Kings Royal Regiment of New York, American Revolutionary War

Gepost op door JurjenB in Internetblog

From the Journal of the American Revolution: April 8, 2025by Stuart Lyall Manson:

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence charted a new autonomous path for thirteen of Britain’s North American colonies. One of the document’s many allegations was that British authorities had “excited domestic insurrections amongst us.”[1] While its context largely pointed towards Native Americans, another inspiration for this grievance may have been the embodying of Loyalist regiments in 1775 and 1776. Eventually thousands of colonists joined these military units to preserve the North American portion of the British Empire. Two weeks before the enactment of the Declaration of Independence, one of these Loyalist regiments was formed under extraordinary circumstances: The King’s Royal Regiment of New York commanded by Sir John Johnson.

Ironically, the unit was founded not in the colony of New York, but rather in Québec, also commonly referred to as Canada. In the early summer of 1776, Québec Gov. Guy Carleton was completing the colony’s liberation from a Rebel army. The year before, a force under generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold had invaded Quebec, conquering the settled areas up to the walls of the City of Québec. In the spring of 1776 a British relief force arrived, which ousted the occupiers in an ensuing campaign.At the tail end of this operation, Carleton unexpectedly encountered New York resident Sir John Jonston and 200 of his refugee neighbors near Montréal.

Johnson was a large landowner in the Mohawk River area in the colony of New York, and more importantly, a notorious Loyalist. He and his weary group had just escaped a grim situation in central New York, whose Loyalist and Rebel factions were hurtling towards civil war. Soon after meeting Johnson near Montréal, Carleton wrote to Secretary of State for the Colonies, George Germain, relaying intelligence conveyed by the refugee Loyalist leader: “He represents to me that there are considerable numbers of people, in the part of the country he comes from, who remain steadily attached to His Majesty’s Government and who would take up arms in its defence had they sufficient protection . . . in the meantime they suffer all the miseries that the persecuting spirit of the rebels is able to inflict upon them.”

The specific date of the genesis of the King’s Royal Regiment of New York—the date of Carleton’s commission to Johnson—is commonly cited on the regimental muster rolls as June 19, 1776. Several months later, Johnson referred to the regiment as “a force sufficient for me to stand upon my legs and look my enemies in the face.” This was a natural reaction to the political volatility that Johnson and his Loyalist friends had experienced with their numerically-superior rebellious neighbors back in the Mohawk River area of New York. There is much more fascinating information about the formation of the Regiment in the linked article, which can be downloaded as a free PDF. 

From Wikipedia article on the Regiment:  The regiment served with distinction throughout the war, launching raids and relief missions into the Province of New York. In the summer of 1777, the regiment was present at the siege of Fort Stanwix during the expedition of Brigadier General Barry St. Leger, and saw action at the Battle of Oriskany. Along with their Iroquois (Haudenosaunee)allies and other provincial regiments such as Butler’s Rangers, the regiment took part in a series of raids, mostly in the  large-scale raid on the Schoharie and Mohawk valleys that culminated in the Battle of Klock’s Field.

The regiment eventually comprised two battalions. The first battalion was disbanded in 1783 and the second in 1784. Members of the regiment were granted land and settled along the St. Laurence River and the north shore of  Lake Ontario.


The earlier uniform of the regiment is uncertain (and, of course, ALL of the options may have been worn by various individuals!). For sure they wore green coats; the British plan was for most loyalists units to have green coats, mostly with white facings, and brown leather gaiters. The source I used indicated buff belts, so that’s how they appear here.
Wikipedia says green faced red, with buff vests and pants (and they are so illustrated in the PDF from the JAR as well); their-enactment unit below has them in green faced dark blue. Circa 1779, like most Loyalist units they transitioned to Red coats, in this case faced with dark blue. The figures are by Perry with a recycled King’s color from a British regiment by Adolfo Ramos. 
Properly, the unit should be wearing caps as do these Canadian re-enactors. There is much more information about “The King’s Royal Yorkers” on their website.

1st Virginia Regiment in Hunting Shirts – American Revolutionaey War

Gepost op door JurjenB in Internetblog

The flag certainly marks this outfit as the 1st Virginia regiment.

The 1st Regiment was authorized on August 21, 1775 in the Virginia State Troops as the First Virginia Regiment. It was organized on October 21, 1775 at Williamsburg as a provincial defense unit composed of six musket and two rifle companies under the command of Patrick Henry. Each company was to consist of 68 enlisted men, with officers to include a captain, lieutenant and ensign (second lieutenant). Six of the companies were armed with muskets, and two with rifles.

For my own reasons, I have chosen to depict them in hunting shirts; there isn’t any evidence for this although not impossible in the early war years. 

There was definitely a Maryland regiment recorded as wearing hunting shirts died black, though. These are Brigade Games figures; the flag was made from images on the internet. 

The regiment was adopted on November 1, 1775 into the Continental Army. Eventually, its regulation uniform would be dark blue coats faced red, as  Virginia Continental regiment. 

It was assigned on February 27, 1776 to the Southern Department, but then reassigned to the Main Continental Army on July 29, 1776. It formed part of  Lord Stirling’s Brigade from October 1776 until May 1777, when it became part of the first Virginia Brigade. 
In May 1779i t was consolidated with the 9th Virginia regiment to form a new 1st Virginia Regiment of 9 companies. In December, 1779, the regiment was transferred to the Southern Department. 

