New Jersey Line

The New Jersey Line was a formation of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The name referred to the numbered infantry regiments assigned to New Jersey as part of the quota system used by the Continental Congress to organize and supply the revolutionary army. It was not a commercial brand or an independent corporation, but a military designation for New Jersey's contribution to the Continental forces. Congress authorized the first two New Jersey regiments on October 9, 1775, and authorized a third regiment on January 1, 1776. Further reorganization and expansion followed as the war developed. The New Jersey Line ultimately included the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th New Jersey Regiments. The regiments were commanded at different times by officers including Matthias Ogden, Israel Shreve, Elias Dayton, and Ephraim Martin. The formation was closely associated with Brigadier General William Maxwell and was consequently known as Maxwell's brigade or, more simply, the Jersey Line. Its soldiers were also commonly called the Jersey Blues, a reference to the clothing or military identity associated with New Jersey troops. The line operated as part of the Continental Army rather than as a permanently separate New Jersey army, and its regiments served under the wider command structure established by Congress and General George Washington. The New Jersey quota did not encompass every Continental unit recruited in the province. Congress and Washington also authorized additional regiments outside the ordinary state-allocation system. Forman's Additional Continental Regiment, commanded by Colonel David Forman, and Spencer's Additional Continental Regiment, commanded by Colonel Oliver Spencer, contained many New Jersey soldiers and were sometimes associated informally with the state. Spencer's unit was at times called the Fifth New Jersey Regiment, but neither additional regiment was formally allotted to the New Jersey Line. Spencer's regiment also included at least one company recruited in Pennsylvania. Patton's Additional Continental Regiment and other temporary or specialized units likewise drew some personnel from New Jersey without becoming part of the state quota. The New Jersey Line therefore represents both a military organization and an administrative category. Its history illustrates how the Continental Congress balanced state quotas, locally raised units, and centrally authorized formations during the war. The line's constituent regiments formed part of New Jersey's military contribution to American independence, while their personnel and organization changed in response to recruitment, battlefield losses, consolidation, and broader Continental Army policy. The formation ceased to exist as a wartime military institution after the Revolutionary War and the dissolution of the Continental Army.

The New Jersey Line emerged from the Continental Congress's effort to create a national army from forces raised by the individual colonies and states. Rather than treating every local military company as an equivalent national unit, Congress assigned each state a quota of numbered infantry regiments. New Jersey's quota became known as the New Jersey Line. The first two regiments were authorized on October 9, 1775, during the early phase of the Revolutionary War. A third regiment received authorization on January 1, 1776. These units were raised in New Jersey and entered the Continental Army's wider system of command, supply, and service. The line was not identical to all troops recruited within New Jersey: the state also supplied militia, temporary forces, and soldiers for additional Continental regiments created outside the normal quota structure. In 1776, Congress authorized additional regiments at large, and Washington later exercised expanded authority over military decisions that Congress had ordinarily reserved to itself. David Forman, a New Jersey militia leader, accepted command of an additional regiment authorized on September 16, 1776. Oliver Spencer, another New Jersey officer with militia experience, accepted command of a second additional regiment. Spencer's unit was sometimes called the Fifth New Jersey Regiment because of its New Jersey composition and leadership, but it was not formally assigned to the New Jersey Line. Forman's regiment likewise remained outside the official state quota. Patton's Additional Continental Regiment and other units also contained New Jersey recruits without becoming part of the line. The principal numbered formations associated with the New Jersey Line were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th New Jersey Regiments. Their listed colonels included Matthias Ogden, Israel Shreve, Elias Dayton, and Ephraim Martin. Under Brigadier General William Maxwell, the regiments were organized as Maxwell's brigade and were often referred to collectively as the Jersey Line. The expression Jersey Blues was also used for New Jersey troops. The line's significance lies in its role as both a military formation and an administrative expression of state responsibility. It connected New Jersey's local recruitment and military leadership to the Continental Army's national war effort, while the distinction between line regiments and additional regiments shows that the Continental Army was not organized solely by state identity. The New Jersey Line was a wartime formation and did not continue as a standing organization after the Revolutionary War and the end of the Continental Army.

1. 1777Additional regiments receive New Jersey commanders

   Early in 1777, David Forman and Oliver Spencer accepted Washington's offers to command additional Continental regiments.

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2. 1776Third New Jersey Regiment authorized

   Congress authorized the Third New Jersey Regiment on January 1.

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3. 1776Additional regiments recruited from New Jersey

   Forman's and Spencer's additional Continental regiments were authorized or organized outside the formal New Jersey Line quota, despite drawing heavily on New Jersey personnel.

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4. 1775First New Jersey regiments authorized

   The Continental Congress authorized the first two regiments assigned to New Jersey's Continental Army quota on October 9.

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A state-based Continental Army formation representing New Jersey's assigned infantry contribution during the American Revolutionary War.

• 1st New Jersey RegimentContinental Army infantry regiment1775

  One of the numbered infantry regiments assigned to New Jersey's Continental Army quota. It was commanded by Colonel Matthias Ogden and formed part of the military establishment commonly called the New Jersey Line.

• 2nd New Jersey RegimentContinental Army infantry regiment1775

  A New Jersey quota regiment in the Continental Army, commanded by Colonel Israel Shreve. It was one of the principal formations represented by the New Jersey Line.

• 3rd New Jersey RegimentContinental Army infantry regiment1776

  The third regiment authorized for New Jersey's Continental Army quota. Congress approved its creation on January 1, 1776, and it was associated with Colonel Elias Dayton.

• 4th New Jersey RegimentContinental Army infantry regiment

  A later numbered regiment of the New Jersey Line, associated with Colonel Ephraim Martin. It represented part of New Jersey's assigned infantry contribution to the Continental Army.

• 1776Expansion through additional regimentsStrategy

  The war required more troops than the existing state quotas could provide, leading Congress and Washington to authorize additional Continental regiments at large.

  What changed. Forman's and Spencer's regiments were raised with substantial New Jersey participation but were kept outside the formal New Jersey Line allocation.

  Aftermath. The distinction demonstrated that New Jersey's military contribution extended beyond its numbered quota regiments.

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• 1775Creation of New Jersey's Continental quotaStrategy

  The Continental Congress needed a system for assigning responsibility for raising infantry regiments among the colonies and states.

  What changed. Congress authorized the first two New Jersey regiments on October 9, establishing the foundation of the New Jersey Line.

  Aftermath. The quota system gave New Jersey a defined place within the Continental Army while leaving other locally recruited units outside the formal line.

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1. New Jersey Line
2. The Continental Army