275:
Excellency depends upon the
Colonels for good Men, such as they can recommend for their sobriety, honesty, and good behaviour; he wishes them to be from five feet, eight Inches high, to five feet, ten Inches; handsomely and well made, and as there is nothing in his eyes more desirable, than Cleanliness in a Soldier, he desires that particular attention may be made, in the choice of such men, as are neat, and spruce. They are all to be at Head Quarters to morrow precisely at twelve, at noon, when the Number wanted will be fixed upon. The General neither wants men with uniforms, or arms, nor does he desire any man to be sent to him, that is not perfectly willing, and desirous, of being of this guard. They should be drill'd men.
64:
36:
263:. The purpose of the unit was to protect General Washington as well as the money and official papers of the Continental Army. General Washington directed the formation of a "corps of sober, intelligent, and reliable men". "Despite its impressive unit designation and its important mission," wrote military historian Mark Boatner, the Guard "appears to have been nothing more than what today would be called a headquarters security detachment."
90:
409:, Milliner claimed to be 104 and spun several stories of his (imagined) encounters with the general and "Lady Washington" during the last years of the Revolution. Later investigations determined that Milliner was only 94 (b. 1770) when he reminisced for Hillard, and that while he had served for several years as a drummer boy, he did so in a New York regiment and there was no record of a "Milliner" in the Life Guard.
727:
369:. While incarcerated, Hickey revealed to another prisoner, Isaac Ketcham, that he was part of a wider conspiracy of soldiers who were prepared to defect to the British once the expected invasion came. Hickey claimed that eight members of the Guard were involved in the plot. William Greene, a drummer in the Guard, was one of the conspirators, and
737:
314:, who is personified as a woman leaning upon the Union shield, near which is the American eagle. The motto of the corps, "CONQUER OR DIE," is upon a ribbon. The uniform of the Guard consisted of a blue coat with white facings, white waistcoat and breeches, black half gaiters, a cocked hat with a blue and white feather.
274:
The
General being desirous of selecting a particular number of men, as a Guard for himself, and baggage, The Colonel, or commanding Officer, of each of the established Regiments, (the Artillery and Rifflemen excepted) will furnish him with four, that the number wanted may be chosen out of them. His
402:
Decades after the
Revolution it was not uncommon for aged veterans to claim to have served in General Washington's Life Guard. One of the more famous of the false claims was made by Alexander Milliner of New York. When interviewed in 1864 by the Reverend Elias B. Hillard for his famous book
381:
of the
Continental Army. The conspiracy became greatly exaggerated in rumor, and was alleged to include plans to kidnap Washington, assassinate him and his officers, and blow up the Continental Army's ammunition magazines. Hickey, the only conspirator put on trial, was
322:
he provided "detailed sketches of its members", including six drummers, six fifers and a drum-major. In the final days of the war, the unit consisted of only 64 men. It was furloughed 6 June 1783, at
650:
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20:
248:, created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775, and appointed George Washington as General and Commander-in-Chief the next day. The army was organized in
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The strength of the unit was usually 180 men, although this was temporarily increased to 250 during the winter of 1779–80, when the army was encamped at
310:
The flag is white silk, on which the device is neatly painted. One of the Guard is seen holding a horse, and is in the act of receiving a flag from the
287:. Because it was an honor to belong to the unit, care was taken to ensure that soldiers from each of the 13 states were represented in the Guard. Major
482:
891:
377:, was accused of funding the operation to bribe soldiers to join the British. The suspected men of the Guard were taken into custody by the
256:. Enlistments in the army expired at the end of 1775, and in 1776 a newly organized army was created by George Washington and the Congress.
885:
334:
Several members of the
Commander-in-Chief's Guard were involved in a shadowy conspiracy early in the war. After the conclusion of the
266:
The unit was initially created by selecting four men from each
Continental Army regiment present at the siege of Boston. Washington's
571:
343:
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1005:
220:. Formed in 1776, the Guard was with Washington in all of his battles. It was disbanded in 1783 at the end of the war.
710:
295:
was the first commander of the Guard, and was given the title of captain commandant. Gibbs was succeeded in 1779 by
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and was compelled to seek refuge on a ship in New York Harbor. Nevertheless, the city had many residents, known as
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867:; originally published Hartford, CT in 1864; reissued 1968 by Barre Publishers, edited by Wendell D. Garrett
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38 (January 1914):83–88. Transcripts of a few letters relating to provisioning the Guard. Available
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The
Commander-in-Chief's Guard was authorized on 11 March 1776 and organized the next day at
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This article is about the historic military unit. For the modern U.S. Army unit, see
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394:. He was executed in New York on 28 June 1776 before a crowd of 20,000 spectators.
365:, a member of the Guard, was arrested with another soldier in New York for passing
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The flag and uniform of the
Commander-in-Chief's Guards was described by historian
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and prepared for an anticipated attempt by the
British to occupy the city. The
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728:"The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources"
942:; Frederick P. Todd (1956). "Commander-in-Chief's Guard, 1777–1783".
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104:
164:
108:
338:
in 1776, General
Washington and the Continental Army marched to
387:
160:
971:
Uzal Knapp memorial reported member of Washington Life Guards
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701:
Boatner III, Mark Mayo (1974) . "Life Guard of Washington".
