Numbered Continental Regiments, 1776
On November 4, 1775, the Continental Congress resolved that on January 1, 1776, the Continental Army, exclusive of artillery and extras, should consist of 27 infantry regiments: 1 from Pennsylvania, 3 from New Hampshire, 16 from Massachusetts, 2 from Rhode Island, and 5 from Connecticut. Each regiment was to have an official establishment of 728 officers and men in eight companies. The regiments were to receive numbers instead of names, and the troops were to be enlisted to serve until December 31, 1776.
The three New Hampshire regiments raised in 1775 were used as cadres for the new Continental regiments from New Hampshire, and the same colonels remained in command.
The old 1st New Hampshire Regiment became the 5th Continental Regiment, under Colonel John Stark. It initially served in the Siege of Boston, then moved to New York City with the Main Army, served in the Northern Theater, and rejoined the Main Army for the Battles of Trenton and Princeton.
The old 2d New Hampshire Regiment became the 8th Continental Regiment, under Colonel Enoch Poor. It initially served in the Siege of Boston, then moved to New York City with the Main Army, served in the Northern Theater, and rejoined the Main Army for the Battles of Trenton and Princeton.
The old 3d New Hampshire Regiment became the 2nd Continental Regiment, under Colonel James Reed. It initially served in the Siege of Boston, then moved to New York City with the Main Army, served in the Northern Theater, and rejoined the Main Army for the Battles of Trenton and Princeton.
The low number given to Reed’s regiment was meant to resolve a dispute with Colonel Poor from the preceding year over Reed’s seniority in the New Hampshire line. Colonel Reed was made a Continental brigadier general on August 9, 1776, and, for the remainder of the year, the 2d Continental Regiment was commanded by its next senior officer, Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Gilman.
During 1776, the Continental Congress gradually overcame its ideological objections to a standing army, and, on September 16, 1776, it resolved that, on January 1, 1777, the Continental Line should consist of 88 infantry regiments, to be maintained for the duration of the war: 3 from New Hampshire, 15 from Massachusetts, 2 from Rhode Island, 8 from Connecticut, 4 from New York, 4 from New Jersey, 12 from Pennsylvania, 1 from Delaware, 8 from Maryland, 15 from Virginia, 9 from North Carolina, 6 from South Carolina, and 1 from Georgia. The quotas for states outside New England included regiments that had been on the Continental establishment earlier, but the term Continental Line was now broadened to include the lines of all the states.
Read more about this topic: New Hampshire Line