Dragoon Diary

The History of the Third Continental Light Dragoons

The Bergen Record reported that the remains of a Revolutionary War cavalry unit were unearthed in River Vale, NJ. This was the Third Continental Light Dragoons, nicknamed, Mrs. Washingtons Body Guard. The accompanying text read provided bayonet practice for the British in Old Tappan, NY. This has come down to us as the Baylor Massacre of September 28, 1778. Who were the officers and men of the Third Dragoons? Did they play more of a part in the American Revolution than provide bayonet practice? How did, and how could, a massacre take place? A military unit must have a history. Was the massacre the end of the dragoons? What was a Virginia unit doing in Bergen County, New Jersey in the first place? How could a cavalry unit be so surprised and then massacred with almost no shots fired in return? This is not a conventional history, in that there is little attempt to re-write history. History writes itself from letters, diaries, public records and newsprint.