MARKSMANSHIP

"Yesterday the Company were supplied with a small Quantity of Powder from the Magazine, which wanted airing, and was not in good Order for Rifles; in the Evening, however, they were drawn out, to shew the Gentlemen of the Town their Dexterity in shooting; a Clapboard with a Mark the Size of a Dollar, was put up; they began to fire off hand, and the Bystanders were surprized, few Shot being made that were not close to or in the Paper; when they shot for a Time in this Way, some lay on their Backs, some on their Breast or Side, others ran 20 or 30 Steps and firing, appeared to be equally certain of their Mark - With this Performance the Company were more than satisfied, when a young Man took up the Board in his hand, not by the End but the Side, and holding it up, his Brother walked to the Distance and very coolly shot into the white; laying down his Rifle, he took the Board, and holding as it was held before, the second Brother shot as the former had done. - By this exercise I was more astonished then pleased. But will you believe me when I tell you that one of the Men took the Board and placing it between his Legs, stood with his Back to the Tree, while another drove the center.”
- Taken from a letter from Fredericktown, Maryland, Aug.1st as published in the Pennsylvania Gazette 16 August 1775.

"On my return from Richmond, I witnessed the mode that renders the Virginian rifle-men so expert in use of arms -- as great numbers were assembled, shooting at marks, and which I understand, long before the commencement of the war, was the constant diversion in this country; so certain are they of hitting, that they are not fearful of holding the board at arm's length; nay, some are so little apprehensive of danger, that they will place it between their legs for another to fire at".
- Anburey, Thomas, Travels Through the Interior Parts of America ..., New York: NY Times and Arno Press, 1969, (Vol II, p. 414-15, near Charlottesville, in Virginia, 4 August, 1779).

The Baroness von Riedesel, wife of German Maj. Gen. Frederick von Riedesel, during the cannonade of Saratoga: "We had no water because the enemy shot every man in the head who went near the river." American snipers finally permitted a soldier's wife to run to the river. (McDowell, The Revolutionary War,1970).

"Saturday, the 17th of August (1776)- Most of our officers must cut the rank insiginia from their uniforms, supposedly because the rebel so-called riflemen had their greatest interest in officers, and so that these will not be distinguishable from privates, gold and silver insignia will not be worn, and now in many regiments all uniforms are similar...."
Lieut. Johann Heinrich von Bardeleben
Hesse-Cassel von Donop Regiment

"He [the captain] to a board of a foot square and with chalk drew the shape of a moderate nose in the center and nailed it up to a tree at one hundred and fifty yards distance, and those who came nighest the mark with a single ball was to go [become a member of the company]. But by the first forty or fifty that fired, the nose was all blown out of the board, and by his company was up [had the full compliment of men] the board shared the same fate."
John Harrower, June 1st, 1775, an indentured servant serving as a teacher at a plantation school in VA. He describes the process for the selection of men for a rifle company from VA when too many men show up to volunteer.

 

ATTIRE

"They have besides [the militia and light infantry] a body of irregulars or riflemen, whose dress it is hard to describe. They take a piece of ticklenburg or tow cloth that is stout and put it in a tanvat until it has the shade of a dry or fading leaf. Then they make a kind of frock of it, reaching down below the knee, open before, with a large cape. They wrap it around them tight on a march, and tie it with their belt, in which hangs their tomahawk."
Silas Dean April 20th, 1775, Letter describing the army around Boston

After The Battle of Long Island, September 1776, describing dead riflemen on the battle field: "They wear black, white, or purple linen blouses with fringe on their sleaves and collars in Spanish fashion."
- Revolution in America; Confidential Letters and Journals 1776-1784 of Adjutant General Major Baurmeister of the Hessian Forces, Translated by Bernhard A. Uhlendorf, Lib. of Congress # 57-6221

"Seeing that I was surrounded, and hoping they belonged to General Sullivan's army, I went quickly to the door, and to my great surprise saw that they were not in uniform, as I expected, but were entirely in Indian dress. I thought they were Tories, but as I afterwards learned, the one at the door was a sergeant of the riflemen, and the other two were privates."
- Edward Merrifield, Luke Swetland's Captivity, Scranton, PA 1915 (Page 42) Describing Swetland's rescue by American troops during the Sullivan campaign against the Indians.

