According to "A Brief History of the Commander-in-Chief Guards with Roster" by Donald N. Moran on www.revolutionarywararchives.org/cncguard.html -- a website "Dedicated to George Washington and the men of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard who protected him" - Washington issued the following orders on March 11, 1776.:
"'The General is desirous of selecting a particular number of men as a guard for himself and baggage. The Colonel or Commanding Officer of each of the established regiments, the artillery and riflemen excepted, will furnish him with four, that the number of wanted may be chosen out of them. His Excellency depends upon the Colonels for good men, such as they can recommend for their sobriety, honesty and good behavior. He wishes them to be from five feet eight inches to five feet ten inches, handsomely and well made, and as there is nothing in his eyes more desirable than cleanliness in a soldier, he desires that particular attention be made in the choice of such men as are clean and spruce. They are to be at headquarters tomorrow precisely at 12 o'clock at noon, when the number wanted will be fixed upon. The General neither wants them with uniforms nor arms, nor does he desire any man to be sent to him that is not perfectly willing or desirous of being in this Guard. - They should be drilled men.'"
Moran continues:
"The next morning Washington selected Captain Caleb Gibbs of the 14th Massachusetts Continental Regiment to command the Guard and George Lewis, his nephew, as the Lieutenant. He entrusted them with the details of organizing the unit. "The Commander-in-Chief Guard, officially designated 'His Excellency's Guard,' or 'The General's Guard,' was popularly called by the soldiers 'The Life Guards', 'The Washington Life Guards', or 'Washington Body Guard.' On April 15th, 1777 Congress decreed that these appellations were improper and ordered the practice stopped. Gibb's frequently signed his correspondence as 'Commandant C-in-C Guards,'while Washington referred to them as 'My Guards.' "Unfortunately, the first detailed account of the C-in-C Guards involved a plot to assassinate General Washington. Briefly, on May 24th, 1776, The C-in-C Guards set up camp near Richmond Hill on Manhattan Island. Anticipating Washington's arrival, a group of New York Tories (Loyalists to the British Crown) formed a secret organization on May 13th. Their primary objective was the assassination of George Washington. The plot was uncovered and the Provincial Congress took immediate action. Several Tories, including the City's Mayor, David Matthews, were arrested. Simultaneously, Washington, with Captain Gibbs and a party of hand-picked men arrested some forty alleged conspirators. Among them were C-in-C Guards Sergeant Thomas Hickey; Drummer William Green; Fifer James Johnson; Privates John Barnes and Michael Lynch. "At the Court Martial the testimony given was enough to send Hickey to the gallows. Hickey was Irish born, but had deserted from the British Army and enlisted in the Guard. He was hanged on June 28th in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators."
A roster of “The Known Members of the Commander-In-Chief’s Guard” on this website lists "Thomas Hickey [Rank] Sergeant, [Life] ? - 1776, [Service] 1776-1776 Court martial Treason - hanged 28 June 1776". Other members have the unit from which they came listed, but not Hickey.
Then, through more Internet searching, I came across a book that might answer my questions about the contingent from which Hickey had transferred - The Commander-in-Chief's Guard: Revolutionary War by Carlos E. Godfrey Published in 1904.
"Over 350 officers and men formed the personal guard of General Washington, and the rosters and service records contained herein make this work a virtual Revolutionary War honor roll. The first part is a history of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard from its formation on March 11, 1776 to its dissolution on December 20, 1783. The second part contains the service records of the officers and men, alphabetically arranged, and includes basic information such as date and place of enlistment, rank, company, regiment, date transferred to the Guard, battles and skirmishes engaged in, and casualties incidental thereto."
I now began to hope that this book, along with Benson J. Lossing's History of the American Revolution, mentioned frequently as a source of the Hickey saga would close the loop on Hickey's Wethersfield connection.
Go to Next Chapter
Go to Thomas Hickey Table of Contents
Go to Wethersfield Historical Society Home Page
No comments:
Post a Comment