Duke of Cumberland's Regiment
Duke of Cumberland's Regiment
DUKE OF CUMBERLAND'S REGIMENT. On 17 November 1780, John Dalling, the governor of Jamaica, wrote to Charles, Earl Cornwallis, at Charleston, South Carolina, proposing to raise a regiment from among the Continental army prisoners captured at the siege of Charleston (12 May 1780) and the Battle of Camden (16 August 1780). The bearer of the letter was Lord Charles Montagu, who, Dalling proposed, would command the regiment of five one-hundred-man companies as its lieutenant colonel commandant. The effort was successful, and the regiment was sent to Jamaica in August 1781. The Loyal American Rangers were absorbed into the regiment after the death of their commander in January 1783. As late as 27 May 1783, British and Provincial soldiers convicted of crimes like desertion, robbery, and even murder were sent from New York City to Jamaica for service in the regiment. It was disbanded on 24 August 1783, and the men allowed to settle in Nova Scotia.
SEE ALSO Loyal American Rangers.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cole, Nan, and Todd Braisted. "The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies." Available online at http://www.royalprovincial.com.
Katcher, Philip R. N. Encyclopedia of British, Provincial, and German Army Units, 1775–1783. Harrisburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 1973.
revised by Harold E. Selesky