VINTAGE VIEWS OF NEW YORK
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       FEATURED POSTCARDS
      THE UNIFORMS OF FORT TICONDEROGA
          AMERICAN REGIMENTS
          BRITISH REGIMENTS AT FORT TICONDEROGA
          THE POSTCARDS
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          AMERICAN REGIMENTS

          The late Colonel Harry C. Larter, Jr., U. S. A. made his first water color of a uniform of a regiment for Fort Ticonderoga when he was a lieutenant. Over the years, before his untimely death, he researched and painted twelve French Regiments, twelve American Regiments and twelve German Regiments for the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. In each series he chose regiments which would best illustrate a cross section of the army units.
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          The regiments in the American series are but a sampling of the American troops stationed at Fort Ticonderoga during the period between its capture by Ethan Allen, May 10, 1775 and the evacuation of the Fort by the Americans before General Sir John Burgoyne's great army in July, 1777. The uniforms illustrated were not the "rag, tag and bobtail" or the "rabble in arms" so often associated, in exaggeration, with American troops. It is true that troops were not always as well turned out as the ones illustrated but they were remarkably presentable. Troops long in the field improvised with any item at hand, whether it was an old tent or a confiscated or captured uniform of the enemy. The men looked no better nor worse than soldiers on any battlefield, even soldiers today. The supplies and supply trains of the Revolution were often non-existent and the problem of logistics was not simple.
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          In the beginning of the Revolution there was no vast storage of uniforms for the troops to draw on. The spirit of liberty alone outfitted the troops and men appeared in any outfit they could put together to fight for the cause of freedom. In most cases there was little semblance of uniformity and civilian dress would appear alongside a uniform from the earlier French and Indian War provincial regiments. The provincial troops of the French and Indian Wars had established the beginnings of a uniform system, but that was in the past and a new system was gradually evolving. The uniforms followed a pattern in style that was universal at that period of time in England; France or Prussia, with some modifications of one sort or another.

          The Colonies outfitting their troops in the Revolution had a natural aversion to the red of the British coats, though even that color was used by some Colonies. The favorite color was blue faced with red, but green and a variety of browns were used. Green was still popular with ranger outfits. A wide range of facing colors appeared. Most typically American was the hunting shirt, generally of buckskin, though sometimes of homespun and dyed or bleached. Officers did not care for troops in such casual dress, but the hunting shirt in different patterns and styles appeared more and more. In 1775, the Continental Congress had decreed brown as the official color and contrary to popular belief, blue and buff were not traditional of the American uniform until 1779, when dark blue became a standard color. The facings were to be different: New England troops, white; New York and New Jersey, buff; Middle Atlantic, red; and southern, blue.

          However, Fort Ticonderoga's connection with both Continental and Militia regiments had ended before these decrees went into effect. By 1777, the uniform situation had improved somewhat and official "clothiers" for the Army had accomplished a fairly successful clothing system. Both cloth and uniforms began to arrive from France and much usable material had been captured from the British.

          Fort Ticonderoga became unimportant after 1777 when the campaigns shifted to other regions, but in that brief span of two years (1775-77), many Militia and Continental regiments were at Fort Ticonderoga. Only the most diligent researching compiles the list and it can not be stated arbitrarily that the list is complete. The American troops did not have the set and formal regimental organization the British had. Individuals and whole militia regiments often went home when terms of enlistment ran out: to care for their crops and farms, businesses and for many other personal reasons. Expiring enlistments and re-enlistments made difficult the compiling of the number of men in the garrison from day to day.

