The 2nd Georgia Regiment, or as it was also known, the 2nd Georgia, was a regiment of the Continental Army, which formed part of the

Georgia Line The Georgia Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Georgia Line" referred to the quota of one infantry regiment which was assigned to Georgia at various times by the Continental Congress. The term also included the three infant ...

. Due to bad recruitment and horrible discipline, the 2nd-4th Georgia regiments were all later disbanded, and personnel joined the (1st) Georgia Regiment.

History

On 5 July 1776, as part of the 1776 quotas, the 2nd Georgia Regiment was formed as part of the Continental Army and subsequently assigned to the Southern Department. The regiment was organised in the fall and winter of 1776 in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is b ...

, consisting of eight companies, and recruited primarily in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

. On 23 December 1777 the regiment was assigned to the new formed Georgia Brigade which contained the 1st-3rd Georgian regiments, an element in the Southern Department.Wright, p. 313.Knight, pp. 7, 9, 10. By March 1780, the regiment moved into the Charleston, South Carolina garrison, and captured there by the British Southern Army on 12 May 1780. The regiment was officially disbanded following the 1781 quotas on 1 January 1781, and personnel joined the Georgia Regiment.Berg, pp. 46.Smith, Kiley, and Black, pp. 79, 90, 99, 107, 111. There is very little information on the uniform of the regiment, but the norm seems to have been hunting shirts and gaiter trousers.

Engagements

Engagements which the regiment took part in were: * First Florida Expedition (1776) * Second Florida Expedition (1778) * Siege of Savannah (1779) * Siege of Charleston (1780)

Commanding Officers

Commanding officers of the regiment were: * 5 July 1778–????,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Samuel Elbert Samuel Elbert (1740November 1, 1788) was an American merchant, soldier, and politician from Savannah, Georgia. Elbert fought in the Revolutionary War, commanding the victorious American colonial forces in a naval battle near St. Simons Island ...

Footnotes

References

Robert K. Wright Jr. Robert K. Wright Jr. (born 1946) is an American military historian and author. After growing up in Connecticut, he graduated in 1968 with a degree in history from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. He entered the Army, serv ...

, ''The Continental Army'', 2006

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 A ...

, Washington District of Columbia, United States of America. *

Lucian Lamar Knight Lucian Lamar Knight (February 9, 1868 – November 19, 1933) was an American journalist, editor, author, and historian. He was the founder of the Georgia Archives. In 1919, in recognition of his work in history, he was made a Fellow of the Roy ...

, ''Georgia's Roster of the Revolution'', 1920 Index Printing Company, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America. * Frank Berg, ''Encyclopedia of Continental Army Units Battalions, Regiments, and Independent Corps'', 1972 Stackpole Company, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America. . *

Digby Smith Digby Smith (born 1 January 1935) is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier", he entered train ...

, Kevin E. Kiley, and Jeremy Black, ''An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the American War of Independence'', 2017 Lorenz Books, London, United Kingdom. {{ISBN, 978-0-7548-1761-1. 2nd Georgia regiment Military units and formations established in 1776 Military units and formations disestablished in 1780