Re: online research
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In reply to:
online research
cathy coyle 12/24/13
Oh, sigh, there used to be -- but the site hosting the information has undergone several ownership changes and nearly all of the useful material has been removed.
What it had that was useful was extracted from an extensive appendix, "Lineages," in the book _The Continental Army_ by Wright, Robert K.; Center of Military History, United States Army; Washington, D. C., 1983.
The first half or so of the book, which is a useful history, is online at:
http://www.history.army.mil/books/RevWar/ContArmy/CA-fm.htmhttp://www.history.army.mil/books/RevWar/ContArmy/CA-fm.htm
--but without the "Lineages" appendix.You might be able to locate a more complete edition on the web.
Note that this focuses on the Continental Army.The book did not include battles/skirmishes concerning the State Troops, or the occasional County Militia units.
There is a useful timeline of Rev. War actions, with notes on published references, here:
http://revwar75.com/http://revwar75.com/
It does not attempt to list specific units involved, but each entry has different information.
Also useful is Global Gazetteer of the American Revolution:
http://gaz.jrshelby.com/index.htmhttp://gaz.jrshelby.com/index.htm
And look for Lossing's atlas of the American Revolution, which has a lot of information and maps for selected engagements.
In essence, if you want to know what your relatives participated in, you must do the detailed research on whether they were in one of the Continental Army regiments, a State Troop regiment or in a militia unit in an area (mostly on the frontiers) that may have seen an attack or skirmish.
It's always the pesky details that are the hardest to acquire, but you can post further questions about more specific resources here or on the Ancestry.com message boards about the Revolutionary War:
http://boards.rootsweb.com/topics.Military.amerrev/mb.ashxhttp://boards.rootsweb.com/topics.Military.amerrev/mb.ashx