Revolutionary War Pennsylvania Regiment Sweatshirt
On March 5, 1776, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a resolution to establish the Pennsylvania State Rifle Regiment, also known as Miles’ Regiment, consisting of two battalions of six companies of seventy-eight enlisted men, most of whom came from Samuel Miles' rifle battalion and Samuel Atlee's musketry battalion. That August, these troops were sent to New York under the command of General William Alexander. The Pennsylvanians fought at the Battles of Long Island, White Plains, Fort Washington, Trenton, and Princeton. On March 1, 1777, The Pennsylvania State Regiment was officially activated as a unit, uniformed in a blue regimental coat with red lining and facing and pewter buttons inscribed PSR. On June 10, the Pennsylvania Assembly transferred the PSR to Continental service. Afterwards, the unit saw more action at the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown. James Thacher, a young doctor from Barnstable who observed the regiment during many of its battles, provided this description of the riflemen: "They are remarkably stout and hardy men; many of them exceeding six feet in height. They are dressed in white frocks or rifle shirts and round hats. There men are remarkable for the accuracy of their aim; striking a mark with great certainty at two hundred yards distance. At a review, a company of them, while in a quick advance, fired their balls into objects of seven inches diameter at the distance of 250 yards, their shots have frequently proved fatal to British officers and soldiers who expose themselves to view at more than double the distance of common musket shot." Col. Walter Stewart had called the PSR the 13th Penn. Regiment in his weekly returns, and on Nov. 12, 1777, the PSR was officially designated the 13th Pennsylvania Regiment of the Continental Line.
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