List of British units in the American Revolutionary War

This is a list of British units in American Revolutionary War which took part in the conflict, fighting against the American rebels and their French, Spanish and Dutch allies in the Americas, Europe and Asia. In addition to the British Army, the list includes German auxiliary units along with provincial and irregular units formed raised in North America and the West Indies. No battle honours were ever awarded to British regiments who fought in America as it was seen by the British to be a civil war. Four battle honours were, however, awarded for actions against the French and Spanish in the West Indies and other theatres.

Of the British Army regiments raised during the war, primarily for military service in North America or the Caribbean, only three, the 23rd Light Dragoons and the 73rd and 78th Foot, survived the post-war reductions in the Army. The 23rd Light Dragoons (later the 19th Light Dragoons) served in India until 1806; the 73rd (renumbered 71st in 1786) later became part of the Highland Light Infantry while the 78th (renumbered 72nd in 1786) became part of the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs) in 1881. The newly raised 85th Foot, 86th Foot, 87th Foot, 88th Foot, 89th Foot, 90th Foot, 91st Foot, 92nd Foot, 93rd Foot, 94th Foot and 99th Foot were stationed on garrison duty in the West Indies. All were disbanded at the end of the war.

Infantry units which remained in the British Isles during the war included the 2nd Foot (Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)), the 11th Foot (Devonshires), the 12th Foot (Suffolk), the 25th Foot (King's Own Scottish Borderers) at Sussex, the 32nd Foot at Cornwall, the 36th Foot at Herefordshire, the 39th Foot at East Middlesex, the 41st Foot, the 51st Foot and the 81st Foot. The 78th Foot, the 83rd Foot and the 95th Foot were stationed in Jersey, where they defeated a French invasion of the island in 1781 (the Battle of Jersey). Other regiments were in service in India or Gibraltar.

British Army units

Cavalry

Infantry

Foot guards

Brigade of Foot Guards (raised from the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards and 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards)
- 1st Battalion
- 2nd Battalion

Regular infantry

American establishment

1st American Regiment (formerly the Queen's Rangers) (1756–1783)
2nd American Regiment (formerly the Volunteers of Ireland, placed on British establishment, in 1782, as 105th Regiment of Foot) (1778-1784)
3rd American Regiment (formerly the New York Volunteers) (1776-1783)
4th American Regiment (formerly the King's American Regiment, placed on British establishment, in 1782, possibly as the 110th Regiment of Foot) (1776-1783)
5th American Regiment (formerly the British Legion, placed on British establishment, in 1782, as Tarleton's Dragoons) (1777-1782)

