THE FIRST
NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT
The current regiment is composed of a company of line, or battalion troops, a fife and drum music company, camp followers, and most recently, a reactivated artillery company manning a reproduction 6 lb. field cannon.
A GROUP OF “REGULARS”
The First New Hampshire Regiment is a recreation of one of the three regiments of “regulars” from New Hampshire to serve in the Continental Army under Gen. Washington during the American Revolution. We do this as a hobby for our own enjoyment, and to educate people about the unit and that time period of our history. The current regiment is composed of a company of line, or battalion troops, a fife and drum music company, camp followers, and most recently, a reactivated artillery company manning a reproduction 6 lb. field cannon.
The unit participates in parades, honor guards, encampments, battle reenactments, and similar activities. We have appeared at events all over the East Coast from Georgia to Maine, in Canada, and even in England. We are also charter members of The Continental Line, an organization of more than 60 reenactment units.
Following the battles at Concord and Lexington, the colonial militias besieging the British in Boston began to organize into an army. On April 26, 1775, just 7 days after those first battles, the Massachusetts Committee of Safety commissioned John Stark of New Hampshire as a colonel, with orders to enlist a regiment of soldiers. Within a short time, he had enlisted 800 men. One month later, the unit was “adopted” by New Hampshire and designated the 1st New Hampshire Regiment.
Throughout the war, the unit performed gallantly, serving with honor at Bunker Hill, Canada, Princeton, Saratoga, Valley Forge, Monmouth, in the expedition against the Iroquois, at Yorktown, and even crossed the Delaware with Washington in the attack on Trenton. They were one of the last units disbanded after the British evacuated New York City in 1783. The unit itself served for a period of 8 years and 8 months, making it the longest serving unit in the war.
John Stark, New Hampshire’s Soldier Hero
By Bruce Batten
John Stark was New Hampshire’s most famous soldier. He was known for his independent, ornery, Yankee personality. He gave much to the American Revolution and is remembered most for his words, “Live Free or Die” which became the motto of the State of New Hampshire. However, there is more to the story of John Stark.
John Stark was of Scotch-Irish stock. His father was a native of Glasgow, Scotland. In 1720 his father sailed to America, but his ship was denied entry to Boston over fears it carried smallpox. Stark’s ship was forced to winter in present day Wiscasset. Maine. In 1721 the Stark family moved to Nutfield, New Hampshire, later renamed Londonderry, in 1722. Londonderry became a settlement for Scotch-Irish potato farmers and weavers. John Stark was born there on August 28, 1728. Eight years later the Stark family moved to Derryfield, New Hampshire, now part of Manchester.
John Stark spent his early years working on the Stark farm and in the family’s lumber business. He also spent a great deal of time exploring and hunting on the New Hampshire frontier. In 1752, Stark and his brother William traveled with neighbors David Stinson and Amos Eastman on a hunting trip to the Baker River area near present day Rumney, New Hampshire. This area was still under Indian control and the group encountered an Indian War party. Stinson was killed, but with the help of John, his brother William was able to escape. For his part in William’s escape, John Stark was made to run an Indian gauntlet during his captivity. Some six weeks later he and Eastman were rescued by a group from the Fort at Number 4 at Charlestown, New Hampshire.
John Stark gained his military experience fighting with Robert Rogers. In 1756 he was commissioned a first lieutenant in Rogers’ Rangers. In 1757 Stark was part of a Ranger expedition sent during the winter to capture French sleds traveling between Crown Point and Fort Carillon. Some sleds were captured while others escaped. Soon after, additional French and Canadians attacked the Rangers. Stark and another man traveled more than forty miles through deep snow to get help.
In March 1757 Stark saved Fort William Henry from the French by his refusal to supply his Irish Rangers with liquor to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. When the French attacked the Fort, the drunken Irish Troops of the regular army were unable to meet the challenge. Stark’s sober Rangers fought off the French and saved the fort. As a result of Montcalm’s later attack, Fort William Henry was eventually forced to surrender to the French in August 1757.
