Washington put Caleb Gibbs, of the 14th Massachusetts Continental Regiment, in charge of the new unit, which he called “My Guards.” Soldiers called them “His Excellency’s Guard” and “Washington’s Body Guard,” but most of his men called them “the Life Guards.” They dressed in blue and buff uniforms with leather helmets bearing a white plume. Gibbs had the buttons on his uniform engraved with “USA”—the first known record of the abbreviation.
