Ashley's Regiment of Militia also known as the 1st Berkshire County Militia Regiment was called up in

Berkshire County, Massachusetts Berkshire County (pronounced ) is the Western Massachusetts, westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state, U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its la ...

, in July 1777 and sent for a month to Fort Edward and on September 19, 1777, as reinforcements for 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 ...

during the

Saratoga Campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of a British army, which historian Edmund M ...

. The regiment marched quickly to join the gathering forces of General

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He took credit for the Ameri ...

as he faced

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

General

John Burgoyne General (United Kingdom), General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British Army officer, playwright and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1792. He first saw acti ...

in northern

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The regiment served in General Paterson's brigade. With the surrender of Burgoyne's Army on October 17, the regiment was disbanded on October 18, 1777. The recorded dates of service of Ashley's Regiment are contradictory. There is a document in the digital collections of the New York public library that lists the companies of the Ashley's Regiment and their number of men, guns, cartridges, etc. at Fort Edward on July 15, 1777 The following companies are listed: * Captain Nobles * Captain Spoor * Captain Downinger * Captain Root * Captain Wheeler * Captain Langton * Captain Deming * Captain Fitch * Captain Wilcox * Captain King * Captain Hirick However, Volume 8 of Massachusetts Sailors and Soldiers in the War of the Revolution lists Private Anthony Hoskins or Haskins as a soldier in Captain Spoor's Company of John Ashley's Regiment from October 15 to 17, 1780 when they "marched to the Northward by order of Brig. Gen. Fellows on an alarm at the time Forts Ann and George were taken by the enemy." Since Fort Ann and Fort George were captured by Burgoyne's Army during the

in 1777, it is likely that the dates in the Massachusetts records are incorrect and the regiment did indeed serve in 1777. The fact that Anthony Haskins' granddaughter, Freedom Haskins, stated in a memoir that her grandfather fought at the

Battle of Bennington The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on the John Green farm in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. An American ...

and the

Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The seco ...

supports that conclusion. It is possible that the reference to Fort George in 1780 is a mistaken reference to the Battle of Fort St. George on Long Island that did occur in late 1780.

References

* "Document". NYPL Digital Collections. Retrieved 2020-01-18. * Massachusetts. Office of the Secretary of State (1896–1908). Massachusetts soldiers and sailors of the revolutionary war. A compilation from the archives. University of California Libraries. Boston, Wright and Potter Printing Co., State Printers. Massachusetts American Revolutionary War militia regiments Military units and formations established in 1776 Military units and formations disestablished in 1777 {{US-mil-hist-stub