Upon hearing of his father’s death in 1758, Stark returned home from Ranger service to settle the estate. Stark was a frequent visitor to the home of Elizabeth Page of Dunbarton, New Hampshire. On August 20, 1758 Stark married Elizabeth. From then on she was known as Molly Stark. Once hostilities had ceased between the British and French, Stark purchased the land his brothers and sisters had inherited from their father. He and Molly then settled on that land in Derryfield, New Hampshire.
On April 19, 1775, news of the events of Lexington and Concord spread across New England. Stark, like so many other veterans of earlier colonial wars, rushed to join the new military units that were being formed. Leaving word for his neighbors to join him, Stark made his way to Medford, Massachusetts. Some twelve hundred men from New Hampshire had mustered in Medford. Under the authority of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts two regiments were formed from these New Hampshire men. By unanimous vote Stark was made colonel of the first regiment. Soon after, the Provincial Congress of New Hampshire voted to enlist two thousand men for eight months into three regiments. Colonel Stark commanded the first regiment, while James Read and Enoch Poor were to command the second and third regiments.
On the morning of June 17, 1775 Colonel William Prescott had seen almost half of his detachment fade away from the defenses of Breed’s Hill. Israel Putnam was sent to persuade American commander Artemus Ward to release desperately needed reinforcements. Ward complied and sent John Stark’s New Hampshire regiment and several other New Hampshire companies along with Colonel James Reed’s Connecticut regiment to reinforce Prescott. As Stark’s men made their way to the front lines, another officer approached Stark suggesting that they quicken their pace. Stark stubbornly looked at the man and replied, “Dearborn, one fresh man in action is worth ten fatigued ones”. Stark continued walking, unconcerned with the slow and deliberate pace he had settled upon.
Once he arrived on Charlestown Peninsula, Stark surveyed the scene. He became convinced that the Americans were most vulnerable along the Mystic River beach. Stark ordered his men to fortify this narrow shoreline by hauling stones from the nearby cliffs and building a stone wall to the water. Stark positioned his best sharpshooters behind this wall. With the wall completed, Stark climbed over the wall and drove a stake into the sand some 40 yards in front. He then gave the order, “not a man is to fire til the first Regular crossed that stake; watch their gaiters. When you can see their gaiters clear, that’s when to shoot.” This was Stark’s way of ordering his men to shoot low so that the recoil of their muskets would send the balls into the chests of the Redcoats.
The British attack began with an assault of light infantry of the Welsh Fusiliers on the New Hampshire position at the beach. As the front line reached the stake, Stark lowered his arm with the command to fire. The New Hampshire line erupted in a wall of fire. Over half of the fusiliers were killed or wounded with this first volley. A second volley left only five or six survivors as the remaining fusiliers continued the charge towards the American position. As the first assault was failing, soldiers of the 4th Regiment of Foot climbed over the dead Welshmen and moved toward the stone wall. The British assumed that while Stark’s men were reloading they would be able to sprint over the wall and bayonet the New Hampshire men. Unbeknownst to the British, Stark had hidden more men with loaded weapons behind the wall. As the British approached, Stark again gave the order to fire. As the smoke cleared, dozens of British soldiers could be seen lying dead or wounded in front of the stone wall. Stark commented, “ I never saw sheep lie as thick in the fold”. With these terrible losses, the British were forced to abandon their assault on Stark’s position.
As the battle on Breed’s Hill progressed and the British gained the American redoubt on the third assault, Stark’s New Hampshire soldiers and Knowlton’s Connecticut troops challenged the British advance up Bunker Hill by conducting a fighting withdrawal. Stark’s withdrawal impressed even the British. General Burgoyne, watching the withdrawal through his telescope, commented, “that the retreat was no flight, it was even covered with bravery and military skill”. Stark’s skillful withdrawal kept many Americans from becoming prisoners of the British.