"The Uniform of Morgan’s Regiment was a short frock made of pepper and salt colored cloth like a common working frock worn by our country people, except that it was short and open before, to be tied with strings; pantaloons of the same fabric and color, and some kind of a cap, but I do not remember it’s form. This was their summer dress."
- 19th Century Pension Papers Describing Daniel Morgan’s Company of Riflemen in 1775

"His men were armed, each with a rifle, a tomahawk, and a long Knife. They were dressed with flannel shirts, cloth or buckskin breeches, buckskin leggins, and moccasins. Over these clothes they wore hunting-shirts made for the most part, of brown linen, some of buckskin, and a few of linsey woolsey. These shirts were confined to the waist by belts, in which they carried their knives and tomahawks. Morgan's company wore caps, on which appeared the words "liberty or death." For himself, he appears to have adopted the Indian dress on this expedition. When met by the exploring party on their return from the head waters of the Chaudiere, he wore leggins, and a cloth in the Indian style. His thighs, which were exposed to view on that occasion, appeared to be lacerated by the thorns and bushes."
- James Graham, The Life of General Daniel Morgan, Derby & Jackson, New York. 1856

"Declarant states that he was stationed at Fort Pitt, the place aforesaid. Declarant states that in obedience to the order of his said Captain Brady, he proceeded to tan his thighs and legs with wild cherry and white oak bark and to equip himself after the following manner, to wit, a breechcloth, leather leggins, moccasins and a cap made out of a racoon skin, with the feathers of a hawk, painted after the manner of an Indian warrior. His face painted red with three black stripes across his cheeks, which was a signification of war. Declarant states that Captain Brady’s company was about sixty-four in number, all painted after the manner aforesaid."
- George Roush, , 19th Century Pension Papers, Describing his Cloathing In 1777.

"I have had the happiness of seeing Captain Michael Cresap marching at the head of a formidable company of upwards of one hundred and thirty men, from the mountains and backwoods, painted like Indians, armed with tomahawks and rifles, dressed in hunting shirts and moccasins,"
- Extract From A Letter to a Gentleman in Philadelphia, 1775.

"His under-dress, by no means in a military style, was covered by a deep ash-colored hunting shirt, leggins and moccasins, if the latter could be procured. It was the silly fashion of those times for the riflemen to ape the manner of savages ..."
- John Joseph Henry, An Accurate and Interesting Account of the Hardships and Sufferings of That Band of Heros, Who Traversed Thru The Wilderness in the Campaign Against Quebec in 1775.

See also the Deserter Report January 4, 1777, The Pennsylvania Packet

 

EQUIPMENT

"Their guns, having rifled barrels five feet long, are much too heavy for one to aim well without support. They have a kind of cartridge box, from which hangs a powder horn and in which is a wooden frame holding twenty-three cartridges."
- Revolution in America; Confidential Letters and Journals 1776-1784 of Adjutant General Major Baurmeister of the Hessian Forces, Translated by Bernhard A. Uhlendorf, Lib. of Congress # 57-6221

"I have formed two companies of grenadiers to each regiment, and with spears of 13 feet long. Their rifle (for they are all riflemen) slung over their shoulders, their appearance is formidable, and the men are conciliated to the weapon. I am likewise furnishing myself with four-ounced rifle-amusettes, which will carry an infernal distance; the two-ounced hit a half-sheet of paper 500 yards distant."
-Charles Lee, Letter to George Washington, 1776.

"Sirs: I am favor'd with yours of the 16th. The Spears have come to hand, and are very handy and will be useful to the Rifle Men. But they would be more conveniently carried, if they had a sling fixed to them, they should also have a spike in the but end to fix them in the ground and they would serve as a rest for the Rifle. The iron plates which fix the spear head to the shaft, should be at least eighteen inches long to prevent the Shaft from being cut through, with a stroke of a Horseman's Sword. Only those intended for the Rifle Men, should be fixed with Slings and Spikes in the end, those for the Light Horse need neither. There will be 500 wanting for Rifle Men, as quick as possible."
- George Washington, Letter to the Board of War, 1777.

"Each man of the three companies bore a rifle-barreled gun, a tomahawk, or small axe, and a long knife, usually called a ‘scalping knife’, which served for all purposes, in the woods."
- John Joseph Henry, An Accurate and Interesting Account of the Hardships and Sufferings of That Band of Heros, Who Traversed Thru The Wilderness in the Campaign Against Quebec in 1775.

 

DUTIES

"To Col. Morgan- Sir: The Corps of Rangers newly formed, and under your command, are to be considered as a body of Light Infantry, and are to act as such, for which reason they will be exempted from the common duties of the line.
At present you are to take post at Van Vechten's Bridge, and watch, with very small scouting parties (to avoid fatiguing your men too much under the present appearance of things), the enemy's left flank, and particularly the roads leading from Brunswick towards Millstone, Princeton, &c.
In case of any movement of the enemy, you are to instantly fall upon their flanks, and gall them as much as possible, taking special care not to be surrounded, or have your retreat to the army cut off.
I have sent for spears, which I expect shortly to receive and deliver to you, as a defence against horse. Till you are furnished with these, take care not to be caught in such a situation, as to give then any advantage over you. Given under my hand at head-quarters, Middlebrook, the 13th of June, 1777." George Washington. - James Graham, The Life of General Daniel Morgan, Derby & Jackson, New York. 1856.