14th Continental Regiment The 14th Continental Regiment , also known as the Marblehead Regiment and Glover ' s Regiment , was raised as a Massachusetts militia regiment in 1775 , and taken into the Continental Army establishment during the summer of 1775 . When the Continental Army was reestablished for 1776 , the regiment was redesignated the 14th Continental . Composed of seafaring men from the area around Marblehead , Massachusetts , it would man the boats during the New York and New Jersey campaign of 1776 and the crossing of the Delaware River before and after the Battle of Trenton . The men of the regiment were only enlisted for one and a half years , and the regiment was disbanded on December 31 , 1776 in eastern Pennsylvania . Background . The Marblehead , Massachusetts unit was originally formed in January 1775 after a town meeting voted to reorganize the militia , stripping the existing Tory commanders of their military powers and assigning Jeremiah Lee as the regimental commander . John Glover was elected second lieutenant colonel . The regiment armed itself in part using captured weapons and powder seized during a night time raid of the HMS Lively led by Samuel Trevett in early February . On February 26 , 1775 , members of the Marblehead militia confronted 240 British troops under the command of Colonel Alexander Leslie after a standoff at the North Bridge in Salem , Massachusetts . Leslie landed his troops in Marblehead , under orders of General Thomas Gage to proceed to Salem and confiscate artillery that was hidden there . Word quickly spread through Marblehead and Salem , and the Salem militia was waiting at the bridge when Leslie arrived . After a tense standoff , Leslie ended up retreating back to Marblehead where he was met by the Marblehead militia , which had fallen in to reinforce the troops in Salem . The Marbleheaders followed Leslie ' s troops back to their boats , mocking them as they marched . Although the Marblehead militia was not present at the Battles of Lexington and Concord , the event had a significant impact on the its command . Lee and Glover met with Elbridge Gerry , Samuel Adams , and John Hancock at Weatherby ' s Black Horse Tavern in Menotomy on April 18 . Lee and Glover planned on staying for the night , but in the early morning of April 19 , they were forced to flee in their bed clothes as the oncoming British troops searched the tavern . Lee fell sick from exposure after hiding in a nearby field , and died days later . Glover then took over command of the militia . The Marblehead militia was formally adopted as a regiment of the Continental Army in Cambridge , Massachusetts on June 22 , 1775 with 10 companies totalling 505 officers and men . On July 1 , Glover received a colonel ' s commission from the Continental Congress and the unit was designated the 23rd Massachusetts Regiment . In mid - December , Glover ' s regiment left Cambridge and returned to Marblehead and Beverly at the end of their terms of enlistment . The unit was reorganized as the 14th Continental Regiment on January 1 , 1776 . Washington ' s fleet . In the summer of 1775 during the Siege of Boston , the British troops were able to maintain a steady stream of provisions through ships arriving from Nova Scotia , the West Indies , and England . In an effort to disrupt these supply lines , General George Washington turned to Glover for naval assistance . Glover made available the 78 - ton schooner " Hannah " , the wharf he owned in Beverly , and a captain and crew selected from his regiment . Although the success of the " Hannah " was limited , Washington was convinced of the need of a greater naval presence . He put Glover and his regiment in charge of outfitting and manning the " Franklin " , " Hancock " , " Lee " , and " Warren " in the fall of 1775 . This small navy was able to disrupt the British supply lines , capturing much needed arms and other supplies for the Continental Army . As the small naval force began to return to port with prize vessels , Washington became concerned that the Beverly base would gain the attention of the British . In December 1775 , Washington dispatched the Marblehead Regiment from Cambridge to fortify and defend Beverly . By mid - 1776 Beverly Harbor was protected by five separate forts , with the 14th Continental responsible for much of the task of defending them . Combat . Battle of Long Island . On July 11 , 1776 , Glover was ordered to rejoin the main army in New York . The unit arrived in Manhattan on August 3 , but was not ordered onto Long Island until August 28 , after the Battle of Long Island . The unit took a position on the Brooklyn defense perimeter between Fort Putnam and Wallabout Bay where they immediately faced intense skirmishing into the night . On the following day , Washington made the decision to evacuate his troops , and that evening under stormy conditions , ordered Glover and the 14th Continental to ferry the entire army across the mile - wide East River . On the morning on the August 30 under cover of fog , Glover and his men completed the task of moving the troops , horses , artillery and supplies across to Manhattan without the loss of a single life and without detection by the enemy . Kip ' s Bay . In early September 1776 , Washington intended to use Glover ' s men in another amphibious operation to remove the sick , wounded and additional military supplies from Manhattan . A call went out to the New York legislature to send four Albany Sloops for the purpose , but these never arrived . Whether or not the 14th Continental ultimately participated in the removal of the casualties is disputed . On September 4 , Washington put Glover in charge of a brigade that included the 14th Continental in a division commanded by General Israel Putnam . On September 14 , Glover ' s brigade marched to Harlem to rejoin the main army . On September 15 , the British landed on Manhattan at Kip ' s Bay , which led to a panic - stricken retreat by the American troops defending the shore , including two brigades sent to reinforce them . Despite Washington ' s best efforts to stop the retreat , they fled towards Kingsbridge until they met six brigades including Glover ' s that had been marched down from Harlem . Glover brought the troops into a line on a hill to meet the British , but Washington later ordered the troops to fall back . Pell ' s Point and White Plains . On October 14 , 1776 , Washington ordered the 14th and three other Massachusetts Regiments under Glover to Pell ' s Point to guard against a potential enemy landing . On October 18 , while Washington was withdrawing the remainder of his troops to White Plains , General William Howe ordered an amphibious landing at Pell ' s Point . What ensued came to be known as the Battle of Pell ' s Point ; it was a significant strategic victory under Glover , although it appears that he held the 14th in reserve and they did not participate directly in the battle . As Washington ' s army fell back to White Plains , Glover ' s men continued to harass the enemy . On October 20 , Glover ' s brigade launched a raid behind enemy lines to bring back 200 barrels of pork and flour that had been left in Eastchester . Several days later a scouting patrol from the 14th Regiment unexpectedly ran into a party of Hessians , killing twelve and taking three prisoner . Glover ' s men also participated in the Battle of White Plains , principally as part of the artillery engagement and later as the rear guard as Washington moved on to New Jersey . Glover ' s brigade left White Plains to rejoin the rest of the army on November 22 . Battle of Trenton . As the end of 1776 approached , Washington faced a desperate situation . Morale was low , and the enlistments for many of his regiments , including the 14th , were set to expire at the end of the year . Washington decided to get one more battle in before these troops left the service . Howe had pursued Washington through New Jersey , but as Washington crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania , his troops had collected all the boats they could find , effectively preventing Howe ' s further advance . Howe halted his campaign for the winter , moving most of his army back to New York , but leaving a chain of garrison s behind to hold New Jersey . Washington devised a plan to attack the garrison at Trenton , and selected Glover and the 14th Regiment to ferry his troops across the Delaware . The 14th were provided a number of Durham boat s for the task , averaging in length with an beam , each capable of holding an entire regiment . The boats were propelled by oars measuring on the downstream side and poles on the upstream side . Washington ordered the operation for the night of December 25 – 26 , which turned out to be a howling snow storm . As the 14th ferried the heavily laden boats across , they had to contend with ice forming on the gear , and cakes of ice that needed to be wrestled out of the way . In addition to ferrying the troops , the 14th was responsible for ferrying the artillery that was under the command of Colonel Henry Knox . At 3am on the morning of December 26 , three hours behind schedule , the 14th Regiment completed their task . After the crossing of the Delaware was completed , the 14th Regiment joined the other regiments in Glover ' s brigade in General John Sullivan ' s division and were part of the American victory at the Battle of Trenton that immediately followed . The 14th Regiment then assisted in they ferrying of Washington ' s force and approximately 900 Hessian prisoners back across the Delaware . End of service . After the Battle of Trenton , Washington attempted to persuade the Marbleheaders to remain in the army for another six weeks by offering a bounty , but few took him up on the offer . William R . Lee , former brigade major of the 14th was commissioned as a colonel on January 1 , 1777 , and a new regiment was formed . Only nine of the 14th Regiment ' s thirty - two officers re - enlisted . On preparing to return home , members of the Marblehead Regiment learned that some Continental frigates were in the Delaware River . The men offered to sail the vessels to the relative safety of New England waters , but the offer was refused . After returning home to Marblehead , most of the men took up the more profitable trade of privateering for the remainder of the American Revolutionary War . Memorials . At the entrance to the Trenton Battle Monument in Trenton New Jersey are the bronze statues of two soldiers . One of the statues is of Private John Russell , a member of the 14th Regiment .