Stark’s next action was at Trenton. Stark crossed the Delaware with Washington. He was part of Sullivan’s Brigade at the south end of town. Stark was in the thick of the fight leading men against the Knyphausen Regiment. Seeing a chance to hit the Knyphausen Regiment from the flank, Stark sent Captain Ebenezer Frye and some sixteen men to attack. To everyone’s amazement, Frye returned with sixty prisoners. Stark’s aggressiveness had completely surprised the Hessians.
After Trenton and Princeton, Washington sent Stark back to New England to recruit new troops. As he traveled, Stark learned that he had been passed over for promotion. Stark was furious as a man of lesser experience in Stark’s opinion, Colonel Enoch Poor of the Second New Hampshire Regiment had been promoted to brigadier general over him. Stark’s fury led him to appear before the New Hampshire legislature in Exeter and resign his commission while receiving a vote of thanks from the legislature for his services.
Stark’s retirement was a brief four months. Concerned over the movement of Burgoyne’s army down Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, Vermont asked New Hampshire for assistance. With the State of New Hampshire having no funds available, Portsmouth shipyard owner John Langdon stepped forward with the money to outfit a New Hampshire army for Vermont’s assistance. When asked who should command the New Hampshire army, Langdon replied, “Our friend John Stark, who so nobly sustained the honor of our arms at Bunker’s Hill, may safely be entrusted with the command, and we will check Burgoyne!” Stark agreed to lead the New Hampshire troops under the condition that the troops would be solely under his command and that he had full authority to direct operations. Stark did not want to be encumbered with having to take orders from anyone in the Continental Army. The New Hampshire legislature agreed and Stark was made Brigadier General of the New Hampshire Militia.
News of Stark’s return spread across New Hampshire. The Reverend Timothy Walker of Concord interrupted his church service to announce that Stark had returned by saying, “My brethren, those of you who are willing to go had better leave at once”. Ebenezer Webster, father of the famous statesman Daniel Webster, recruited a company of fifty-four men to join Stark. This was a little more than one out of every three males living in the little town of Salisbury, New Hampshire. Soon some 1400 militiamen had followed Stark’s orders to meet him at the site of the Fort at Number Four in Charlestown.
Stark marched his men across Vermont and met British and Hessian troops at Bennington on August 14, 1777. Feeling the strain of ever increasing supply lines, Burgoyne had sent soldiers to Bennington for horses and supplies. As rain fell the day before the battle, Stark was given time to prepare. Knowing that the Tories fighting with the British would be wearing civilian clothing like Stark’s own men, Stark ordered his men to put cornhusks in their hats or shirt pockets to save confusion. That evening a regiment from Berkshire County, Massachusetts joined Stark’s forces. Reverend Thomas Allen, leader of the Berkshire soldiers met with Stark. Allen indicated to Stark how anxious his men were for battle saying that it would be impossible for the Berkshire men to muster troops in the future if they did not soon see battle. Stark replied, “ if the Lord gives us sunshine tomorrow and I do not give you fighting enough, I will never call on you to come again.”
With the dawn of August 15 the rain had stopped. Stark prepared his men for the coming battle with the words, “My men, yonder are the Hessians. They were bought for seven pounds and ten pence a man. Are you worth more? Prove it! Tonight the American flag floats from yonder hill, or Molly Stark sleeps a widow…” Under Stark’s leadership the British forces at Bennington were overwhelmed and Burgoyne’s quest for supplies ended. George Washington in a letter to General Israel Putnam after Bennington said, “As there is now not the least danger of Gen. Howe’s going to New England, I hope the whole force of that Country will turn out and by following the great stroke of Gen. Stark near Bennington entirely crush Gen. Burgoyne…” The events of Saratoga soon followed. General Gates attempted to get Stark and his militia to come to Saratoga and join the army that was preparing to meet Burgoyne. Unknown to Gates was that Stark and many of his officers had come down with the measles and were in no condition to travel. Also, feeling that they had defended New England and with their enlistments expiring, most of the men in Stark’s army returned home to New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont. Once well, Stark returned to New Hampshire to recruit fresh troops. During his absence both battles of Saratoga took place. Knowing that the only way he could save his army was by retreating, Burgoyne attempted to head back to Canada. On the night of October 11 Stark crossed the Hudson River with fresh troops from New Hampshire. His forces captured Fort Edward and positioned artillery to block Burgoyne’s escape. The surrender of Burgoyne’s army was thus ensured. Soon after Burgoyne’s surrender the Continental Congress promoted Stark to Brigadier General. John Stark had finally received the recognition he deserved.
