instead of Sheldon’s) and except a Lieutenancy in some Troop for little Starke; when I talk of giving you the Nomination of the Officers, I would have it understood that I reserve to myself a negative upon a part or the whole, if I have reason to suspect an improper choice. I earnestly recommend to you, to be circumspect in your choice of Officers, take none but Gentlemen, let no local attachments influence you, do not suffer your good nature (when an application is made) to say yes, when you ought to say no; remember that it is a public, not a private cause that is to be injured or benefited by your choice; recollect also, that no instance has yet happened of good, or bad behaviour in a Corps in our Service, that has not originated with the Officers.

Do not take old Men, nor yet fill your Corps with Boys, especially for Captains; Colo. Landon Carter sometime ago recommended a Grandson of his to me; if he still inclines to serve, a Lieutenancy would satisfy him, make him the offer of it.

I have wrote to a Major Clough to accept the Majority of your Regiment: he is an experienced Officer, in the Horse Service, and a Gentleman like man, as far as I have seen of him. The Lieutt. Colo. I have not yet absolutely fixed on, tho’ I have a person in my eye.

For further instructions I refer to Mr. Harrison, who will furnish you with a copy of those given to Colonel Sheldon; one hundred and twenty Dollars will be allowed you as the average price of the Horses; the Money for these and your accouterments you must call upon Congress for, and I have to entreat that you will not delay a moment that can be avoided, in preparing to take the Field early. You must be upon your mettle, for others engaged in the same Service and will exert themselves to the utmost to out do you.

I can say nothing respecting your Uniform, as that will depend upon the Cloth to be had. Mr. James Mease of Philadelphia is appointed Clothier Genl. to the Army and to get him you must apply for this Article; where you will be able to get proper Saddles I know not, if Maryland and Virginia together with Lancaster and York could furnish you, perhaps it would be better than to depend on Philadelphia, as it is likely there may be a run upon that City for more than it can furnish in a short time; let me hear from you.²⁴

January 9, 1777 - General Washington writes to Congress:

I am obliged by your Notice of Colonel Baylor on whom I shall confer the Command of Horse, to which you recommend him. When the Uniform of the Regiment is fixed upon, a Horse properly caparisoned shall be provided and presented to Colonel Baylor. There were no Horses of any Figure or Value taken at Trenton…²⁵

January 10, 1777 - Colonel Baylor and Major Clough send a letter to General Washington. Clough and/or Starke set off as speedily as possible for recruiting in Virginia.

January 14, 1777 - During 1776 the Virginia government sanctioned a number of troops of light dragoons. Formed into a squadron under Colonel Theodorick Bland, the unit was offered to Congress in November 1776, and accepted as of this date. This unit was later designated the 1st Regiment of Light Dragoons.

January 15, 1777 - General Washington at Morristown writes Baylor:

There is a gentleman, a friend of mine, whom I should be glad to provide for in your regiment of horse. I therefore desire you will reserve a troop for him. Let me hear from you by every post; send me a list of the officers you have fixed on, and again let me urge to you how much everything depends upon dispatch. I am, sincerely, your affectionate friend and servant.²⁶

January 16, 1777 - Cash is given to Major Clough to recruit. ²⁷

January 21, 1777 - Colonel Moylan is sent to Philadelphia to recruit for the 4th Regiment of Light Dragoons.

January 22, 1777 - General Washington communicates with the President of Congress:

…I shall also beg leave to recommend Colonel Joseph Reed to the Command of Horse, as a person in my opinion every way qualified; for he is extremely active and enterprizing, many signal proofs of which he has given this Campaign…I forgot, before this, to inform Congress, that including the Regiment of Light Dragoons from Virginia and Colonel Sheldon’s to be raised in Connecticut, I have only Commissioned Officers for four

     Regiments. I was willing to try how these could be equip’d before I put more officers into Commission. It is apprehended we shall find difficulty in providing Necessaries or even horses for these four Regiments. If we should not, I shall immediately set about the residue; Colo. Baylor, Colo. Moylan (who as a volunteer has remained constantly with the Army since his discontinuance in the Quarter Masters department) and Colo. Sheldon commands the three Regiments of Light Dragoons.²⁸