          Many regiments gathered and were dispersed at Fort Ticonderoga for the Canadian campaign under General Richard Montgomery. In July of 1776, there were sixteen regiments in garrison at Fort Ticonderoga, and in September of that same year there were ten other regiments before the battle of Valcour Island. At the time of the evacuation of Fort Ticonderoga, in July 1777, there were approximately twenty continental and militia regiments here, some few of which were the same regiments at the Fort the previous year. The winter garrisons were much reduced in size and only four regiments were garrisoned at the Fort during the winter of 1776-77. It was perhaps fortunate that the number was moderately low as the suffering was more acute than at Valley Forge, though less publicized. The men were more destitute of food and all kinds of supplies, the weather immeasurably colder and the losses among the four regiments from illness and cold, bitter weather will probably never be known.
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          BRITISH REGIMENTS AT FORT TICONDEROGA
          During the French and Indian Wars, the following British Regiments saw service at Fort Ticonderoga (Carillon) against the French. The campaign of 1758 under General James Abercromby ended in defeat while the campaign of 1759 under General Jeffrey Amherst was successful.
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           1st Regiment of Foot (The Royal  Regiment)                 1759
           17th Regiment of Foot                                                      1759
           27th Regiment of Foot (The Enniskillen)             1758  1759
           42nd Highland Regiment (The Black Watch)     1758  1759
           44th Regiment of Foot                                            1758
           46th Regiment of Foot                                            1758
           55th Regiment of Foot                                            1758  1759
           60th Regiment of Foot (The Royal Americans)   1758
           77th Regiment of Foot
              (Archibald Montgomery Highlanders)            1759
           80th Regiment of Foot
              (Gage's Light Infantry)                                      1758  1759
               Major Allan Campbell's Grenadiers                  1759
               The Royal Regiment of Artillery                        1758  1759
          In the campaigns of 1758 and 1759, the regular British troops  were supplemented by the Provincial Regiments of the several colonies.
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          During the War of the Revolution, the first British Regiment to come in contact with the troops of the rebelling colonies was:
            The 26th Regiment of Foot
            In garrison at Fort Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775 at the time of the capture by Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys in the first aggressive act of the Revolution.
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          The following British Regiments accompanied General Sir John Burgoyne in the northern invasion and passed through Fort Ticonderoga in the early summer of 1777:
            The entire Regiments of:
            9th Regiment of Foot 24th Regiment of Foot
            20th Regiment of Foot 47th Regiment of Foot
            21st Regiment of Foot 62nd Regiment of Foot
          The Light Companies and Grenadier Companies of:
            29th Regiment of Foot 34th Regiment of Foot
            31st Regiment of Foot 53rd Regiment of Foot
          Also:
            The Royal Artillery
            The Royal Irish Artillery
            and a small detachment from the 33rd Regiment of Foot
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          There were ten companies of Light Infantry, including the ones from the entire regiments, and were under the command of the Earl of Balcarros. Major John Acland was in command of the ten companies of Grenadiera from the entire regiments and the special detachments. The Light Infantry Companies, on the left, and the Grenadier Companies, on the right, were the "shock" troops of the army.
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          In the Burgoyne campaign, the British troops were supplemented by German troops.
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          Regimental Histories
          Histories of British Regiments are sometimes confusing to researchers due to the complicated numbering and re.numbering. Regiments in existence today do not always trace their heritage to regiments of the same number in the past. Regiments were raised, numbered and later disbanded, and other regiments were re-numbered to take their places. In some cases, regiments became second battalions of other regiments and in other cases second battalions became other regiments.
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          The period of history concerned with Fort Ticonderoga followed the Royal Warrant of 1751 in the French and Indian Wars, and the Royal Warrant of 1768 in the Revolution. In the early 1700's the regiments were more or less the property of the CoLonels who raised and outfitted them. They bore the name of the Colonel and wore his colors and crest. The Royal Warrant of 1751 contained printed orders for regiments to be known by the number of the regiment, and the Royal Warrant of 1768 put that number on the buttons of the uniform. The Warrant was also emphatic in prohibiting the Colonel to use his crest on any part of the uniform.
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          Buttons
          Numbered military buttons have always been helpful in tracing the movement of troops, and if found in great quantities indicate that the whole regiment or a large part of it served or bivouacked at a certain place. It is of interest that though General Burgoyne's troops paused but briefly at Fort Ticonderoga after the evacuation by the American forces, buttons of each regiment with Burgoyne have been found in excavation work at Fort Ticonderoga.
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          No numbered buttons found at Fort Ticonderoga can be attributed to any regiment serving here in the French and Indian Wars as both campaigns at Fort Ticonderoga pre-date the Warrant numbering buttons.
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          Quantities of buttons of regiments which saw no service at Fort Ticonderoga subsequent to the numbering of buttons are also found at Fort Ticonderoga. The regimental buttons bearing the numerals "27" and "60" are illustrative examples of such regiments. The 27th Regiment was at Fort Ticonderoga in 1758 and 1759 and the 60th Regiment in 1758. The "27" button has in addition the word "Enniskillen" of the pre "Inniskilling" spelling. The 60th Royal American Regiment was also in garrison at Fort Ticonderoga in 1765, but that too was prior to the numbering of buttons. Specialists of one kind or another, blacksmiths, armourers, soldiers joining their regiments, courriers, deserters and prisoners account for the buttons of regiments not in service at Fort Ticonderoga after the Warrant of 1768.
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          In some cases, the finding of buttons of regiments may offer one or more possibilities. A portion of the 26th Regiment, for example, was in garrison at Fort Ticonderoga at the time of its capture by Ethan Allen in 1775, but additional men of the 26th Regiment who had been left at Chambly and St. John's were taken prisoner later that same year, with the 7th regiment, also in garrision at Chambly and St. Johns. Men of both regiments were held in the Fort Ticonderoga dungeons for some period of time, and buttons of both regiments have been found here. Of the 7th Regiment, Major John Andre was held as prisoner at Fort Ticonderoga.
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          Buttons of some regiments are extremely rare. The officer's gilt button of the 62nd Regiment, now in the museum, is the only 62nd regimental button of that period in existence. Of all Burgoyne's regiments, the 21st, 62nd and 53rd were "gold" regiments. All appointments of the officers' (lace, buttons and belt plate) were gilt. All the other regiments of foot with Burgoyne were "silver" regiments. Revolutionary officers' buttons had bone or ivory backs and gilt-silver repousse. The privates' buttons had iron wire shank backs and were faced with white metal or pewter.