His Majesty's Marine Forces

1st Battalion
2nd Battalion

Loyalist units

Provincial Corps

American Legion (1780–1783)
American Volunteers (1779–1780)
Armed Boat Company (1781–1783)
Black Company of Pioneers (also, known as the Black Pioneers, later merged into the Guides and Pioneers in 1778), (pioneers, another name for military construction engineers) (1777–1778)
British Legion (placed on American establishment in 1781 as 5th American Regiment) (1777–1778)
Bucks County Dragoons (absorbed by British Legion in 1780) (1778–1780)
Butler's Rangers (1777–1784)
Caledonian Volunteers (formed part of the British Legion in 1778) (1777–1778)
Campbell's Dragoons (South Carolina Dragoons) (1781)
Canadian Companies (1777–1783)
Claus' Rangers^[1]^[2] (1775–1783)
Collett's Independent Company (1777)
De Lancey's Brigade (1776–1783)
Detroit Volunteers (claimed descent from Roger's Rangers, later became 1st Battalion 119th Field Artillery Regiment, Michigan National Guard) (1778–1783)
Diemar's Troop of Black Hussars (also, known as Diemar's Hussars and Black Hussars), hussars, (light cavalry) (1779–1781)
Duke of Cumberland's Regiment (1781–1783)
Duchess County Company (1776–1777)
Emmerich's Chasseurs (chasseurs / light cavalry) (1777–1779)
Fenwick's Dragoons (South Carolina Dragoons) (1781)
Forshner's Independent Company (1780–1781)
Georgia Light Dragoons (there was also, a Local Volunteer Corps unit, of the same name) (1779–1781)
Georgia Loyalists (1779–1782)
Governor Wentworth's Volunteers (1777–1781)
Guides and Pioneers (absorbed the Black Company of Pioneers in 1778) (1778–1783)
Harkimer's Batteau Company (1780–1783)
Hierlihy's Corps
James Island Light Dragoons
King's American Dragoons
King's American Regiment (placed on American establishment, in 1781, as 4th American Regiment, part of the regular, British Army) (1776–1783)
King's Rangers
King's (Carolina) Rangers
King's Orange Rangers
King's Royal Regiment of New York
Kinloch's Light Dragoons (formed part of the British Legion in 1778)
Locke's Independent Company
Loyal American Rangers (1780–1783)
Loyal American Regiment
Loyal Foresters
Loyal New Englanders
Loyal Rangers
Loyal Rhode Islanders
Maryland Loyalists Battalion
McAlpin's Corps (also, known as McAlpin's Corps of Royalists, absorbed the American Volunteers, King’s Loyal Americans, Queen’s Loyal Rangers, and Adams' Rangers)
Nassau Blues
Newfoundland Regiment (placed on British establishment in 1782)
New Hampshire Volunteers
New Jersey Volunteers (Skinner's Greens)
Newport Artillery Company (Rhode Island) 1741
New York Volunteers (placed on American establishment, as 3rd American Regiment in 1779)
North Carolina Highlanders
North Carolina Independent Company
North Carolina Independent Dragoons
Pennsylvania Loyalists
Philadelphia Light Dragoons (formed part of the British Legion in 1778)
Prince of Wales's American Volunteers
Provincial Light Infantry
Queen's Rangers (placed on American establishment, in 1779, as 1st American Regiment, descended from Roger's Rangers)
Roman Catholic Volunteers (1777–1778)
Royal American Reformers
Royal Fencible Americans
Royal Garrison Battalion (placed on British establishment in 178
Royal Georgia Volunteers
Royal Highland Emigrants (placed on British establishment in 1779 as 84th Foot)
Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment
Saint John's Volunteers
Starkloff's Dragoons (South Carolina Dragoons) (1781)
South Carolina Rangers
South Carolina Royalists
Stewart's Troop of Light Dragoons
Van Alstine's Batteau Company
Volunteers of Ireland (absorbed the Roman Catholic Volunteers and New Jersey Volunteers and placed on American establishment, in 1779, as 2nd American Regiment, part of the regular, British Army) (1778–1782)
Volunteers of New England
West Florida Royal Foresters
West Jersey Volunteers

Local Volunteer Corps

Adams Company of Rangers (also, known as Adams' Rangers) (1777–1780)
Bay Fusiliers (also, known as Mosquito Shore Volunteers and Black River Volunteers) (1779–?)
Bucks County Volunteers (1778–1783)
Detroit Volunteers (1778–1783)
Dunlop's Corps (1780–1781)
East Florida Rangers (1776–1779)
East Florida Volunteers (1777–1780)
Ethiopian Regiment (1775–1776)
Georgia Light Dragoons (there was also, a Provincial Corps unit, of the same name) (1781–1782)
Georgia Rangers (1773–1776)
Georgia Rifle Dragoons (1779)
King's Dock Yard Volunteers (1780)
King's Loyal Americans (1776–1781)
Loyal Volunteers of the City of New York, under the command of Mayor David Mathews
Mackay's Corps (also, known as Mackay’s Corps of Royalists, Pfister's Corps of Royalists, and Leake's Corps of Royalists) (1777–1781)
Mayor's Independent Company of Volunteers of New York City under the command of Loyalist Mayor David Mathews
McAlpin's Corps of Royalists (also, known as McAlpin's Corps and American Volunteers) (1777–1781)
Mosquito Shore Volunteers (also, known as Bay Fusiliers and Black River Volunteers) (1779–?)
Natchez Volunteers (1781)
Negro Volunteers (1779)
Newfoundland Volunteers (1779–1980)
North Carolina Volunteers (1776)
Queen's Loyal Rangers (1777–1781)
Queen's Loyal Virginia Regiment (absorbed by Queen's Rangers in 1776) (1776–1783)
Queen's Royal Rangers (1775–1776)
Rattan and Black River Volunteers (1780–1781)
Royal Bateaux Volunteers (bateau|batteux) (1779–1781)
Royal Ethiopian Regiment (disbanded) (1775–1776)
Virginia Light Horse (1776)
Virginia Volunteers (1781)
Volunteers of Augusta (1781–1782)
West Florida Provincials (1778–1781)
West Florida Refugees (1777–1781)

