4th Continental Artillery Regiment The 4th Continental Artillery Regiment , also known as Proctor ' s Continental Artillery Regiment , was an American military unit during the American Revolutionary War . The regiment became part of the Continental Army on 10 June 1777 as Colonel Thomas Proctor ' s Continental Artillery Regiment . It was made up of eight artillery companies from eastern Pennsylvania . At the time of the regiment ' s formation , two companies were already in existence , one from as early as October 1775 . One company served at Trenton in December 1776 where it performed well in action . In February 1777 , Pennsylvania expanded its two - company battalion into an eight - company regiment . After officially joining the Continental Army , the regiment saw much fighting in the Philadelphia campaign in late 1777 . Elements of Proctor ' s Regiment fought at Monmouth in June 1778 and joined the Sullivan Expedition in summer 1779 . On 10 August 1779 the unit was renamed the 4th Continental Artillery Regiment . The regiment was reorganized with a 10 - company establishment on 1 January 1781 with the addition of several companies . It was transferred to the Southern Department in February 1781 where it fought at Yorktown in October . Elements of the regiment were also deployed in the southern theater in 1781 and 1782 . In January 1783 , the regiment was reduced to four companies . That year , the 4th Artillery was transferred to the Middle Department in April , furloughed in June , and disbanded in November . History . Pennsylvania State Artillery . The 4th Continental Artillery Regiment had its origins in two Pennsylvania artillery units . The Pennsylvania State Artillery Company was authorized on 16 October 1775 and completed its organization at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania by 27 November . Captain Thomas Proctor became the commander of a unit with an initial strength of 25 men . It was retained near Philadelphia to guard Fort Island and by December the company numbered 90 men . Company strength swelled to 100 soldiers by May 1776 . The men volunteered to serve in a body on the " USS Hornet ( 10 ) " when that vessel engaged the " HMS Roebuck ( 44 ) " in Delaware Bay . The British warship , under the command of Captain Andrew Snape Hamond had been patrolling the bay since 1775 , interfering with ship traffic and gathering information from American Loyalists . A muster roll of Captain Proctor ' s company on 31 July 1776 shows one captain - lieutenant , one first lieutenant , one second lieutenant , one lieutenant fireworker , one quartermaster sergeant , one clerk , three sergeants , three corporal s , eight bombardiers , 24 gunners , 69 matross es , one fifer , five drummers , and six other musicians . The Pennsylvania State Artillery Battalion was formed on 14 August 1776 with the addition of a second company . Proctor was promoted to major while John Martin Strobogh took command of the 1st Company and Thomas Forrest assumed command of the 2nd Company . The battalion was assigned to the main army on 23 September 1776 . In October the state ordered its artillerists to be enlisted for the duration of the conflict . Captain Forrest ' s 2nd Company fought at the Battle of Trenton on 26 December 1776 . His two officers and 50 artillerists manned two brass 6 - pound cannons and two 5 . 5 - inch howitzers . Forrest ' s gunners unlimbered their pieces on high ground alongside Captain Alexander Hamilton ' s two - gun company and Captain Sebastian Bauman ' s three - gun company . In a sleet storm , the American guns laid down a deadly barrage , driving the Hessian artillerists from their two cannons . The Hessian commander Johann Rall led two regiments to the north , but General George Washington blocked the move by shifting two regiments to meet the threat . Hearing that his cannons had been abandoned in the street , Rall marched his soldiers west to recover them . This move placed his troops in a crossfire between the American cannons to the north and American infantry to the west and south . After enduring the terrible fire without being able to reply with their wet muskets , the Hessians withdrew to the east and soon surrendered . On New Year ' s Day 1777 , an American force skirmished with the British vanguard of Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis at Shipetaukin Creek , south of Princeton , New Jersey . Forrest ' s company , now with six guns , supported the infantry under Edward Hand , Nicholas Haussegger , and Charles Scott . After holding off the 1st Light Infantry and the Hessian jagers , the Americans only retreated when the British and Hessian grenadiers were committed to the action . The Battle of the Assunpink Creek was fought the next day . As the British advanced south toward Trenton , they encountered the same 1 , 000 - man American force as the previous day . After their French commander , General Matthias Alexis Roche de Fermoy abandoned his troops and fled , Hand took over and conducted an able defense of Little and Big Shabbakunk Creeks before falling back to Stockton Hollow . Here Washington personally thanked the gunners for their efforts . Forrest posted his guns to dominate the road with Scott on his right and Hand on his left . There was brisk fighting before the Americans finally withdrew through Trenton at dusk and reformed south of Assunpink Creek . That evening , the British and Hessians attempted to storm the bridge and the lower ford but were stopped by concentrated musketry and cannon fire . That night , Washington marched around Cornwallis ' s camp and won the Battle of Princeton on 3 