The regiment was captured by the British in the 2nd siege of Charleston on May 12, 1780. 

Kings Orange Rangers, American Revolutionary War

Gepost op door JurjenB in Internetblog

The King’s Orange Rangers regiment was formed in late 1776 by William Bayard of New York and commanded by his son, Lieutenant Colonel John Bayard. 
The regiment was plagued by problems throughout its existence including an outbreak of smallpox, lack of morale and discipline, infighting between officers, and even a shipwreck. The regiment was moved from the British encampment in the Manhattan area in the fall of 1778 to Halifax, Nova Scotia; this was likely a strategic move to combat internal conflicts and desertions within the regiment. 

Raid on Liverpool (Nova Scotia, 1780)
The most dramatic privateer raid occurred on September 13, 1780. Two American privateers, the Surprize under Cpt. Benjamin Cole, and the Delight, under Cpt. Lane, unloaded nearly 70 men at Ballast Cove shortly after midnight. By 4am they had captured the fort and taken Howard, two other officers, and all but six of the KOR garrison as prisoners. Perkins called out the militia, engineered the capture of Cole, and negotiated with Lane for the recovery of the fort and the release of the prisoners. Within a few hours “every thing [was] restored to its former Situation without any Blood Shed.” Liverpool was not bothered by privateers for the remainder of the war. Most of Howard’s company was ordered back to Halifax in mid-1781, but owing to appeals by the town’s leaders, a detachment of 20 men under Lt. McLeod remained for the duration. 
[this, the preceding, and the following from Wikipedia article on the unit]
Port Williams (1781)
At Port Williams, Nova Scotia, the threat of American privateer attacks had subsided. In the spring of 1781, Major Samuel Bayard was ordered to take a detachment of Rangers overland from Halifax to Port Hughes in Nova Scotia to overawe local Planters who were planning to erect a Liberty Pole and thereby break with the King. There they fixed bayonets and “with bright weapons glittering, colours flying and drums beating, they marched up Church Street and back to Town Plot, where the barracks stood.” This show of force brought the locals back in line. 

The King’s Orange Rangers were to be stationed in Nova Scotia for the remainder of the war, at which time the members dispersed and were resettled. Only a few individuals chose to go to the land that had been assigned to the regiment in New Brunswick at the end of the war.
Obviously, I chose this unit for its interesting uniform (which was only issued in 1780)!

The flag is speculative and modified from that of another unit. 

The figures are by Perry. The history of the unit is a reminder that, by it’s conclusion, the American Revolutionary War had become a worldwide conflict, involving North America, the Caribbean, India, and more, with the British fighting not only the Americans, but the French, Spanish, and Dutch, plus of course drawing a large number of contracted soldiers from various minor German states. 
This unit has at least one Canadian re-enactment group – lots of photos on their FB page.

Some more Canadian re-enactors, probably from a different group, at the citadel in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

Hessian Grenadiers #2, American Revolutionary War

Gepost op door JurjenB in Internetblog

 This is one of the combined Grenadier battalions of the Hessian troops sent to America. 

For my convenience rather than any historical composition, 3 figures are from each of my four Hessian Fusilier regiments. 
They have “borrowed” a white “Leibfahne” from one of their component regiments, very much contrary to regulations!
These are Perry figures, with the flag courtesy of Adolfo Ramos. 
Note the orange cloth “bag” with white stripes on the three men for Fusilier Regiment Von Lossberg, in contrast to the black and brass of the Fusiliers – the only hessian regiment with different colors for the Fusilier and Grenadier miters of the same regiment. 

Easton, Pennsylvania Patriot infantry in Hunting shirts

Gepost op door JurjenB in Internetblog

When testing my Brandywine game, it became apparent that I needed a few more Patriot units. 
I settled on a couple more units in hunting shirts, a couple in more standard “Continental” uniforms, and some more Rifles, all rom Brigade Games..
This gave me a good excuse to use this interesting “Easton” (PA) flag, which is based upon images downloaded from the internet. 
From the Wikipedia article on the subject:  The flag is designed differently from more common flags of the United States in that it has 13 (8-pointed) stars in a blue field, with 13 stripes in the canton.[1] The flag’s design is consistent with the 1777 Flag Act, which does not specify the location of the stars and stripes: “That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

According to local legend, the flag was hoisted when the Declaration of Independence was publicly read in Easton, Pennsylvania by Robert Levers on July 8, 1776, two days before a copy of the Declaration reached New York City. 


The flag was used as a company flag under Captain Abraham Horn in the War of 1812, and some suspect that the design may only date from this era. 

The existence of the flag before the War of 1812 is considered unlikely by some, but flags of that period would have had 15 stars and stripes rather than the 13 of 1776 as present on the Flag of Easton. In 1821, the flag was given to the Easton Area Public Library, which has it on display. Easton, PA is also home to Lafayette College. Paul, one of my original wargames group for High School, graduated from there with a degree in Engineering. I had occasion to visit him there -a  beautiful campus! I will be driving through Easton again in a few weeks, as it lies on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, along my preferred route to drive to Lancaster, PA, where Historicon is held.


The less said about current politics in the US, the better. Suffice it say that I detest the current occupant of the White House and virtually everything that he stands for (that being chiefly himself). It being the 250th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence, I can do little better that quote its words:


In Congress, July 4, 1776


The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, 

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.