January 23, 1777 - Funding is appropriated to the 3rd Dragoons as resolved,

…that 41,640 dollars be advanced to Colonel Baylor for the purpose of purchasing horses and paying the bounty for men for the regiment of cavalry he is ordered to raise; that the same be paid to Major A. Clough and charged to Colonel Baylor, who is accountable.²⁹

January 31, 1777 - Colonel Baylor in Fredericksburg writes to General Washington that,

I am at a loss how to express my gratitude to you, for the honors done me, in my appointment…I can only say that I am laid under all the obligations to you, that a man can be to another, and shall exert every nerve, and spair no pains to be adequate to your expectations. ³⁰

February 5, 1777 - In a letter to the President of Congress, General Washington writes that,

…Major Bland, Commandant of the Virginia Light Horse, has desired to know, whether there is not a necessity of giving a Bounty and re-inlisting his Regiment as a Continental Troops. They were inlisted to serve in the Colony, and the Men with some difficulty prevailed upon to march hither, but the Major thinks they would be entirely reconciled upon receiving the Bounty. ³¹

February 7, 1777 - Colonel Baylor writes from Williamsburg that there are three prospective recruits who were to apply to Major Clough, who is at Fredericksburg, for their recruiting instructions… ³²

February 8, 1777 -

Newtown

Received of Capt. George Lewis 3 horses which were delivered to him as Light Horse and would not answer the purpose.

/s/ Capt. Wm. Lawrence QM

February 10, 1777 - The original members of the Commander in Chief’s Guard are discharged at Morristown.

February 15, 1777 - General Washington writes to Colonel Baylor that,

…two young gentlemen, namesakes of mine, the one son to Mr. Lawrence Washington, the other to Mr. Robert Washington, Robert, both of Stafford County, are desirous of entering into the horse service. If, therefore, you have not disposed of all cornetcies in your regiment, I should be glad if you should appoint each of them one. ³³

February 23, 1777 – Colonel Landon Carter records in his diary,

…A certain Capt. Wm. Dennis taken by the Baltimore Privateer in Merchant Russel’s ship returning from Jamaica came to see me again a second time on Friday last. A Gent. Whose whole application has been to obtain Knowledge in every science almost; and as such has rendered himself a most agreeable companion. In this time my Grandson having had offer of a Lieutenancy by Genl. Washington in Colo. Baylor’s regiment of horse, was Preparing to set off with my letters to the General and Colo. Baylor for it was through my recommendation he became so respected. This Capt. Offered to take his Picture ad really effected it on blue Paper with Chalk and Charcoal in a very natural and masterly manner. But the mother could not any longer contain her grief and after having imployed the whole night in tears, she discovered a greater willingness to leave the world than part with her son. Of course, as nobody can know those feelings so beautifully expressed in scripture which makes a woman to forget the pains she endured in bringing a son with a joy that she has brought a man child into the world, the whole scheme of his going into the army was laid aside; and I accordingly wrote to Genl. Washington and to Colo. Baylor to give my excuse for soliciting his notice of my Grandson, desiring it to be laid in the Scale of sensibility and friendship. At last, I proposed to this Capt. to do me the favour to take my figure in the same manner. This he performed yesterday and has produced a serious, thoughtful old gentleman holding in his right hand a paper thus inscribed:

America, Freedom supported Against the British Stamp Act.Merui, sed intus tantum truor. (In spite of my merit, I have only inward satisfaction."³⁴

February 26, 1777 - General Washington instructs Moylan to recruit for his regiment.