January . Proctor ' s Artillery . In December 1776 Colonel ( soon thereafter promoted to brigadier general ) Henry Knox , Washington ' s chief artillery officer , proposed raising five new artillery regiments . Knox was given the go - ahead to begin recruiting , and on 27 December 1776 the Continental Congress authorized the raising of three artillery regiments at Washington ' s request . The regiments were to contain 12 companies , each of six sergeants , six corporals , six bombardiers , six gunners , and 28 matrosses . As in the 1776 organization , the company was led by one captain , one captain - lieutenant , one first lieutenant , and two second lieutenants . Until the new regiments could be organized , Hamilton ' s company , Bauman ' s company , and Major Proctor ' s two companies provided artillery support to the main army . On 17 January Knox went on leave in New England and appointed Proctor as temporary leader of the main army ' s artillery . Knox hoped to recruit an artillery regiment from Pennsylvania , New Jersey , and Maryland . However , the state of Pennsylvania circumvented this plan by creating its own state artillery regiment on 6 February 1777 . Proctor accepted his promotion to colonel in command of the regiment on 20 February . Only on 10 June 1777 did Pennsylvania transfer the eight - company regiment to the Continental Army as Proctor ' s Continental Artillery Regiment . The unit was reassigned from the Middle Department to the main army on 14 July . General Knox planned to have four 3 - pound or 6 - pound cannons attached to each infantry brigade . Though Knox liked the versatile French 4 - pound cannon , he had to abandon a plan to adopt it because so much ammunition and equipment for the other guns were readily available . Knox also created an artillery park of two 24 - pound cannons , four 12 - pound cannons , four 8 - inch howitzers , eight 5 . 5 - inch howitzers , and 10 smaller field guns . Rotating between the infantry brigades , the artillery park , and garrisons , the artillery companies received training in different areas . Knox ' s tactical theory discouraged artillery duels and urged his gunners to direct their fire on infantry targets . This tactic was highly effective at Monmouth . On 13 April 1777 , General Cornwallis with 4 , 000 British and Hessians attacked General Benjamin Lincoln ' s outpost at Bound Brook , New Jersey . In the Battle of Bound Brook , Cornwallis achieved surprise but his center attacked before his two wings were in position to cut off the Americans . Most of Lincoln ' s force evaded the planned envelopment , but the British claimed to have captured 70 of his men and three cannons . The British reported their losses as three killed and four wounded . Washington reported to Congress that Lieutenants William Ferguson and Charles Turnbull , 20 men , and two cannons from Proctor ' s Artillery Regiment were captured . In the armies ' maneuverings at the start of the Philadelphia campaign , Washington ordered Proctor ' s Regiment to Trenton where it joined Brigadier General Francis Nash ' s North Carolina Brigade about 24 July 1777 . Elements of the regiment were also withdrawn from Fort Island that day . On 22 August , Nash and Proctor were directed to move south to oppose Lieutenant General Sir William Howe ' s landing in Chesapeake Bay . Proctor ' s Regiment played an important part at the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777 . Washington deployed his army behind Brandywine Creek at Chadds Ford . To cover the ford , the Americans built a lunette from logs and earth and armed it with four pieces from Proctor ' s Regiment . Two of the guns were French - made 4 - pound cannons , one was a Hessian 3 - pound gun seized at Trenton and rebored to take 6 - pound shot , and one was a Philadelphia - made 8 - inch howitzer . Two other artillery positions covered the creek crossings . There was a four - gun redoubt to the south , covering the ferry crossing , and a two - gun redoubt at Brinton ' s Ford to the north . When Wilhelm von Knyphausen ' s division attacked at 5 : 30 PM , the guns inflicted considerable losses on their advancing enemies . A soldier of the Queen ' s Rangers reported that the creek was " stained with blood " . The lunette was finally overrun and an American gunner reported spiking two cannons and the howitzer before retreating . As the British attack rolled forward , Bombardier Ned Hector , an African - American in Captain Hercules Courtenay ' s 3rd Company of Proctor ' s Regiment was ordered to abandon his ammunition wagon and retreat . Instead , Hector got away with the wagon and managed to pick up some abandoned firearms in the process . In the Battle of Germantown on 4 October 1777 , Proctor ' s guns were commanded by Captain - Lieutenant Brewer and Lieutenants Barker and Ritter . During the fighting , British soldiers of the 40th Foot took refuge in the Chew House . Two of Proctor ' s guns and two captured 6 - pound guns began firing at the house . They quickly blasted open the front doors , but unknown to the gunners , the front of the house was buttressed by two feet of stonework that resisted their round shot . The gunners also fired grapeshot at the second floor in an attempt to suppress the return fire . The 1st and 3rd New Jersey Regiment s repeatedly tried to storm the building but they were driven off with heavy losses . During the action , four cannons from Brigadier General William Woodford ' s Virginia Brigade opened fire on the other side of the house , blowing open the back door and causing much damage . Some cannonballs passed entirely through the house by