Stark was appointed by Congress in 1778 to manage affairs in the Albany, New York region. General Gates had been appointed head of the Northern Department, but it was understood that Stark would be responsible for the Albany region. Stark spent much of his time handling disputes between the governments of Vermont, New York and New Hampshire. He also had to deal with the constant threats posed by British and Indian raids and the activities of Tories and spies. In a letter to the president of the New Hampshire legislature, Stark described his feelings about his assignment: “Murder and robberies are committed every day in this neighborhood. So you may judge of my situation, with enemy on my front, and the devil in my rear.” Stark continued in a letter to General John Sullivan: “If I could be relieved I should be glad to join you now, this is a cursed place and people…. We have no troops but militia and they turn out like drawing a cat by the tail…”
In November of 1778 Stark joined General Horatio Gates in Rhode Island. In this position Stark guarded the coast from Point Judith to Providence. In October 1779 Stark led American troops into Newport after the evacuation of the British. Stark next participated in the military tribunal that tried John Andre. Citing poor health, Stark asked Washington for a leave of absence. Washington agreed and Stark returned home to New Hampshire. In April of 1781 Washington appointed Stark head of the Northern Department. Stark’s role would be brief with Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown in October 1781.
Stark would live out the rest of his life in New Hampshire. He continued to display his independent attitudes throughout his later years. He was very suspicious of the possibility of British influence in American politics. He repeatedly spoke out against pro-British factions that existed in the American government. He believed that these factions might attempt to roll back the gains of the Revolution. He opposed the Society of Cincinnati over its call for half pay for life for military officers, a British army custom and its rule of passing membership from father to oldest son. Stark wanted nothing of conciliation with the British and was a strong supporter of the War of 1812.
Molly Stark died in June 1814 from typhoid fever. During the funeral eulogy the minister began to elaborate on the service of John Stark to the nation. Stark became irritated over the praise and began to tap his cane upon the floor. Looking at the minister Stark said, “ Tut, tut, enough of that if you please. At the graveside, Stark said, “goodbye, Molly, we sup no more together on earth.” Ever the independent Yankee, Stark died on May 8, 1822 at the age of 94. Thomas Sumter of South Carolina and Lafayette were the only American Generals of the Revolution to outlive him.
Sources
Brooks, Victor. The Boston Campaign. Conshohocken, PA: Combined Publishing, 1999.
Ketchum, Richard M.. Saratoga. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997.
Ketchum, Richard M.. The Winter Soldiers. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1999.
McDowell, Bart. The Revolutionary War. Washington, DC: The National Geographic Society, 1967.
Rose, Ben. John Stark, Maverick General. Waverly, MA: Treeline Press, 2007.
Independence Day
By Bruce Batten
As I reflect on Independence Day I wonder what the soldiers of the Continental Army were thinking during the summer of 1776. They probably still felt some euphoria from the British evacuation of Boston, they probably grumbled about the continual shortage of supplies, wondered where and when the British would return, and how would they defend New York City with its rivers and islands from a seaborne invasion. Then the American soldiers heard the Declaration of Independence.
