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17354 - 2nd MASSACHUSETTS REGIMENT, 1777 3pc Set
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| The 2nd Massachusetts Regiment traced
its lineage to Thomas' Massachusetts Regiment, one of twenty-seven
infantry regiments raised by the Bay Colony in the spring of 1775
after the outbreak of the American Revolution. Given an authorized
strength of 599 officers and men, Thomas' Regiment drew its personnel
from northern Plymouth County, forming them into ten companies. The
men enlisted to serve until December 31, 1775.
Incorporated into the Continental Army on June 14, 1775, Thomas' Regiment participated in the Siege of Boston as part of General George Washington's Main Army. On July 1, the unit changed its name to Bailey's Massachusetts Regiment. When Washington reorganized the Continental Army for 1776, he consolidated Bailey's Regiment with Cotton's Massachusetts Regiment, designating the new entity as the 23rd Continental Regiment. The 23rd was supposed to contain 723 officers and men enlisted for one year and divided into eight companies. Remaining with the Main Army, the 23rd endured defeat in Washington's unsuccessful defense of New York City and then tasted victory at Trenton and Princeton. On September 16, 1776, Congress necessitated another reorganization of the Continental Army by voting to raise eighty-eight infantry battalions for the duration of the war. On January 1, 1777, Washington combined the 23rd and 7th Continental Regiments, along with elements of the 13th and 21st, into an amalgam known as Bailey's Regiment. On February 9, 1777, Washington assigned Bailey's Regiment to the Northern Department to counter the pending British invasion of upstate New York. By mid-August 1777, Bailey's Regiment had joined the Massachusetts regiments of Colonels James Wesson and Michael Jackson, the 1st New York Regiment, and the 1st Canadian Regiment in the 4th Massachusetts Brigade under Brigadier General Ebenezer Learned. Learned's Brigade figured prominently in the Saratoga Campaign, assisting in the relief of Fort Stanwix, stiffening the American left flank at Freeman's Farm, and spearheading the attack that shattered the British right at Bemis Heights. Ordered to return to the Main Army on October 27, 1777, Bailey's
Regiment was reassigned to the Highlands Department a year later.
In 1779, it added a light infantry company to its table of organization
and was re-designated as the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment. The 2nd
Massachusetts remained in service until November 3, 1783, when it
was discharged |
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