          Special Identification Devices
          The red coats of the British made identification extremely difficult and various devices have been used to distinguish the regiments. The turn-backs or facings of the red coats were of a variety of colors and in 1768 twenty.two facing colors were used. The variations of the same colors made even that confusing, plus the fact that the facings of all "Royal" regiments were blue. The combination of worms or stripes on the lace offered another identification device and even the grouping of the buttons in two's and three's made identification easier.

          Flags
          Regimental flags offered identification on the field. They were the color of the facings of the regiments with symbols and numbers centered. The regimental flag was always in the center of the regiment and showed the regiment's exact location. At the same time, the flag's location was to protect the flag as it was completely surrounded by its own men, and to lose one's regimental flag was indicative of the capture or defeat of the regiment. The men protected the regimental flag at all costs, even with their lives.
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          Twelve of the uniforms of the British Regiments which saw service at Fort Ticonderoga are illustrated in this booklet. The reproductions are from a collection of water colors by Alex R. Cattley of England and presented to the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.
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          For over thirty years Mr. Cattley made a study of British regimental uniforms of the Fretch and Indian Wars and the Revolution. From his research, he compiled data on uniforms until he became an accepted authority on British uniforms and accoutrements of that period. Mr. Cattley was an artist as well as a skilled and persistent researcher. In general he was able to interpret his research as he had compiled it. However in his water colors the waistcoats and facings appear to be too short, and the collars do not seem flat enough in the rear. Additionally the hats look to be improperly cocked but it is rather the placement on the head. The few shortcomings in execution, however, do not in any way impair the excellent detail of the uniforms.
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          Text by Eleanor Murray
          Curator, Fort Ticonderoga Museum
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          Fort Ticonderoga
            Areial View of Fort Ticonderoga
            Green Mountain Ranger - Warner's Regt.
            Drummer - 2nd Canadian Regt. 'Congress's Own'
            Rifleman - 4th Penn. Bn. - Wayne's
            Sergeant of Marines - from 1st Penna Ba.
            Scout - 6th Continentals, Mass - Whitcomb's Rangers
            Grenadier, 21st Regiment (Royal North British Fuziliers)
            Private, The Royal Highland Regiment, The 42nd (The Black Watch)
            Private of the Light Company, 46th British Regiment
            Gunner, Royal Regiment of Artillery
            von Barner, Brunswick Jaegers
            von Specht, Brunswick Infantry Regiment
            Winter clothing issued to the Brunswick & Hesse-Hanau troops in Canada
            Grenadier Non-comissioned Officers
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