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Between
February and August 1776, the First Virginia trained in Williamsburg
with other regiments under the command of General Andrew Lewis.
On August 16, the Regiment began the long march north to join General
Washington's Grand Army, in New York City. Before leaving, the men
of the First and Second Regiments were asked to re-enlist for three
years, or for the duration of the war. Although most of the men
of the Second refused to sign up for such a long term, nearly all
of the First Virginia re-enlisted.
Harlem
Heights
On
September 15, 1776, the First Virginia, along with the Third Virginia
joined Washington's army near Harlem Heights, New York. Having recently
suffered the humiliation of being chased out of New York City and
subsequently out-maneuvered by the British, Washington's Continentals
looked to the Virginians for new strength and hope. The following
day three companies of the Virginians joined Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton's
Connecticut Rangers in reconnoitering the enemy lines. Running into
a detachment of British, the Continentals soon found themselves
in heated battle and managed to force the British to withdraw. Maryland
troops joined the battle, but Washington soon called his troops
back, not willing to risk a full-scale engagement. During the engagement,
Major Andrew Leitch of the First Virginia was mortally wounded,
as was Lt. Col. Knowlton. The success and heroism shown by the Continental
troops in this relatively small engagement was a much needed morale
boost for the Americans.
In
order to avoid a full-scale engagement Washington continued to retreat
from Howe's slow-moving British redcoats. On the night of October
21, 600 Continentals, with 160 men from the First and Third Virginia
Regiments attacked a Tory force of about 500 men including Robert
Roger's "Queen's American Rangers." The Tories suffered twenty killed
and 36 captured, while the Continentals claimed only 12 wounded.
Trenton
and Princeton
By
the end of December 1776, Washington's immediate army had shrunk
from casualties, disease, desertion, and the termination of enlistments
to about 2,500 men fit for duty. In the hope of seizing another
morale victory, if not a strategic one, Washington decided on a
daring attack on Hessian troops at Trenton, New Jersey. In the early
morning hours of December 26, Washington's small band, including
the First Virginia, crossed the Delaware River, reaching the outskirts
of Trenton about 8:00 am. The surprised Hessians tried in vain to
hold off the Americans, but by 9:45 am the Germans were forced to
surrender.
Within
a few days of the American victory at Trenton, British troops marched
to the town to engage Washington's small army. The two armies began
firing on each other across a creek but darkness soon put an end
to the fighting. When dawn arrived the next morning, the British
were surprised to find that Washington's army had quietly pulled
out in the dark. The Continentals had marched all night to the village
of Princeton where they stumbled into a British force just setting
out for Trenton. The Americans were divided into two groups, with
the Virginians part of Green's division under Gen. Hugh Mercer,
guarding the road to Trenton. The remaining Americans proceeded
to attack Princeton from the west.
Col.
Mawhood's two British regiments had already departed Princeton when
Mercer's troops were spotted behind them. The British turned back
toward Princeton and engaged Mercer's troops. With about 300 men
on each side facing one another, the British soon charged with bayonets.
Mercer was one of the first to fall victim to the bayonet charge.
Twenty one year old Captain John Fleming of the First Virginia rallied
the Regiment but was soon killed, and 18 year old second lieutenant
Bartholomew Yates was mortally wounded.
Confusion
ensued for the Americans, with the Virginia regiments in the heaviest
fighting and suffering the most casualties. With the appearance
of Washington on the battlefield the Americans rallied, forcing
the British to flee, throwing down their weapons as they ran.
During
the heavy fighting Lieutenant Yates was shot in the side, and as
he lay on the ground, the British shot him again in the chest, bayoneted
him 13 times and clubbed him in the head. He survived for a week
before dying. A tribute to Captain Fleming read: "(he) behaved and
died as bravely as a Caesar would have done, ordering his men to
dress [form a line] before firing, though the enemy was within 40
yards of him, advancing fast with abusive threats what they would
do. However, they were mistaken, and most of them cut to pieces."
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