Revolutionary War

March 09, 2011

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"The State of Delaware furnished one regiment only; and certainly no regiment in the army surpassed it in soldiership." -Colonel Henry Lee (Virginia Militia)

The Delaware Regiment had seven years of active duty service during the War for Indenpendence. "In those seven years it fought in every [major battle] in which the army under Washington in the North and the army under Gates and Greene in the South were engaged, with the single exception of the Battle of Princeton and even there it was represented by its colonel, John Haslet." (Ward, xiv, The Delaware Continentals)

"The soldiers of the regiment were few, never in battle more than 550, as at Long Island, and at the last less than 100, as at Eutaw Springs but fewness is not incompatible with heroism, nor does it always gauge importance." (Ward, xiv)

"The Delaware Regiment was reckoned the most efficient in the Continental Army. It went into active service soon after the commencement of the contest with Great Britain and served through the whole of it. Courting danger wherever it was to be encountered, frequently forming part of a victorious army, but oftener the companions of their countrymen in the glood of disaster, the Delawares fought at Brooklyn, at Trenton, at Brandywine, and at Germantown, at Guildford and at Eutaw, until at length, reduced to a handful of bravemen, they concluded their services with the war in the glorious termination of the sourthern campaign." -Dr. David Ramsay (Revolutionary War Historian)

The Delaware Regiment, The Battle of Long Island -- August 27, 1776

At the Battle of Long Island, the actions of the Delaware Regiment kept the American defeat from becoming a disaster. Indeed, the soldiers from tiny Delaware, fighting alongside the 1st Maryland Regiment, may well have prevented the capture of the majority of Washington's army, an event that might have ended the colonial rebellion then and there.

Organized in January 1776 by Col. John Haslet, the Delaware Regiment was noteworthy from the start as the best uniformed and equipped regiment of the Continental Army. Their blue jackets with red facings and white waistcoat and breeches would later become the uniform for all the Continental troops.

During the Battle of Long Island, the Delaware and Maryland troops were positioned on the right of Washington's line, defending the most direct route from the British landing site in south Brooklyn to the American fortifications in Brooklyn Heights.

Though they faced the fiercest fighting of the day, they held their ground, allowing the remainder of Washington's army to retreat to the safety of the fortifications. When they in turn were outflanked and forced to retreat, the Delaware Regiment conducted an orderly retreat through marshland and across the Gowanus Creek carrying off with them 23 prisoners. Two nights later, Washington entrusted his Delaware and Maryland soldiers to be the rear guard as he secretly withdrew his army from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

Today, the 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard, preserves the legacy of the 1st Maryland Regiment. The 198th Signal Battalion, Delaware Army National Guard, perpetuates the proud lineage of the Delaware Regiment.