German auxiliary units

Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst

Rauschenplatt's Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst's Regiment (2 battalions, 1 infantry in Quebec (1778), and 1 "Pandour" in New York (1780))
Nuppenau's Jäger Company
Company of Artillery

Margrave of Ansbach and Bayreuth

1st Regiment Anspach (later Regiment von Volt; 1st Anspach Battalion)
2nd Regiment Bayreuth (later Regiment Seybothen; 2nd Anspach Battalion)
Anspach Jäger Company

Duchy of Brunswick

Electorate of Hanover

Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel)

Combined Regiment von Loos
Fusilier Regiment von Dittfurth
Fusilier Regiment Erbprinz (later Musketeer Regiment (1780))
Fusilier Regiment von Knyphausen
Fusilier Regiment von Lossburg
Grenadier Regiment von Rall (later von Wöllwarth (1777); von Trümbach (1779); d'Angelelli (1781))
- 1st Battalion Grenadiers von Linsing
- 2nd Battalion Grenadiers von Block (later von Lengerke)
- 3rd Battalion Grenadiers von Minnigerode (later von Loewenstein)
- 4th Battalion Grenadiers von Koehler (later von Graff; von Platte)
Garrison Regiment von Bünau
Garrison Regiment von Huyne (later von Benning)
Garrison Regiment von Stein (later von Seitz; von Porbeck)
Garrison Regiment von Wissenbach (later von Knoblauch)
Jäger Corps
Leib Infantry Regiment
Musketeer Regiment von Donop
Musketeer Regiment von Trümbach (later Von Bose (1779))
Musketeer Regiment von Mirbach (later Jung von Lossburg (1780))
Musketeer Regiment Prinz Carl
Musketeer Regiment von Wutginau (later Landgraf (1777))

County of Hesse-Hanau

Principality of Waldeck

3rd Waldeck Regiment

References

Baer, Friederike. Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War (Oxford University Press, 2022). Website. ISBN 9780190249632.
Katcher, Philip, Encyclopaedia of British, Provincial and German Army Units 1775–1783, 1973, ISBN 0-8117-0542-0
History of Hanoverian troops in Gibraltar: Minorca and the East Indies (in German)
List of British Loyalist Regiments - The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies
Regiments.org
Revwar75 - Crown Forces
the King's Own Patriots
The Hessians in the Revolution

Specific

^ Mary Beacock Fryer (1980). King's Men: The Soldier Founders of Ontario. Toronto: Dundurn. pp. 32, 77, 85, 94, 101, 105, 131, 135, 143, 348, 361. ISBN 9780919670518.
^ Charles Oscar Paullin and Frederic Logan Paxson (1914). "Guide to the Materials in London Archives for the History of the United States Since 1783, Issue 90, Part 2". Washington DC: Carnegie Institution of Washington. p. 538.
^ Newland, Samuel J. The Pennsylvania Militia:Defending the Commonwealth and the nation, 1669–1870 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs (2002)pp36-45
^ Jonathan D. Sutherland (2003). African Americans at War. ABC-CLIO. pp. 420–421. ISBN 9781576077467. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
^ Black Loyalists:Our History, Our People. Canada's Digital Collection. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "List of British Loyalist Associators - The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies".

External links

[1] Mary Beacock Fryer (1980). King's Men: The Soldier Founders of Ontario. Toronto: Dundurn. pp. 32, 77, 85, 94, 101, 105, 131, 135, 143, 348, 361. ISBN 9780919670518.

[2] Charles Oscar Paullin and Frederic Logan Paxson (1914). "Guide to the Materials in London Archives for the History of the United States Since 1783, Issue 90, Part 2". Washington DC: Carnegie Institution of Washington. p. 538.

[Newland-3] Newland, Samuel J. The Pennsylvania Militia:Defending the Commonwealth and the nation, 1669–1870 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs (2002)pp36-45

[4] Jonathan D. Sutherland (2003). African Americans at War. ABC-CLIO. pp. 420–421. ISBN 9781576077467. Retrieved 4 May 2010.

[The_Black_Pioneers-5] Black Loyalists:Our History, Our People. Canada's Digital Collection. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.

[rlist-6] "List of British Loyalist Associators - The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies".

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