270:
on 11 March outlined the type of men he hoped to recruit:
938:
669:
667:
950:
Wehmann, Howard H. "To Major Gibbs With Much Esteem."
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Military units and formations of the Continental Army
991:
Military units and formations disestablished in 1783
811:
Royal Raiders: The Tories of the American Revolution
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679:
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808:
793:. Vol. 7. New York: Scribners. p. 4:119.
21:Commander-in-Chief's Guard (3rd Infantry Regiment)
986:Military units and formations established in 1776
977:
931:Lossing, Benson J. "Washington's Life Guard".
918:Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
725:
350:, had been driven out of the city by American
911:Commander-in-Chief's Guard: Revolutionary War
892:United States Army Center of Military History
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223:
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773:The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution
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483:
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398:False claims of service in the Life Guards
841:Secret History of the American Revolution
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763:
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16:Military guard unit of George Washington
916:———. "The Commander in Chief's Guard."
703:Encyclopedia of the American Revolution
978:
880:
752:
688:
673:
726:Fitzpatrick, John Clement (1931–44).
464:
326:, and disbanded on 15 November 1783.
913:. Washington: Stevenson-Smith, 1904.
40:Banner of the Guard, illustrated by
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967:(George Washington's Mount Vernon)
736:. p. 4:387–88. Archived from
14:
1022:
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944:Military Collector and Historian
775:. Vol. 2. New York: Harper.
424:New York and New Jersey campaign
361:In the spring of 1776, Sergeant
358:, who favored the British side.
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88:
62:
34:
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946:. Vol. 8. pp. 74–76.
865:The Last Men of the Revolution
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791:George Washington: A Biography
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733:University of Virginia Library
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608:Extra and Additional regiments
451:United States Marshals Service
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406:The Last Men of the Revolution
320:The Commander-in-Chief's Guard
1:
926:Pennsylvania State University
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318:In Godfrey's 1904 history of
446:United States Secret Service
283:, in close proximity to the
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230:Second Continental Congress
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633:Commander-in-Chief's Guard
496:units of the United States
493:American Revolutionary War
344:Royal Governor of New York
218:American Revolutionary War
202:Commander-in-Chief's Guard
29:Commander-in-Chief's Guard
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1006:Protective security units
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511:List of Continental units
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224:Creation and organization
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261:Cambridge, Massachusetts
1011:Former guards regiments
212:that protected General
206:Washington's Life Guard
142:Washington's Life Guard
375:Mayor of New York City
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281:Morristown, New Jersey
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236:governing body of the
134:Main Army headquarters
429:Philadelphia campaign
308:
272:
890:. Washington, D.C.:
887:The Continental Army
769:Lossing, Benson John
613:Armand's Legion
386:and found guilty of
208:, was a unit of the
204:, commonly known as
933:Historical Magazine
909:Godfrey, Carlos E.
787:Freeman, Douglas S.
740:on 12 December 2012
651:List of state units
304:Benson John Lossing
246:American Revolution
180:Captain commandants
924:(PDF format) from
863:Hillard, Elias B.
324:Newburgh, New York
996:George Washington
882:Wright, Robert K.
659:
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628:Ottendorf's Corps
434:Yorktown campaign
367:counterfeit money
312:Genius of Liberty
214:George Washington
195:
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126:180–250 men
78:George Washington
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954:4 (1972):227–32.
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935:2 (1858):129–34.
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894:. Archived from
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601:Non-state units
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419:Siege of Boston
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384:court-martialed
379:provost marshal
336:Boston campaign
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254:siege of Boston
238:United Colonies
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151:Conquer or Die!
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371:David Mathews
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363:Thomas Hickey
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348:William Tryon
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340:New York City
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330:Hickey mutiny
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742:. Retrieved
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623:Lee's Legion
577:Rhode Island
572:Pennsylvania
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285:British Army
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965:Life Guards
789:(1948–57).
771:(1851–52).
689:Wright 1983
674:Wright 1983
527:Connecticut
413:Engagements
289:Caleb Gibbs
252:during the
216:during the
191:(1779–1783)
186:(1776–1779)
184:Caleb Gibbs
139:Nickname(s)
980:Categories
902:2010-08-12
849:. p.
819:. p.
557:New Jersey
457:References
175:Commanders
131:Assignment
74:Allegiance
356:Loyalists
169:side arms
53:1776–1783
952:Prologue
884:(1983).
837:(1941).
807:(1963).
592:Virginia
562:New York
542:Maryland
532:Delaware
440:See also
392:sedition
352:Patriots
234:de facto
165:bayonets
147:Motto(s)
118:Security
105:Infantry
587:Vermont
537:Georgia
161:muskets
109:cavalry
58:Country
922:online
744:7 July
709:
388:mutiny
373:, the
232:, the
84:Branch
67:
50:Active
44:, 1852
851:13–15
821:73–75
746:2019
707:ISBN
390:and
228:The
200:The
157:Arms
123:Size
115:Role
107:and
101:Type
291:of
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928:.
905:.
853:.
823:.
748:.
715:.
484:e
477:t
470:v
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