The Roster of the Roll of Officers, Fourth Regiment, Dragoons, Continental Army, commanded by Colonel Stephen Moylan

Stephen Moylan       Colonel      Jany. 8, 1777

Anthony W. White Lt. Colo.      Feb. 15, 1777

William Washington Major      Jany. 27, 1777

William Cathcart Surgeon      Apl. 1, 1777

Peter Yarnall       Surg. Mate May 22, 1777

Henry Bedkin       Adjutant Jany. 24, 1777

William Henderson Paymaster Feb. 22, 1777

Charles Craig       Captain      Jany. 10, 1777

Thomas Dorsey      Captain      Jany. 10, 1777

Moore Fauntleroy Captain     Jany. 21, 1777

David Plunket       Captain      Jany. 10, 1777

David Hopkins Captain      Jany. 21, 1777

Vashel Howard       Captain      Jany. 24, 1777

William Bird       Lieutenant Jany. 10, 1777

John Craig       Lieutenant Mch. 22, 1777

Nicholas R. Moore Lieutenant Feb. 2, 1777

John Heard       Lieutenant      Jany. 20, 1777

Richard Dorsey       Lieutenant      Jany. 24, 1777

George Gray       Lieutenant      Jany. 10, 1777

John Coburn       Cornet      Jany. 10, 1777

William Fell       Cornet      Feb. 2, 1777

Jacob Funk       Cornet Jany. 10, 1777

John Henderson      Cornet      Jany. 20, 1777

Larkin Dorsey       Cornet      Jany. 25, 1777

Zebulon Pike       Cornet      Mch. 1, 1777

State of New Jersey, Office of the Adjutant General, Trenton, "I hereby certify that the above is a true copy of the original on file in the Record and Pension Office, War Department, Washington, DC /s R.H. Brimhidle, Adjutant General, September 21, 1907.³⁵

March 1, 1777 - General Washington writes Colonel Baylor to note that John Stith and William Armistead were appointed to Baylor’s unit and questions Colonel Baylor on the choices. ³⁶

March 14, 1777 - A uniform organization was decreed for Light Dragoons:

Staff - 1 Colonel; 1 Lieutenant Colonel; 1 Major; 1Adjutant; 1 Quartermaster; 1 Paymaster; 1 Surgeon; 1 Surgeon’s Mate; 1 Chaplain; 1 Saddler; 1 Riding Master; 1 Trumpet Major; and 4 Supernumeraries - armed with sword and pistol.

Troops (6) - Each with 1 Captain; 1 Lieutenant; 1Cornet; 1 Quartermaster Sergeant; 1 Orderly or Drill Sergeant; 4 Corporals; 1 Trumpeter; 1 Farrier; 1 Armorer; and 32 Privates.

Total of 280 Officers and Men.

March 14, 1777 - Francis Otway Byrd is appointed Lieutenant Colonel in the 3rd Dragoons.

March 17, 1777 - Colonel Baylor answers General Washington’s letter of March 1st and writes that he has dismissed Armistead, and doubts that Stith is the same officer that Washington had mentioned. He has appointed Presley Thornton to Armistead’s vacancy.³⁷

March 27 (28), 1777 - General Washington writes to Colonel Baylor from Headquarters, Morristown,

I am glad to discover by your favour of the 26th ult. that you have a prospect of getting your Horses. We want them much. Inclosed is a letter to Mr. Finnie, the Dep’y Quar. Mast. Gen’l directing him to supply you with the Continental Rations for Horses.

Mr. James Mease of Phil’a, the Clothier General, will furnish you with Clothing whenever you call upon him and send for them. I presume the men will have the same allowance of Cloathes or money in lieu, made them as the Foot have. But I question much whether the Public will pay the Expence of such articles of cloathing as are peculiarly necessary for the Horsemen.

Is not their advanced pay intended as an equivalent for the Boots, cap, &c.?

I must desire that you will inoculate your men as fast as they are inlisted; that while preparations are making for them to take the Field, they may not be retarded on that account. Let them not at any rate be detained for Carbines; But on the other hand, forward them to Camp as fast as a Troop is made up and out of the Small Pox. Surely Mr. Hunter can furnish Pistols as fast as they are wanted.

Before your letter reached me, and indeed, before I had information of Col. Nelson’s desire to enter into the Horse service, I appointed Ott. Byrd to the vacancy you mention. Although there cannot be the smallest objection of any sort of Col. Nelson, yet he is now provided for very genteelly, and Mr. Byrd was entirely out of the service.

