26th Continental Regiment The 26th Continental Regiment ( previously known as Gerrish ' s Regiment and later known as the 9th Massachusetts Regiment ) was an infantry unit of the Massachusetts Line during the American Revolutionary War . Gerrish ' s Regiment was raised in the early days of the war , and the regiment underwent name changes as the Continental Army was reorganized in 1776 and 1777 . From 1777 onward , the unit was known as the 9th Massachusetts Regiment . 1775 history . In January 1776 the 26th Continental Regiment was organized from the remnant of Gerrish ' s Regiment , also known in the 1775 army establishment as the 25th Massachusetts . It was at first commanded by Colonel Samuel Gerrish , of Newbury , who was dismissed from the service on August 19 , 1775 . Command of the regiment passed to its next senior officer , Lieutenant Colonel Loammi Baldwin , of Woburn . Baldwin commanded the 25th Massachusetts Bay Provincial Regiment in 1775 during the Siege of Boston . To form the new unit , the old regiment had to be reduced from ten companies to eight . Command of the newly formed 26th Continental Regiment was given to Baldwin , who was promoted to the rank of Colonel on January 1 , 1776 . 1776 history . In a report dated January 8 , 1776 at Cambridge Camp , Colonel Baldwin reported the following roster of officers for his newly organized regiment , in addition to himself and his second in command , Lieutenant Colonel James Wesson . He also noted that he had no chaplain . Each line of this report represents a company of the regiment . Baldwin ' s 26th Continental Regiment was ordered to join the Main Army , moving to New York City in April 1776 and becoming part of Heath ' s Brigade there . On August 12 , 1776 the 26th Regiment was transferred to Clinton ' s Brigade . The regiment ' s strength report for September 1776 showed 23 officers , 35 non - commissioned officer s , 5 staff officers , and 255 privates . The regiment saw action on Long Island and distinguished itself at the Battle of Throg ' s Neck and the Battle of Pell ' s Point , holding off a much larger British force to allow George Washington to withdraw from Manhattan to White Plains . The regiment then joined Washington in White Plains for that battle . The 26th Regiment also served at Trenton . On the night of December 25 , 1776 , in the face of a violent and extremely cold storm of snow and hail , General Washington and his army crossed the Delaware to the New Jersey side , and fought the Battle of Trenton . Baldwin and his regiment participated in both the crossing and the fight . 1777 reorganization . In 1777 , the 9th Massachusetts Regiment was formed by consolidating the remnant of the 21st Continental Regiment with the remnant of the 26th Continental Regiment . Colonel Baldwin was forced to retire due to ill health . The new commanding officer of the 9th Regiment , James Wesson , had been a major of Gerrish ' s Regiment in 1775 and the lieutenant colonel of the 26th Continental Regiment in 1776 . The regiment had two , successive commanders : Colonel Wesson , from November 1 , 1776 to January 1 , 1781 ; and Colonel Henry Jackson , from the latter date to January 1 , 1783 . The regiment was a part of Learned ' s Brigade , which consisted of the 2nd Mass , 8th Mass , the 9th and , some say , the 1st Canadian Regiment . When in battle formation , the regiment was always positioned in the second line of the left wing , between the 3rd Mass and the 6th Mass . Overall command was by Major General Stirling . The regiment served in what was known as the Northern Department during the war . It participated at Fort Stanwix , Saratoga and Valley Forge . At Valley Forge ( 1777 – 1778 ) , under the command of Col . Wesson and assisted by Lt . Col . James Mellen , it was incorporated into Major General DeKalb ' s division . It is known that the issued regimental coat should have had red facings but , due to the shortage of dyed material , buff facings were most likely substituted . Recent information suggests blue coats with white buff facings , green or plaid waistcoats , buff trousers and buckled shoes . Research of the regiment is ongoing . Equipment . The 26th Regiment uniform was brown coats with buff facings similar to the British . They wore waistcoats and breeches of white cloth . The 26th was one of the first regiments of the Continental Army to outfit a grenadier company . Under the command of Captain Thomas Mighill , the company wore the traditional grenadier ' s mitre cap . One of these caps has survived in the Smithsonian collections . The roman numerals ' XXVI ' and the cipher ' GW , ' for George Washington , are embroidered on the front . The regiment was referred to as the " George Washington Regiment . " Mighill rearmed his grenadiers in July 1776 with Short Land Pattern Muskets and bayonets that had been captured from the British . Legacy . The Ninth Massachusetts is a group of revolutionary war reenactors . The group formed in 1975 in Braintree , Massachusetts , under its original name the Braintree 3rd Volunteer Militia . During the " great event " celebration , of July 4 , 1976 , a call went out to recreate the major events of the revolution . The group acquired the correct clothing and equipment of the American Continental Army .