Tracing ancestors can be easier and more accurate when you know in advance who you are looking for. \u00a0\u00a0So the purpose of this presentation is to describe the players and the parts they played\u2014with the intent of making it easier to find the records from which you can pull your ancestors.<\/p>\n
Career Soldiers:<\/strong><\/p>\n British Regulars<\/strong> (32,000), brought from England in great flotillas of ships\u2014to Boston MA, to New York, to Charleston SC.\u00a0 British Regulars were already<\/em> serving in Canada and the Colonies to protect British citizens from foreign powers\u2014Spain, France, Netherlands\u2014and from Indian attacks.\u00a0 Troop strength was bolstered by local Americans who were enlisted for pay\u2014it was their day job.\u00a0 These men served 3-5 days at a time, with 2-4 days off to handle their own affairs.\u00a0 They were often local land owners who sought to increase their own security and that of their families, while receiving additional, direct income.\u00a0 During actual hostilities with the enemy, they were required to serve as militiamen under English law.\u00a0 See John M. \u00a0Kitzmiller II, In Search of the Forlorn Hope, <\/strong>\u00a03 vols.\u00a0 Salt Lake City UT:\u00a0 Manuscript Publishing, 1988. This is an extensive guide to the location of service of each British regiment.\u00a0 Once you know where your ancestors were, check this guide for proximity of British troops.\u00a0 The service and pension records are on microfilm through the Family History Library (FHL).<\/p>\n Scottish Highlanders<\/strong> (3,000), soldiers requisitioned from troops already employed in British regiments serving on the Continent of Europe and along the borders of British territory.<\/p>\n United States Army<\/strong>\u2014George Washington was unanimously appointed Commander in Chief, June 1775 by the Continental Congress.\u00a0 At any given time, he fielded 19,000-25,000 troops \u00a0supplied by Colonies–those anxious\u00a0 to defeat the British and those \u00a0reluctant to spend their resources on battles not fought on their own soil nor impacting their trade and commerce directly.\u00a0 Using ancient English terms of service\u201440 days and 40 nights away from home\u2014these soldiers could leave without permission when their term was up.<\/p>\n \u201cConvention Army,\u201d<\/strong> 1777-1783, (4,200)–an army of British and German prisoners captured after the Battle of Saratoga and lodged in 8 of the Thirteen Colonies.\u00a0 November 5th, 1778, Washington assigned Lt. Col. Theodoric Bland, of the 1st Continental Dragoons, the task of escorting the Convention Army from Boston to Charlottesville Virginia…by land!\u00a0 <\/strong>See http:\/\/greensleeves.typepad.com\/berkshires<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Tim Abbott\u2019s award-winning series on the Convention Army.\u00a0 Abbott’s work is carefully documented.\u00a0 Billeting prisoners of war near people who were likely to be relatives<\/span>, was a decision of brilliance by General Washington.\u00a0 <\/em>He encouraged these POWs to be employed, to attend the churches of their choice, to file land grants, and to mingle with the local population.\u00a0 The Congress did not supply enough money to support POWs.\u00a0 And Washington did not have enough troops to police them.\u00a0 So he put the prisoners on their “parole” not to escape nor to take up arms against Americans at any level.\u00a0 And they policed themselves.<\/p>\n Troops at Frontier Posts<\/strong>\u2014like Southwest Point, TN (muster and payrolls are in the National Archives) and Fort Massachusetts on the Connecticut River across from New York in the vicinity of Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point (records in the Massachusetts State Archives, the Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield MA, and Fort Ticonderoga (NY) Historical Society).<\/p>\n Even if you don’t have traditions that place your ancestors in these armies, check–the ancestor who claimed that he served and who does not appear in pension files easily retrieved through http:\/\/www.fold3.com<\/a>\u00a0 or http:\/\/familysearch.org<\/a> could be correct–you will never know unless you look.\u00a0 Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle http:\/\/arleneeakle.com<\/p>\n PS\u00a0 Stay tuned<\/strong>, there are many other ancestors who fought–some of them in more than one category.<\/p>\n Tracing ancestors can be easier and more accurate when you know in advance who you are looking for. \u00a0\u00a0So the purpose of this presentation is to describe the players and the parts they played\u2014with the intent of making it easier … Continue reading
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