Jersey Blues
| 1st New Jersey Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1744–1783 |
| Country |
 Kingdom of Great Britain United States
|
| Allegiance |
 New Jersey
|
| Branch |
 British Army Continental Army
|
| Type | Regiment |
| Role | Infantry |
| Part of | New Jersey Line |
| Nickname(s) | Jersey Blues |
| Engagements |
Battle of Valcour Island, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth, Sullivan Expedition, Battle of Springfield Battle of Yorktown. |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Colonel William Alexander (1775–1776) Colonel William Winds (1776–1777) Colonel Silas Newcomb (1777) Colonel Matthias Ogden (1777–1783) |
The 1st New Jersey Regiment was the first organized militia regiment in New Jersey, formed in 1673 in Piscataway "to repel foreign Indians who come down from upper Pennsylvania and western New York (in the summer) to our shores and fill (themselves) with fishes and clams and on the way back make a general nuisance of themselves by burning hay stacks, corn fodder and even barns." All of New Jersey's regular organized military forces trace their lineage to this first provincial militia unit.
The regiment's allegiance was to the British Crown until 1775, when the regiment was raised for service in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Although the unit had existed long beforehand, it was not until the mid-eighteenth century that the term "Jersey Blues" came into popular usage. The term "Jersey Blues" derives from the uniform adopted by the New Jersey provincial legislature for its troops, which were assigned to service under the British Crown Provincial Forces. The coats of these Jersey units were blue with red lapels and cuffs. The men also wore blue breeches or leggings and red waistcoats. (In some cases, sturdier buckskin or leather breeches were authorized.) The term "Jersey Blues" continued to be used well into the early nineteenth century in reference to the state's military units. The regiments of the Jersey Line during the American Revolution and those of the New Jersey Volunteers, raised for Federal service during the Civil War, adopted the term. It was actually even used by New Jersey's National Guard unit after WWII – 50TH Armored Division; as well as in 2008 when the N. J. Guard was sent to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom – 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. That unit remains in existence to this date -2015.
In 1744, during King George's War (1744–1748) the New Jersey legislature appropriated money and raised 500 volunteers to assist New York in capturing the French fort at Crown Point. Bad food, ill discipline and a mutiny resulted in the abandonment of the expedition, however.
During the French and Indian War (1755–1763) New Jersey's participation was remarkable, and a new resource (2007) "Colonial Tribulations" documents the service of the New Jersey Regiment (the "Jersey Blues") throughout that period. Just as in the previous colonial wars their existence began with the N. J. Assembly ordering the muster of 500 men to respond to the larger war looming on the New York frontier. Indian raids by tribes allied with the French along the colony's northwest border in the summer of 1755 also prompted the raising of a different unit known as the New Jersey Frontier Guard (not to be confused with the regular provincial or "Blues" regiment). The Frontier Guard responded to localized Indian incursions, as well as garrisoned the forts along the Delaware River.
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Wikipedia