Still, the numbers fell short, far short. All nine North Carolina regiments had joined the main army in July, but instead of 7,000 authorized men, they collectively included only 131 officers and 963 enlisted troops. With Manhattan and Long Island in British hands, New York reduced its regiments from seven to five. The 2nd Maryland mustered 147 men—less than a quarter of its nominal strength—plus four officers, three of them lieutenants; the rest had resigned in a dispute over rank. Washington’s native Virginia, the largest state, sent a dozen regiments to the army but with barely 2,500
...more
