The 20th Continental Regiment was a unit of the

Connecticut Line The Connecticut Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Connecticut Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Connecticut at various times by the Continental Congress, the size of its allocation d ...

in the 1776 establishment of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

. It was often referred to in records as Durkee's Regiment, after Colonel

John Durkee John Durkee (1728 - 29 May 1782) of Connecticut was a commissioned officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Records are sparse on his life, but documentation of his military serviceHeitman, p. 208. indicates that in May 1775 ...

, its commanding officer for most of its existence, or incorrectly as the 20th Connecticut Regiment. The regiment was posted in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

during the early stages of the

New York and New Jersey campaign The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of New York and New Jersey, Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between Kingdom ...

. The regiment retreated with

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's army in late 1776, and then participated in the

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington's George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, crossing of the ...

. Some of its men chose to overstay their enlistment and also saw action in the

Battle of the Assunpink Creek The Battle of the Assunpink Creek, also known as the Second Battle of Trenton, was a battle between Thirteen Colonies, American and Kingdom of Great Britain, British troops that took place in and around Trenton, New Jersey, on January 2, 1 ...

and the

Battle of Princeton The Battle of Princeton was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Princeton, New Jersey on January 3, 1777, and ending in a small victory for the Colonials. General Lord Cornwallis had left 1,400 British troops under the comma ...

in early 1777. The first colonel of the regiment was

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

, but he never actually commanded the regiment, as he was in Quebec at the time of its creation, and he was soon thereafter promoted to brigadier general. John Durkee was its first lieutenant colonel, and was promoted and made the regiment's colonel in August 1776.

References

*Connecticut Historical Society
''The Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service During the War of the Revolution, 1775-1783''
p. 160.

External links

compiled by the

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...

Connecticut regiments of the Continental Army Military units and formations established in 1776 Military units and formations disestablished in 1776 1776 establishments in the United States {{ConnLine