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After much research and study, I am
enabled to present the following companies and battalions of
men from Berks County which were engaged in the Revolution
during the period extending from 1775 to1782. The
evidence relating to them was taken almost entirely from the
publications issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
comprising the Colonial Records, Pennsylvania Archives,
(first and second series,) and Pennsylvania Associators.
I made diligent and persistent inquiry in the
several county offices in the Court House at Reading, but I
found only a single record that related to this important
event in our history. In locating the several
battalions, companies and leading men at the head of
affairs, I had recourse to the public records.
Occasionally I found private manuscripts in different parts
of the county, but they were few in number and limited in
character.NAGEL'S COMPANY AT CAMBRIDGE
On June 14, 1775,
the Continental Congress passed resolutions requiring twelve
companies of expert riflemen to be raised for the purpose of
joining the army near Boston. Eight of these companies
were to be raised in Pennsylvania, formed into a battalion,
and
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commanded by officers recommended by the Assembly. The
command formed of these companies was called "Colonel
Thompson's Battalion of Riflemen." Each company
consisted of one captain, three lieutenants, four sergeants,
four corporals, a drummer or trumpeter and sixty-eight
privates. The pay was as follows: Captain, $20 a
month; lieutenant, $13¹/3
; sergeant, $8; corporal, $7¹/3;
drummer, $7¹/3: private, $6²/3.
They supplied their own arms and clothes. The term of
enlistment was one year. The form of enlistment was as
follows:
"I have this day voluntarily enlisted myself as a soldier in
the American Continental Army, for one year, unless sooner
discharged, and do bind myself to conform in all instances
to such rules and regulations as are or shall be established
for the government of the said army."
One company in this battalion was from Reading.
It was commanded by Capt. George Nagel.
By the "Journal of Capt. Wm. Hendricks" in
Penna. Archives, vol. 15, 0. 26, it appears that three
companies, commanded by Captains Patterson, Smith
and Lowden were at Reading, with the company of a
Capt. "Noggle," awaiting the arrival of two companies
from Carlisle, commanded by Captains Wm. Hendrick and
John Chambers, all destined for Cambridge. The
latter two companies remained at Reading from July 17th to
22nd. All the companies started in a body on the 22nd.
The Capt. "Noggle" mentioned can not have been
George Nagel, because his company was then at Cambridge.
[Pg. 77]
Roll of Company
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Captains. |
George Nagel, com, June 25, 1775; prom.
major of the 5th Batt., Col. Robert Magaw,
Jan. 5, 1776; to Lt. - Col. 9th Regt.,
Continental Line, Oct. 25, 1776, to rank from
Aug. 21, 1776; to Col. of 10th Regt. Feb., 1778,
and became a Supernumerary July 1, 1778.
Morgan Conner, com. Jan. 5, 1776; March 9th
called from camp by Congress, and sent into the
Southern Department; afterwards Lt. -Col. of
Col. Hartley's Regiment. |
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First Lieutenants.
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Sergeants.
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Morgan Conner, com.
dated July 17, 1775; prom. capt.
David Harris, appointed Jan. 5, 1776.
Second Lieutenants.
Peter Scull, com. July 17, 1775;
prom. capt. in 34d Penn. Batt., Col. John
Shee,
Jan. 5, 1776.
Benjamin Chambers, Sr., from private in
Capt. Chambers' Co., Jan. 5, 1776;
subsequently first lieut., 1st Pa. Regt.
Third Lieutenants.
Peter Grubb, com. July
17, 1775; app. to Miles' rifle regt.
Peter Weiser, app. Jan. 5, 1776. |
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Jacob Bower, app.
Q. M.
Hananiah Lincoln
John McKinty
Alexander Brannon
Phillip Gibbons
Corporals.
James Williams
Hugh Hughes
Henry Snevely.
Casper Heiner
Surgeon.
Dr. Jonathan Potts.
Drummer.
John Maloy |
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Privates.
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Thomas Bain
Christopher Balty
Yost Berger
Conrad Bourke
Peter Bowman
Peter Brough
James Brown
John Bermeter
Michael Ceney
Casper Cool, or Kool
John Cox |
Robert Creed
William Crowley
Henry Deckert
Christian Derr, re-enlisted in old 11th
regt.
Hugh Dennison
John Dombaugh
Jacob Duck
Jacob Elgerts
Jacob Ebright
Andrew Engle |
Peter Felix
George Fisher
Christian Fought
Michael Foust
Lewis Franklinberry
George Gearhart
Charles
Gordon
Daniel Gorman
Daniel Graff
John Grant |
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[Pg. 78] - Privates continued -
Abraham
Griffith
John Grow
Timothy Harris
John Huber
William Jones
George Kemmerling
John Kerner, wounded at Lechmere
Pond, Nov. 9, 1775; re-enlisted
in 6th Pa. regt. in 1777
Charles Kleckner, prom.
ensign of
German Regt.
Nicholas Leasure
John Leaman
Casper Leib
Harmon Leitheiser, ensign
6th Pa. Reg.
John Lewis |
Samuel McFarland
Christopher Martin
Michael Miller
Peter Mingle
Alexander Mogey [Mcgee]
Adam Moyer
Christian
Moyer, or
Christopher Myer
Michael Moyer
Ernst Nibber [Lawrence.]