Terms of distinction can be productive of nothing but Jealousy and Discontent. To obviate all this, I cannot consent to your request.

Your favour of the 17th inst. this moment came to hand. I have forwarded your letter to Captain Lewis and am, etc.

The Mr. Stith I mentioned is here. You may appoint the Gent’n you speak of..³⁸.

This letter gave Colonel Baylor instructions on rations for the horses, on picking up his uniforms and inoculating the troops for smallpox. Also confirms the appointment of Otway Byrd as second in command of the Third Dragoons. With General Lee in the hands of the British, his aide, Byrd, was entirely out of the service. The confusion over Stith, John was resolved. Both men were of Virginia; the one Washington had in mind was already a Captain in the 4th Virginia Regiment so Baylor was approved for appointing another John Stith to his regiment.

March 29, 1777 - Gov. Patrick Henry writes to General Washington of the overwhelming difficulty of getting Virginia soldiers to send to him and that,

I am very sorry to inform you that the recruiting business of late goes on so badly, that there remains but little prospect of filling the six new battalions from this State, voted by the Assembly. The Board of Council see this with great concern, and, after much reflection on the subject, are of opinion that the deficiency in our regulars can no way be supplied so properly as by enlisting volunteers. There is reason to believe a considerable number of these may be go to serve six or eight months…I believe you can receive no assistance by drafts from the militia. From the battalions of the Commonwealth none can be drawn as yet, because they are not half full… Virginia will find some apology with you for this deficiency in their quota of regulars, when the difficulties lately thrown in our way are considered. The Georgians and Carolinians have enlisted (in Virginia) probably two battalions at least. A regiment of artillery is in great forwardness. Besides these, Colonels Baylor and Grayson are collecting regiments; and three others are forming for this State. Add to all this our Indian wars and marine service, almost total want of necessaries, the false accounts of deserters, - many of whom lurk here, - the terrors of small pox and many deaths occasioned by it, and the deficient enlistments are accounted for in the best manner I can.³⁹..

March 31, 1777 - General Orders, Morristown, announces that the Commander-In-Chief has made the following promotions in Bland’s Regiment later to become the 1st Regiment of Dragoons:

Theodorick Bland, Esqr., Major, Commandant to be Colonel thereof; Captain Benjamin Temple of the 2nd Troop appointed Lieutenant Colonel; Captain John Jameson of the 3rd Troop appointed Major; Lieutenant Cuth. Harrison of the 2nd Troop is appointed Captain of the same; Lieutenant Alexander S. Dandridge of the 4th Troop, is appointed Captain of the 3rd. Lt. John Belfield of the 5th is appointed Captain of the 6th vacant by the resignation of Captain John Nelson.

Cornet William Lindsay of the 3rd Troop is appointed Lieutenant of the same. Cornet Henry Peyton of the 5th is appointed Lieutenant of the same. Cornet Henry Clements of the 6th is appointed Lieutenant of the 2nd. Mr. Cole Diggs, Cadet, is appointed Cornet of the 3rd Troop. Mr. Robert Yancey, Cadet, is appointed Cornet of the 4th troop.⁴⁰.

April 8, 1777 - The Maryland Journal describes Captain Robert Smith’s troop of the 3rd Dragoons as wearing white coats of country cloth, brown jackets, buckskin breeches, and gray yarn stockings. On April 29th, The Maryland Gazette described the uniform as green sagathy coat, blue jacket, black velvet breeches, flapped hat, blue coat, country made jacket, striped trousers.⁴¹

April 14, 1777 - Colonel Moylan writes Major William Washington to recruit for the Fourth Dragoons in Baltimore, Md.

April 14, 1777 - Colonel Baylor is in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

April 23, 1777 - Fredericksburg, Col. Baylor to Captain Lewis,

Dear Sir,

 You will observe in our next Virginia Paper an advertisement of mine directing all the officers of the regiment immediately to bring to this place all the men they have enlisted. You alone are excluded as I feel you will get your men. Most of the officers would not get them if they had until Christmas to do it. I shall in future send out recruiting parties. I should be happy to hear how you are likely to succeed.

