Muster Books and Pay Lists (WO 12/3872): 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot: 1773-1785

            War Office 12, generated by the Commissary General of Musters Office, comprises the Household troops, the cavalry, Guards and regular infantry regiments of the line; as well as, special regiments or corps, colonial troops and various foreign legions and troops. The muster rolls record the name, rank, military station and pay period of each soldier while they were with the regiment. They were prepared by the commanding officer of each company of a regiment for the purpose of paying the officers and soldiers.  During a muster, each man was physically checked against his name on the roll and a note was made if their circumstances had changed since the last muster, for example, on duty, recruiting, sick, furlough, deserted, transferred or died.  In addition, notes related to officers include promoted, absent, and resigned.  Pay lists record rate of pay.

The 22nd served under various colonels’ names until designated the 22nd Regiment of Foot by 1751.The Colonels during this period included General Thomas Gage (1762-1982), and General Charles O'Hara (1782-1791). When troubles threatened with the American colonies, the regiment left Ireland for Boston in 1775 and joined the troops under General Gage, also the Commander-in-Chief in North America. While in New York in 1782, the regiment received its county title of The Cheshire Regiment.

A selection of the regiment's involvement in the American Revolution follows:

1775 The Battle of Bunker Hill at Boston, flank companies
1776 New York Campaign 
1777 New Jersey Campaign
1777 Philadelphia Campaign 
1778 Defense of Newport, Rhode Island
1779 Returned to New York
1780 Battle of Springfield, New Jersey, the last major engagement of the North in which the British under von Knyphausen attacked Washington's Army unsuccessfully
            

            
The muster rolls listing men in the 22nd Regiment of Foot are arranged chronologically and contain the pay periods for 25 June 1772 to 24 Dec. 1784; date range the musters were formerly signed is 1773-1785.  Proof Tables giving the numbers of defectives are found at the end of each muster. The material's main subject matter includes the British military, British Army and personnel, American Revolution, and the state and city of New York. 

Remarks on the musters indicate such things as:  the Regiment’s Colonel, Thomas Gage was “commander in chief in North America” for the muster signed 7 Oct. 1774; Lt. Col. Abercrombie had “gone to join General Gage” on the muster signed 10 April 1775; and Lt. Col. Crosbie is designated the Barrack Master General commencing when he first appears on the musters, April 1781.

The senior officers listed on the musters include:  Lieutenant General Thomas Gage, Major General Charles O’Hara; Lieutenant Colonels James Abercrombie, John Campbell, Rawlins Hillman, John Yorke, and William Crosbie; Majors John Campbell, Rawlins Hillman, Christopher French, Archibald Erskine, William Cowley, and Henry Lysaght. Company Captains for the pay period 25 Dec 1775 to 24 June 1775 include: Henry Elwes, George Berclay, Thomas Gage, John Campbell, Christopher French, Alexander McDonald, Edward Barbazon Robert Simpson, Rawlins Hillman and Edward Handfield. Andrew Grant is received on 30 Oct. 1776; Robert Lindsay and Michael Seix are added as company captains in 1777, William Raymond in 1779 and Francis Garforth in 1782.

The places attached to the signatures on the musters include the following: Scotland (pay dates June 1772 - March 1774)– Fort George, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Perth, Ayr; Ireland (pay dates Jan. 1774 - May 1775)– Dublin, Charles Fort at Kinsale, Monkstown; America – Boston (Massachusetts), Richmond Staten Island, Fountains Farm Staten Island, Rhode Island, Brunswick (New Jersey), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Cripple Bush Long Island, South Hampton, Yellow Hook Long Island, New York, Bedford, Chester, Newton, Jamaica, Paules Hook, Beland Heights near Jamaica, Flagg Staff Staten Island; England (pay dates June 1783 - Dec. 1784) – Canterbury, Chatham Barracks, and Windsor.            

            An Electronic Finding Aid Record which breaks down each muster by commander, payroll start, payroll end, company captain, former captain, place, date, and additional notes, is available linked below.