Jackson's Additional Continental Regiment
| Jackson's Additional Continental Regiment 16th Massachusetts Regiment |
|
|---|---|
| Active | January 12, 1777–January 1, 1781 |
| Disbanded | January 1, 1781 |
| Allegiance | Continental Congress of the United States |
| Branch | Infantry |
| Part of | Massachusetts Line |
| Nickname(s) | Henry Jackson's Regiment |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Colonel Henry Jackson |
The 16th Massachusetts Regiment, also known as Henry Jackson's Additional Continental Regiment, was a unit of the American Massachusetts Line, raised on January 12, 1777, under Colonel Henry Jackson at Boston, Massachusetts. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Monmouth and the Battle of Rhode Island. The regiment was disbanded on January 1, 1781, at New Windsor, New York.
In the years before the American Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, the Province of Massachusetts Bay had a volunteer militia corps known as the Governor's Company of Cadets. Based in Boston, the company was disbanded in 1774 after its commander, John Hancock, was dismissed by Governor Thomas Gage. A number of its members left the city when the Siege of Boston began, and reformed themselves as an independent company under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Jackson after the British evacuated the city in March 1776.
The company petitioned the Continental Congress to be included in the Continental Army, and on January 12, 1777, Jackson was given a colonel's commission and authorization to raise an "Additional Continental regiment". Recruitment was conducted primarily in the Boston, but the regiment eventually had members from as far off as Connecticut. The unit's surgeon from 1779 onward was Dr. James Thacher, who kept an extensive journal of his war experience.
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