![[Ealge with Flag]](eagle1.gif)
| UNIFORMS
OF
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION The rifleman shown here clad in a green hunting shirt was a unique American contribution to the science of warfare in the Eighteenth Century. His weapon was the long rifle developed by the Pennsylvania gunsmith from the short, heavy European rifled gun. This rifle was intended to be used at a range far greater than the usual smoothbore musket. It enabled the marksman to select his target, rather than to blindly fire at a mass of men. The success of this tactic was quite disturbing to the British. However effective the rifle was at longer ranges, it had several disadvantages that prevented it being more widely used. In addition to its high cost, it was not designed to use a bayonet and it took longer to load. The dress worn by this man is not distinctive to the men of Virginia; it was a common dress of the frontiersman or ranger. The difference between Morgan's Virginia Company, Cresap's Maryland Company or Thompson's Pennsylvania Battalion was very small. The men themselves were all fiercely independent and most had no more desire to submit to orders in camp than they had to the King. Morgan's men were especially well known. They marched to Quebec with Benedict Arnold and fought in the battles leading to Burgoyne's surrender. The seated figure in red, so closely resembled the British grenadier or fusilier, is a member of the uniformed companies that existed in Connecticut before the war. One company of Foot Guards was raised in 1771 and a second in 1775. These companies are still members of the Continental Legion. The standing figure in the short brown jacket is a member of the Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse founded in 1774 under command of Abraham markoe, a Dane. This troop served as escort to George Washington on his trip to assume command of the Army. They also took part in that terrible winter at Valley Forge, where their services were very important due to their knowledge of the area. They still exist today as an active unit of the Pennsylvania National Guard. [REFERENCES: The War of the Revolution. Christopher Ward. Flags of the World. McCandless and Grosvenor.] |
| Independent
Company Organizations
Governor's Foot Guard, Virginia Riflemen, Minutemen 1774 - 1775
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