In June of 1776, George Washington correctly predicted that New York City would be the next strategic focus of the British Army. Control of New York City by the British would enable control of the Hudson river, which would split the Colonies in two. The British arrived in July of 1776 on a fleet of ships with approximately 32,000 troops while Washington’s Army contained approximately 19,000 men at this point in time. The stage was set for a confrontation between the two armies. 

The York County Rifle Company, as part of Colonel Thompson’s Rifle Brigade, was with Washington’s Army in New York. In October of 1775, during the time period between the siege of Boston, the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Company’s arrival in New York, their Captain, Michael Doudel, resigned. While the exact reasons are unclear, both poor health and financial difficulties have been cited. However, rumors of cowardice also circulated and several of his soldiers cited his cowardice in their subsequent pension applications.

In addition, during Doudel’s command his men, many of whom were new and untrained soldiers, were disorganized and undisciplined. With his resignation, Henry Miller, a first lieutenant in his Company, was promoted to Captain.

Judging by the results of the unit moving forward, Captain Miller’s leadership, along with his Company’s additional military experience, improved the effectiveness of the York County Rifle Company. The men from York County had arrived on the scene in Boston with Pennsylvania long rifles that were capable of being accurate up to 300 yards.

In comparison, the most common firearm of the time was a musket which was only slightly accurate up to 50-80 yards. However, the Pennsylvania long rifle took much longer to reload and required frequent cleaning because the projectile fit so tightly in the barrel. It also lacked a bayonet. This made it a less effective weapon in traditional formations. As a result, the men from York County Company were most successful in Boston, and later in Long Island, at taking positions as snipers and aiming at British soldiers at distances from which the British could not return fire. 

It was in March of 1776 that Washington sent Captain Miller’s company, now part of the First Continental Regiment under Colonel Hand, to New York City. They were able to travel the distance from Boston to New York in just under two weeks. But on July 1, 1776, the first term of enlistment ended for the original members of Captain Miller’s company. Washington wrote of the men from York County that “the loss of this valuable and brave body of men will be an injury to the service. . . . They are, indeed, a very useful corps . . . ” It’s been estimated that about one-third of the original York Company re-enlisted in 1776.

Nonetheless, at Long Island, Washington had enough confidence in the unit to place them directly between the main body of the Continental Army and the point where the British attack was expected. Ultimately, the British landed on August 22, 1776 and Washington’s Army was forced to retreat from Long Island with the First Regiment covering the retreat.

Captain Miller was the last man to board the boats as they left Long Island. He became so overwhelmed with the success of the stealthy retreat, he stood up in the boat and gave three loud cheers. This caused the British troops to fire volleys of shots through the thick fog. Fortunately, no one was hit, although the boats were nearly swamped.

Henry Miller’s men continued to serve with the Continental Army in battles as they retreated through New Jersey and, by the end of 1776, were again in Pennsylvania. 

What was the local involvement in this Battle? During this time period, there were 2 townships in northern York County. Washington would be created from Warrington in 1803. Carroll was formed from Monaghan in 1831 and Franklin from Monaghan in 1809. Because of limited documentation and retention of records it is difficult to determine facts with 100% accuracy. That said, NYCHAPS volunteers compared the muster roll for the York County Rifle Company to the tax lists of Warrington and Monaghan townships in an attempt to identify local men who were members of this unit. They are listed below along with the Township(s) in which they owned land.