Imagine the soldiers and camp followers of the First New Hampshire listening as the Declaration was read aloud to the Army. Scholars believe that during a time when many could not read, Jefferson intended the Declaration with its poetic cadences to be read aloud. All hopes of any reconciliation with the mother country ended with the Declaration of Independence. There was going to be a winner and a loser and fate hinged upon whom each was.
As they listened to the Declaration I’m sure they understood the grievances section and the signers’ ending pledge of, “our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor” as that is the business of treason and war. But what of the second section? It is in this section that Jefferson eloquently describes in a few sentences American beliefs about the relationship between citizens and their government. This is the section known as The Natural Rights Section.
Jefferson begins this section with how all men are created equal and how we are born with our rights. We don’t receive our rights from some monarch. You have rights because you exist and these rights can never be taken away. He then borrows from John Locke and describes those rights as life, liberty, while changing property to the pursuit of happiness. Being New Englanders, I’m sure the members of the First New Hampshire had a keen idea of what they thought their rights were. Jefferson’s brilliance was that with this idea of the pursuit of happiness he was including as rights what most believe makes up a complete and happy life, such as freedom of thought, owning property and raising a family.
Jefferson next described the purpose of government. He stated that governments are established to protect the rights citizens are born with. He goes on to say that the government gets its power from the people. This is radically different from the belief of the time that a monarch’s power came from God. Jefferson finishes with the rationalization for the Revolution. He talks about how the people have the right to alter or abolish a government that hurts their rights. He describes the failed efforts to alter the situation between the Colonies and Great Britain and how the only avenue left was to “throw off such government” resulting in new protections of the rights of the citizens.
Now imagine what must have been the discussions and questions spoken around the campfire between the soldiers and camp followers of the First New Hampshire. I’m sure the ladies had something to say about all men being created equal. How can all men be created equal when we have slaves? How can someone have rights without a king? My government is supposed to protect my rights, how? I can make changes to the government if it hurts my rights? What does the pursuit of happiness really mean?
The Declaration of Independence was radical for the time. It gave purpose to the American Revolution. Our activities as reenactors honor the efforts of those who came before us. The Founding Fathers had dreams of what was possible. Soldiers and civilians alike experienced and overcame the actualities of trying to make those dreams realities. All Americans are now the stewards of those dreams. On Independence Day we celebrate the dreams of past heroes that now make us Americans.
What about our uniforms?
The main uniform worn by the unit is a recreation of the ones issued to it in 1778 at Valley Forge. The basic uniform consists of a green coat with red facings, cuffs and collar and brass buttons. Musicians wear white coats with blue facings or rifle frocks. These frocks are also worn by the riflemen attached to the unit. In the warmer months, the unit often wears lighter farmers smocks or rifle shirts in place of the heavy woolen coats. These too are quite correct for the time period portrayed, as they were issued to the troops on a semi-regular basis. We are also in the process of outfitting ourselves with brown coats with red facings, another uniform the unit wore during part of the War.
The other clothing, consisting of shirt, waistcoat (vest) and breeches or overalls are not all of the same color and cut. This represents the mix of “small clothes,”as they were known, that were issued or procured by the troops. Many of the soldiers also own 18th C. styled civilian clothing, used when portraying the militia or early Continental Army of 1775-1776.
Camp Followers, portraying the women and children who accompanied the American Army, are also correctly attired in reproduction civilian clothing.
The Regimental Flags
1775 – 1784
There is much conjecture and little substantial proof when it comes to the study of flags carried by the 1st New Hampshire Regiment during the American Revolution. Unfortunately, there are no flags attributed to the unit which have survived, to our knowledge. This brief work will not attempt to restate the history of flags carried through the war in general, but will only look at research along with some admitted conjecture which has been done within the last few years pertaining to the flags under which the 1NH served.
Unit Lineage
On 22nd of May 1775 the New Hampshire State Troops were authorized as the 1st New Hampshire Regiment. The regiment was organized June 3rd, 1775 at Medford, Massachusetts, to consist of ten companies from Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties.
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