     I am with much  esteem your friend

 George Baylor

To  Capt. Lewis⁴²

April 25, 1777 - General Washington appoints John Swan as a Captain effective April 26th in the Third Regiment. Colonel Baylor is urged to send troops he has raised as soon as possible.

April 25, 1777. Morristown, To George Baylor, Esq., Colonel of a Reg. of Dragoons to be formed, Fredericksburg.

Dear Sir: —The Captaincy becoming vacant in your Regiment is to be filled by Mr. John Swan of Frederick, Md., a gentleman strongly recommended to me by some members of Congress and whom (from other accounts) you will find fully qualified to give great satisfaction in the execution of his duty. He is at present under confinement in Philadelphia occasioned by a wound received in an action near this place some time ago. I have written for him to join you with all convenient expedition, and to receive your instructions how he is to proceed. I repeat my request that you send in your Regiment, troop by troop, as fast as you can equip them.

I am, dear sir, your most obedient servant, G. Washington.⁴³

April 30, 1777 - General Washington issues orders to reform his personal guard. Remembering the problems of a year ago, Washington points out his requirements in specific terms. In a letter to Colonel Alexander Spotswood, these requirements are clearly spelled out:

Sir: I want to form a company for my Guard. In doing this I wish to be extremely cautious, because it is more than probable that, in the course of the campaign, my baggage, papers, and other matters of great public import may be committed to the sole care of these men. This being premised, in order to impress you with proper attention in the choice, I have to request that you will immediately furnish me with four men of your regiment; and, as it is my farther wish that this company should look well and be nearly of a size, I desire that none of the men may exceed in stature five feet ten inches, nor fall short of five feet nine inches, sober, young, active, and well made.

When I recommend care in your choice I would be understood to mean men of good character in the regiment, that possess the pride of appearing clean and soldier like. I am satisfied there can be absolute security for the fidelity of this class of people, but yet I think it most likely to be found in those who have family connections in the country. You will therefore send me none but natives, and men of some property, if you have them. I must insist that, in making this choice, you give no intimations of my preference of natives, as I do not want to create any invidious distinction between them and the foreigners.⁴⁴.

May 1, 1777 - Effective this day, men of the 3rd Continental Dragoons under Captain Lewis are detached from the 3rd Dragoons and are to serve as a cavalry guard adjunct to the Commander - In - Chief’s Guard. Lewis is to continue as the commander. Part of this troop becomes Captain Cadwalader Jones’ troop and the remainder, consisting of thirty-eight men, forms the adjunct cavalry guard. This attachment remains in effect until September 26, 1778, when the detachment returns to the command of the 3rd Dragoons.⁴⁵

May 2, 1777 - Colonel Baylor orders the Officers recruiting in Virginia to meet in Fredericksburg, and be prepared to march north.⁴⁶

May 8, 1777 - From the Pennsylvania Evening Post dated, Headquarters, Morristown, General

Orders:

As few vices are attended with more pernicious consequences in civil life, so there are none more fatal in a military one than that of gaming, which often leads to disgrace and ruin upon officers, and injury and punishment upon the soldiery. And reports prevailing, which it is to be feared are too well founded, that this destructive vice has spread its baneful influence in the army, and in a peculiar manner, to the prejudice of the recruiting service, the Commander-in-chief, in the most pointed and explicit terms, forbids all officers and soldiers playing at cards, dice, or at any games, except those of exercise or diversion, it being impossible, if the practice be allowed at all, to discriminate between innocent play for amusement and criminal gaming for pecuniary and sordid purposes.⁴⁷..

May 13, 1777 - General Washington writes to Baylor that Congress does want to keep their promise and give him the good horse properly caparisoned, at the expense of the States. Washington suggests that Baylor buy it himself and send the troops he has raised immediately.

May 25, 1777 - In Morristown, General