The Regiment was formed on May 12, 1775 in Cambridge, Massachusetts after the hostilities at Lexington & Concord of April 19th. The Regiment originated with its adoption to the Main Army on 14 June 1775. Early on it was authorized as the Regiment of the Train of Artillery in the Massachusetts State Troops under the command of Col. Richard Gridley. The regiment consisted of eleven companies with recruits from Suffolk, Middlesex, Worcester, Essex and Hampshire Counties. By autumn of 1775, the Regiment was consolidated with the Rhode Island Train of Artillery which was made up of recruits from Providence County and designated as the Continental Artillery Regiment, an element of the Main Army, consisting twelve companies. As of the 22nd of November 1775, the commander of the Regiment was Henry Knox, who at the time held the rank of Colonel. It was disbanded on 1 January 1777 at Trenton, New Jersey and Peekskill and Fort Ticonderoga, New York when enlistment's expired. Many of those persuaded to re-enlist, went on to serve in the 2nd (Lamb's) and 3rd (Crane's) Continental Artillery, both of which had service through the end of the war. Elements of the Regiment served in engagements at the Siege of Boston and New York City, the campaigns of Northern New Jersey, Battle of Trenton- Princeton, the Defense of Philidelphia and of Lake Champlain. |
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