the windows , causing the Americans to believe that the defenders had their own artillery . The British successfully defended the Chew House and were rescued when the American army retreated . At Valley Forge Proctor ' s Regiment lost many men through desertion . To replace these losses , Washington asked Congress to transfer Colonel Charles Harrison ' s Continental Artillery Regiment from Virginia to the main army . Captain Francis Proctor ' s company of Proctor ' s Regiment was present at the Battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778 . In the combat , Brigadier General Knox commanded a brigade of four artillery regiments plus an independent company that counted 97 officers , 321 non - coms , 10 staff , and 409 rank and file . Thomas Proctor had charge of 12 guns in Washington ' s main body during the afternoon fight . During this battle , the legendary Molly Pitcher served a cannon when her husband was wounded . Evidence suggests that she was Mary Ludwig Hays , wife of William Hays of the 4th Pennsylvania Artillery ( Proctor ' s Regiment ) . By 4 August 1778 , the regiment had dwindled to 220 men . On 3 September , the Pennsylvania Council reluctantly granted Proctor authority to recruit soldiers from other colonies . 4th Continental Artillery . On 10 August 1779 the four artillery regiments were numbered . Two boards of generals renamed Harrison ' s Continental Artillery Regiment the 1st Continental Artillery Regiment , John Lamb ' s Regiment the 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment , and John Crane ' s Regiment the 3rd Continental Artillery Regiment . Since Proctor ' s Regiment became part of the Continental Army at a later date than the other three regiments , it was numbered the 4th . Meanwhile , the Wyoming and Cherry Valley massacre s in upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania compelled Washington to order a major operation against the Iroquois . The Sullivan Expedition began to take shape in May 1779 but it was mid - June before the main column under Major General John Sullivan began to slowly advance with 2 , 500 troops in three brigades . Proctor ' s Regiment accompanied the expedition with four 3 - pound cannons , two 6 - pound cannons , and two howitzers . At the Battle of Newtown on 29 August 1779 , the bursting of howitzer shells behind them caused many of the Indians to run away . After Newtown there was little fighting while Sullivan ' s troops destroyed many villages and crops , causing the shocked survivors to flee to the British in Quebec . The Sullivan Expedition was unsuccessful in stopping Indian raids on the New York frontier . On 21 August 1780 , Brigadier General Anthony Wayne ' s 1st and 2nd Pennsylvania Brigades and four guns were repulsed in an attack on a blockhouse at the Battle of Bull ' s Ferry . British Major John André penned a satirical ballad titled the " Cow Chace " which named Proctor as the American artillery commander . While Proctor ' s guns tried unsuccessfully to knock apart the blockhouse , Light Horse Harry Lee ' s dragoons rounded up a large number of nearby cattle for the use of the American army . Though 50 round shot penetrated the blockhouse , 70 Loyalists defended their position at a cost of 21 casualties . The Americans lost 15 killed and 49 wounded in an attempt to storm the fieldwork . On 1 January 1781 , the 4th Artillery was reorganized as a 10 - company regiment . To build it up to this strength , four companies were transferred into the unit . These companies were Captain Isaac Coren ' s company from the Artillery Artificer Regiment , Captains Andrew Porter ' s and Jonas Simonds ' companies from the 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment , and Jeremiah Freeman ' s independent Continental company . Coren ' s and Porter ' s merged to become Porter ' s company , while Freeman ' s and Simonds ' consolidated to become Simonds ' company . The regiment was transferred from the main army to the Southern Department on 20 February 1781 . In the matter of uniforms and supplies , Proctor was in constant conflict with the civil authorities of Pennsylvania , especially President Joseph Reed . When the Council promoted several officers in the regiment against his wishes , Proctor resigned from the army on 9 April 1781 . Washington wrote a letter praising the colonel ' s services , but accepted the resignation . On 26 May , the 4th Artillery with six guns and 90 troops joined Wayne ' s 1 , 000 infantry of the Pennsylvania Line on its march south to Virginia . Wayne fought against Cornwallis at the Battle of Green Spring on 6 July 1781 . Proctor ' s replacement was Lieutenant Colonel Edward Carrington who was serving as Major General Nathanael Greene ' s Quartermaster general . Greene gave Carrington leave to assume his new command in July 1781 , but it is not clear if he ever exercised authority over the 4th Regiment . At the Siege of Yorktown in October 1781 , Carrington , Lamb , and Ebenezer Stevens rotated as Knox ' s chief assistant . At Yorktown , Carrington commanded Captain Whitehead Coleman ' s 25 - man company of the 1st Continental Artillery Regiment . Captains Patrick Duffy , William Ferguson , and James Smith led three small companies of the 4th Continental Artillery Regiment , a total of 60 men . Part of the 4th Regiment joined Greene ' s forces in the Carolinas after Yorktown . The regiment was reduced to four companies on 1 January 1783 . On 24 April that year , the unit was transferred to the Middle Department . The soldiers were furloughed on 11 June at Philadelphia and the regiment was officially dissolved on 15 November 1783 .