The Colorful History of a Revolutionary War Regiment

Book Review

Weaver, Philip D. The 3rd New Jersey in New-York: Stories from “The Jersey Greys” of 1776. Highland, NY: Continental Consulting, 2020.

Scholars and readers tend to focus on the larger Revolutionary War campaigns and battles as they often portent key turning points. However, regimental histories are another book genre essential to understanding the rebellion. Regimental histories tell the story of an individual unit from the soldiers’ perspective during their service period. Typically, regimental historians interpret primary sources such as official military records, personal diaries, letters, and firsthand accounts written by the unit’s officers and soldiers. Regimental histories describe not only combat and campaigning but also the daily activities between battles. Historian Philip D. Weaver does an admirable job recounting the first year of the 3^rd New Jersey Continental Regiment.

In 1776, American generals sent the 3^rd New Jersey Regiment, nicknamed the “Jersey Greys,” into upstate New York. Originally planned to join the Canadian invasion, Maj. Gen. Philip Schuyler, the Northern Commander, revectored the regiment into the Mohawk Valley to confront attacks from Loyalists and Indians. The region experienced bitter fighting among the Patriots and the Loyalists throughout the war, with individual Native American factions aligning with a side.

Based on a wealth of diaries and memoirs, Weaver’s meticulous research provides a comprehensive and detailed account of the Jersey Greys’ activities in the contentious Central New York region. The unit’s record, as described by the author, is both colorful and checkered, with instances of desertion, theft, court martials, and duels in the Mohawk Valley. However, Weaver’s careful selection and interpretation of these primary sources ensure that the regiment’s issues are not sensationalized, but rather presented in a balanced and historically accurate manner, reflecting the challenges faced by all Continental Army regiments.

After transfer from the Mohawk Valley to static garrison duty at Fort Ticonderoga, the regiment endured a harsh winter and associated sickness and death. In the Spring of 1777, the regiment returned to New Jersey and received discharges on Morristown Green. Soldiers who enlisted for the duration of the war received twenty-day furloughs, and the rest returned to their homes.

Readers seeking exciting stories about life between battles will enjoy The 3^rd New Jersey in New-York. All will benefit from the extensive use of primary sources, including diaries, correspondence, and military orders.