Frederick Nipple
Henry Orwig
Samuel Parks
Adam Pickle
Elias Rieger
Thomas Reilly
John Rewalt |
William Robinson
Christian Rone
Nicholas Shanefelt
Andrew Shirk
Joseph Smith
Henry Snevely, Sr.
George Spotts
John Stone
John Stecker
Frederick Tueo
Abraham Umstead
Philip Waggoner
Nicholas Waltman
Christian Wander
John Weiser
Isaac Willey |
A return of March, 1776 states the strength of the
company present, as follows: 1 captain, 3
lieutenants, 4 sergeants, 4 corporals, 1 drummer
and 65 privates.
Within three weeks from the time of their enlistment,
some of the companies took up their line of
march to the Hudson River on their way to the
army at Cambridge, Mass. During July and
August, 1775, they passed through New Windsor,
(on the Hudson seeral miles above West Point.)
Nagel's company reported at headquarters, at
Cambridge, on the 18th of July. The last
of the battalion arrived on the 18th of August.
The appearance of the men was described as
follows:
"They are
remarkably stout and hardy men, many of them
exceeding six feet in height. They are
dressed in white frocks or rifle-shirts and
round hats. These men are remarkable for
the
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accuracy of their aim, striking a mark with
great certainty at two hundred yards distance.
At a review, when on a quick advance, a company
of them fired their balls into objects of seen
inches diameter at the distance of two hundred
and fifty yards. They are now stationed in
our lines, and their shot have frequently proved
fatal to British officers and soldiers who
expose themselves to view even at more than
double the distance of common musketshot.
Each man born a rifle-barreled gun, a tomahock
or small ax and a long knife, usually called a
'scalping-knife,' which served for all purposes
in the woods. His underdress - by no means
in military style - was covered by a deep
ash-colored hunting-shirt, leggins and moccasins
- if the latter could be procured. It was
the silly fashion of those times for riflemen to
ape the manners of savages."
The battalion was
first actually engaged and sustained its first
loss in killed and wounded on the 27th of
August, while covering an entrenching party.
Servicing of Company.
The services of this company were in connection
with Thompson's Battalion at and about
Cambridge, and are detailed in 10 Penna.
Archives, 2nd series), pp. 3 to 13. No
losses in the company were reported. The
battalion received orders about Mar. 11, 1776,
to march from Cambridge to New York. The
men went by way of Hartford, and New York was
reached on March 28th. On April 22nd,
Gen'l. Washington, while at New York, said
in a letter addressed to the President of
Congress:
"The time for which the riflemen
enlisted, were expire on the 1st of July next,
and as the loss of such a valuable and brave
body of men will be of great injury to the
service, I would submit it to the consideration
of Congress whether it would not best to adopt
some method to induce them to continue.
They are indeed a very useful corps; but I need
mention this, as their importance is already
well known to the Congress."
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It was
stated in the letter of June 30th, by Col.
Hand, that "almost all the men discharged
to-day declare that they will stay to know what
the fleet will do." On July 1st, the
battalion entered upon another term of service
as the 1st Regiment of the Continental Line.
A number of gentlemen went along in the march to
Cambridge as independent volunteers. Their
names were not entered on the rolls, and they
claimed the privilege of paying their own
expenses and returning at pleasure. Among
these was Edward Burd, then a practicing
attorney-at-law of Reading, who, in August,
1776, participated in the Battle of Long Island
as a Major under Lieut.-Col. Nicholas Lotz,
and there became a prisoner of war.
JONES'S COMPANY IN THE CANADA
CAMPAIGN.
The
news from Lexington and Concord reached Berks
County in the latter part of April, 1775 and
Jonathan Jones, of Caernarvon township
raised a company of men in that township and
vicinity. Six companies of riflemen were
ordered to be raised in Pennsylvania in June,
but it was not until the following October that
the first regular regiment was called out by
Congress. On the 25th of that month, the
captains were appointed, and among them was
Captain Jones. In December, Congress
ordered four additional regiments to be raised
in Pennsylvania, and in January, 1776, still
another. These six regiments then composed
the Pennsylvania Line, and the 1st, 2nd, 4th and
6th participated in the movements against
Canada. The company of Capt. Jones
was the first
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named in the Regiment, commanded by Col. John
Philip DeHaas. The roll was complete
at the time on enlistment, but the following
names are all that were obtainable:
Roll of Company.
Captain.
Jonathan Jones.
Corporals.
Privates.
Services of the Company
On Jan.
23, 1776, Capt. Jones began a long march
from Philadelphia to Canada with his company.
The weather was intensely cold, that Winter
having been one of great severity. They
had one baggage wagon but no tents, depending
upon such lodgings and provisions as their
quarter-master could procure form them on the
way. The roads were in the bad condition
an the greater part of the journey extended
through a wilderness. Even the best parts
of country were but sparsely settled and limited
accommodations were afforded for so large a body
of men. The company proceeded by way of
Germantown, Bethlehem and Easton to the Hudson
river, and were
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COMPANIES AT NEW YORK.
Three
companies from Berks County were in service at
New York and in that vicinity in 1776. Two
of
[Pg. 83]
Roll of Spohn's Company.
Captain.
John Spohn, com'd Jan. 5, 1776;
resigned Nov. 4, 1776.
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Roll of Decker's Company
Services of Companies.
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Roll of Christ's Company
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Services of Company.
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LOTZ'S BATTALION IN FLYING
CAMP.
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Committee Letter to Congress.
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