King's American Regiment of Foot
King's American Regiment of Foot
KING'S AMERICAN REGIMENT OF FOOT. This Provincial regiment was raised by Edmund Fanning, a protégé of Governor William Tryon, in Westchester County and on Long Island, New York, beginning in December 1776. With other elements of the New York garrison, it took part in Sir Henry Clinton's expedition up the Hudson in early October 1777, capturing Verplanck's Point, New York, on 5 October. In July 1778 it was sent to Rhode Island, where it distinguished itself in the Battle of Quaker Hill on 29 August 1778. Back at New York in mid-June 1779, it was immediately attached to Tryon's force, which was sent to raid the coastal towns of New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk, Connecticut. It garrisoned Stony Point and Lloyd's Neck until sent in October 1780 as part of Major General Alexander Leslie's raid on Virginia. From there it was sent on to South Carolina, reaching Charleston on 16 December and sent into garrison at Georgetown. It again fought with distinction at Hobkirk's Hill on 25 April 1781 and was thereafter sent to reinforce Savannah, Georgia. The bulk of the regiment returned to Charleston when Savannah was evacuated in July 1782 and then to New York when Charleston was evacuated in December. Having been placed on the American Establishment as the fourth American Regiment on 7 March 1781, it was elevated to the British Establishment on Christmas Day 1782. Evacuated from New York to New Brunswick in early September 1783, it was disbanded on 10 October.
SEE ALSO Clinton's Expedition; Connecticut Coast Raid; Fanning, Edmund; Hobkirk's Hill (Camden), South Carolina; Newport, Rhode Island (29 July-31 August 1778); Virginia, Military Operations in.
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.
Mills, T. F. "Land Forces of Britain, the Empire, and Commonwealth: The King's American Regiment (4th American Regiment)." Available online at http://regiments.org.
Smith, Paul H. "The American Loyalists: Notes on Their Organization and Numerical Strength." William and Mary Quarterly, third series, 25 (1968): 259-277.
revised by Harold E. Selesky