13th Continental Regiment

13th Continental Regiment
6th Massachusetts Regiment
Read's Regiment
13th Continental Regiment; 6th Massachusetts Regiment; Read's Regiment
	;
Active	1775–1776
Country	United States of America
Allegiance	Continental Army
Type	Infantry
Engagements	wikipedia:Siege of Boston; Wikipedia:New York Campaign; Wikipedia:Battle of Trenton
Commanders
Notable; commanders	Col. Joseph Read

First known as the 6th Massachusetts Regiment, then as The 13th Continental Regiment, but many family history records refer to service in Read's Regiment. This unit was raised April 23, 1775, as a Massachusetts militia regiment at Cambridge, Massachusetts, under Joseph Read (1732-1801). Many of its members came from the local minuteman brigades. The regiment would join the Continental Army in June 1775. The regiment saw action during the Siege of Boston, the New York Campaign and the Battle of Trenton. The regiment was disbanded on January 1, 1777, at Morristown, New Jersey.

Massachusetts Line: Complete list of Massachusetts Regiments in the American Revolutionary War.

Unit History[]

Battle of Pell's Point : 18-Oct-1776[]

On Oct 18th, 1776, the 13th Regiment (under Col. Joseph Read) was part of Gen Glover's Massachusetts Brigade at Pell's Point when the British invaded there. Gen Glover commanded four small regiments of Massachusetts infantry, all described a skeletal force not numbering more than 750 altogther. Gen. Howe landed his army at Pell's Point on the eastside of modern day Bronx, New York in another attempt to encircle Washington's army.

Gen Glover placed Colonel Read on the right of the road, near the great rock, (since known as Glover's Rock,) with the stone wall for breast- works. A little farther back, on the left of the road, he placed Colonel Shepard, and still farther back on the right. Colonel Baldwin, each behind the stone wall. On the hill in the rear, where he had planted his three guns, he posted the Marblehead Regiment. Then Glover with forty men moved down the road to meet the British.

After a little skirmish with their advance guard, which was quickly reenforced, he fell slowly back until the enemy were within the range of Read's guns; when he and his men each rose from behind the wall, took aim and poured a terrible raking fire into the ranks of the advancing enemy, from which, after a few rounds, they recoiled and fell back. Being reenforced, the enemy again moved forward but to meet Read's guns as before.

Read held them until he had fired four rounds, then it was his turn to retreat and he fell back. The British pushed forward, but only to meet the raking fire from Shepard 's Regiment on the left. Shepard held them for an hour and then retreated. The British thought they then had a free field and moved forward with a quickened step, but were soon brought to a halt by the guns of Baldwin's Regiment on the right that had been reenforced by Read. A severe battle followed, night was coming on. Glover fell slowly back to the hill where his guns were stationed. The British fell back to the road to New Rochelle, went into camp and waited until the 26th instance for reenforcements.