Brief History of The 6th Pennsylvania Regiment of 1777
November 16, 1776 - Formerly known as the 5th Pennsylvania Battalion the entire unit was captured at Fort Washington, New York. The enlisted men were held by the British until December 26, 1776 when they were set free on parole.
January to June 1777 - During this period the unit was reorganized as the 6th Regiment with Colonel Henry Bicker as its commander. Many of the men who served in 1776 reenlisted and to these were added new recruits to fill out the regiment. In June the men refused to report at camp for duty as they thought they were still on parole and had not been properly exchanged. These concerns were overcome and the regiment joined the army later in the month.
June 26, 1777 - As part of Lord Stirling's Division the regiment probably joined the army in time to participate in the battle of Short Hills.
July to August 1777 - With the rest of Washington's army the 6th Regiment marched back and forth across New Jersey and into New York and Pennsylvania while trying to ascertain the destination of General Howe's army, which had embarked on the British fleet. During this time the brigade under General Thomas Conway, to which the 6th Regiment belonged, was reputed to be "the best instructed and disciplined" in the army. This was in spite of the fact that he "is detested by the officers of his brigade... because he makes his brigade work and personally drills and instructs it, instead of leaving it idle in camp.
September 11, 1777 - Stirling's Division takes part in the action on the right of Washington's army during the Battle of Brandywine. During the afternoon the forces under General John Sullivan fought with the enemy for almost two hours near Birmingham Meeting House. In this contest "Lord Sterling's Division & particularly Conway's Brigade" were seen to have "remarkably distinguished themselves." It was during this action that the "wives of several of the soldiers belonging to the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment.. took the empty canteens of their husbands and friends and returned them filled with water...during the hottest part of the engagement, although frequently cautioned as to the danger of coming into the line of fire."
October 4, 1777 - Brigadier General Thomas Conway's 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade, consisting of the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th Pennsylvania Regiments, was chosen to lead the main column of Washington's army in the attack on the British at the Battle of Germantown. Leading the assault column, Captain Jacob Bower's company of the 6th Pennsylvania attacked the British pickets at Mount Airy. Conway's Brigade continued to attack and eventually drove "the enemy a mile and a half below Chew's house" before being forced to retire. At least one company of the regiment joined in the assaults on the Chew House and lost a number of men.
December 19, 1777 - After an encampment of almost six weeks at Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania the army moved into its winter quarters at Valley Forge where they would remain for the next six months. It was here that they received a new commander, Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar, on January 1, 1778. Harmar would remain in this position until 1780. After the war he became the Commander of the First American Regiment, for a time they only infantry unit in the fledgling army of the independent United States.
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