Featured Article Summary #137

The Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment, often called Rawlings’ Regiment in period documents, was organized in June 1776 as a specialized rifle unit in the Continental Army. Its riflemen supported the main musket line troops by acting as forward skirmishers, flankers, and in roles like scouting, escorting, and guarding posts. Unlike line infantry that fought in tight, organized formations, rifle units were less structured and could adapt more easily as battles changed. The regiment had nine companies, four from Maryland and five from Virginia, and because it included two states it answered directly to national authority as an Extra Continental regiment. Although many soldiers surrendered to British and German forces at the Battle of Fort Washington on November 16, 1776, a large part of the regiment continued serving for much of the rest of the war, including actions with George Washington’s Main Army and service with Daniel Morgan’s rifle corps. It was reorganized in January 1779 at Fort Pitt in western Pennsylvania, helped defend frontier settlements, and was finally disbanded in January 1781, making it the longest-serving Continental Army rifle unit of the war. In 1776, Continental Congress ordered the creation of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment through resolves in June. The regiment was made up of three earlier rifle companies from Maryland and Virginia (raised in 1775) and six new companies, and it was organized under the same structure as the 1st Continental Regiment, but it was an “Extra Continental” unit because it served two states and reported directly to national authority. Hugh Stephenson became colonel, with Moses Rawlings and Otho Holland Williams as lieutenant colonel and major, and the regiment continued recruiting through late 1776, with enlisted men serving three years or for the duration of the war. By early November 1776, most of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment had joined Washington’s Main Army, and many were stationed at Fort Washington and Fort Lee. On November 16, during the Battle of Fort Washington, most of those present were killed or captured as they were overwhelmed by a much larger Hessian force; about 140 members were absent because they were still recruiting and organizing. The survivors were combined into two “composite” rifle companies under Captains Smith and Long and served with the Main Army through the retreat in New Jersey, including Trenton and Princeton, and later at Morristown during patrols and support duties; they were temporarily attached to the 11th Virginia Regiment, but the original regiment remained the permanent identity. In muster rolls from May 1777, the army recorded that the two companies had about 110 active men, with further losses over the winter mainly from desertion, and a few deaths from illness or wounds. Because the rifle units had performed well and many new recruits joined the army, Washington created extra provisional rifle companies and placed them under Daniel Morgan in early June 1777, forming what was called the Provisional Rifle Corps (often known as Morgan’s Rifle Corps). Officers and selected riflemen were detached from their regular regiments—most Maryland and Virginia riflemen served in Capt. Gabriel Long’s company—and Morgan and Long each commanded both their permanent units and the new provisional force. After Long resigned in May 1779, Lt. Elijah Evans took over until the Corps was disbanded in November 1779, and the Rifle Corps is especially remembered for its key role in the Battles of Saratoga. Meanwhile, most members of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment stayed with the Main Army and fought in major battles with the 11th Virginia and related brigades. After Lt. Col. Moses Rawlings was exchanged from British captivity in late 1777 or early 1778, the Board of War put him in charge of Fort Frederick’s prisoner-of-war camp and militia guard. Efforts to rebuild the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment made only limited progress, so in early 1779 Congress reorganized it into three full-strength companies and moved it to Fort Pitt to help defend frontier settlements against raids. Washington also ordered detached members in the main army to rejoin the regiment, leaving it mainly made up of Marylanders, though it stayed outside the official state-line system and its name remained largely the same despite major changes.