The First
New Hampshire Regiment is a recreation of one of the three regiments of
"regulars" from New Hampshire to serve in the Continental Army
under Gen. Washington during the American Revolution. We do this as a hobby
for our own enjoyment, and to educate people about the unit and that time
period of our history. The current regiment is composed of a company of
Line, or battalion troops, a Fife and Drum Music Company, camp followers,
and most recently, a reactivated Artillery Company manning a reproduction
3 lb. field cannon.
The unit
participates in parades, honor guards, encampments, battle reenactments,
and similar activities. We have appeared at events all over the East Coast
from Georgia to Maine, in Canada, and even in England. We are also charter
members of The Continental Line, an organization of more than 60 reenactment
units.
Following
the battles at Concord and Lexington, the colonial militias besieging
the British in Boston began to organize into an army. On April 26, 1775,
just 7 days after those first battles, the Massachusetts Committee of
Safety commissioned John Stark of New Hampshire as a colonel, with orders
to enlist a regiment of soldiers. Within a short time, he had enlisted
800 men. One month later, the unit was "adopted" by New Hampshire
and designated the 1st New Hampshire Regiment.
