The 2nd Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Hitchcock's Regiment and the 11th Continental Infantry) was authorized on 6 May 1775 under Colonel Daniel Hitchcock in the

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

Army of Observation and was organized on 8 May 1775 as eight companies of volunteers from Providence County of the colony of

. As part of a brigade organized under

Nathanael Greene Major general (United States), Major General Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 – June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He emerge ...

, the unit participated in the

Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. In the siege, Patriot (American Revolution), American patriot militia led by newly-installed Continental Army commander George Wash ...

during the remainder of 1775. Some elements accompanied

Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec In September 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War, Colonel Benedict Arnold led a force of 1,100 Continental Army troops on an expedition from Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge in the Province of Massachusetts Bay to the gates of Que ...

late in the year. The unit was renamed the 11th Continental Regiment on the first day of 1776. In its new designation, the regiment fought in 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 ...

starting in August 1776. After retreating across New Jersey, the unit was renamed the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment and fought at Assunpink Creek and Princeton in early January. Hitchcock died soon after and the 2nd Regiment was ordered away to defend the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

valley. In September 1777 the regiment, now under Colonel Israel Angell, was recalled to the main army for the Philadelphia Campaign. With the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, it won a victory at Red Bank in October 1777. Portions of the unit defended Fort Mifflin where the 2nd Regiment's Major Simeon Thayer assumed command of the fort near the end of the siege. In 1778 the regiment fought at the battles of

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

and

. In June of the following year it was in the thick of action at Springfield in New Jersey. On 1 January 1781, the regiment was consolidated with the 1st Regiment and the new unit was renamed the Rhode Island Regiment. For the unit's subsequent history, see the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.

Regiment history

Hitchcock's Regiment (1775)

Shortly after the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

, the General Assembly of Rhode Island decided to raise a brigade of three regiments to join the Army of Observation during the

. The three regiments were organized in May 1775. The regiment from Providence County was placed under the command of Colonel Daniel Hitchcock, for whom it was named as the Continental Army did not have numerical designations of units at that time. (The other two regiments were then known as Varnum's Regiment (raised in Kent and Kings Counties) and Church's Regiment (raised in Newport and Bristol Counties). Shortly after the regiments were organized, they marched north to Boston under the command of Brigadier General

. The Regiment would see action at

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for ne ...

during the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...

in June. The regiment was expanded to ten companies on 28 June 1775. It was adopted into 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 ...

when General

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 ...

arrived in Cambridge and took command on 3 July 1775. It was assigned to Greene's Brigade on 22 July 1775.

11th Continental Infantry (1776)

The regiment was re-organized as the 11th Continental Infantry on 1 January 1776. Following the British evacuation of Boston in March, the regiment, along with the bulk of the Continental Army, was redeployed to defend

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The British landed in force on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

in September 1776 and defeated the inexperienced Continentals at the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at and near the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn ...

. The last engagements of the 11th Continental Infantry were the Battles of Trenton and Princeton in early January 1777.

2nd Rhode Island Regiment (1777–1781)

The regiment was re-organized as the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment after the death of Colonel Hitchcock on 13 January 1777. Colonel Israel Angell was placed in command of the regiment. In late 1777 it fought at the Battle of Red Bank and Major Simeon Thayer of the 2nd led the defenders during the latter part of the Siege of Fort Mifflin. The 2nd Rhode Island spent the winter of 1778 at

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

. In 1778 the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment distinguished itself at the Battles of

and the

. From late 1778 to December 1780 the regiment was assigned to Starks's Brigade in the Main Army based in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

. The regiment's last major engagement was the Battle of Springfield in June 1780, where the regiment lost six killed, 31 wounded and three missing out of a strength of 160. The regiment also fought in several other skirmishes and minor engagements before being consolidated with the 1st Rhode Island Regiment in 1781.

Consolidation (1781)

In February 1781, the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment was combined with the remnants of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment to form the Rhode Island Regiment (1781–1783). The Rhode Island Regiment served until British evacuated New York and was finally disbanded on 25 December 1783.

Service record

Significant campaigns and battles

(1775–1776) *

(1776) *

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 ...

(1777) * Battle of Princeton (1777) *

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

(1777) * Battle of Red Bank (1777) * Siege of Fort Mifflin (1777) *

(1777–1778) *

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near the Village of Monmouth Court House, New Jersey, Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey and Manalapan, New Jersey, Manalapan, on J ...

(1778) * Battle of Rhode Island (1778) *

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

(1779–1780) * Battle of Springfield (1780)

Senior Officers

Colonels

* Daniel Hitchcock; 3 May 1775 – 13 January 1777 (died) * Israel Angell; 13 January 1777 – 31 December 1780 (retired)

Lieutenant Colonels

* Ezekiel Cornell; 3 May 1775 – October 1776 (discharged, promoted to brigadier general in the Rhode State Troops) * Israel Angell; October 1776 – 13 January 1777 (promoted) * Jeremiah Olney; 13 January 1777 – 31 December 1781 (transferred to the Rhode Island Regiment as Lieutenant Colonel Commandant)

Majors

* Israel Angell; 3 May 1775 – October 1776 (promoted) *Christopher Smith; October 1776 – 31 December 1777 * Simeon Thayer; 1 January 1777 – 31 December 1780 (retired and promoted to brigadier general in the Rhode Island Militia) Note – The dates shown are the dates of rank. In many cases promotions were late and the date of rank was retroactively conferred.

Notes

References

*Archambault, Alan H. "The Second Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental Line 1775–1777." Military Collector and Historian, 28 (Fall 1976), p. 133. *Archambault, Alan H. and Marko Zlatich. "Rhode Island Regiment, 1781–1783." Military Collector and Historian, 36 (Summer 1984), p. 77. *Boyle, Joseph Lee ''"Death Seem'd to Stare": The New Hampshire And Rhode Island Regiments at Valley Forge'' Clearfield Co, 1995 *Brown, Anne S. K. "Rhode Island Uniforms in the Revolution." Military Collector and Historian, 10 (Spring 1958), pp. 1–10. *Gardiner, Asa B. The Rhode Island Line in the Continental Army and Its Society of Cincinnati. Providence: Providence Press Co., 1878. *Hitchcock, Dan. "So Few the Brave (The Second Rhode Island 1777–1781)." Military Collector and Historian, 30 (Spring 1978), pp. 18–22. *Lovell, Louise Lewis and Eben Putnam. ''Israel Angell, colonel of the 2nd Rhode Island regiment''. New York: The Knickerbocker press (G.P. Putnam's sons), 1921. * *Walker, Anthony. So Few The Brave (Rhode Island Continentals 1775-1783). Newport: Seafield Press, 1981. *

External links

2nd Rhode Island Regiment Interview (video)
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 ...

{{Authority control 2nd Rhode Island Regiment