1782 dated onnecticut Line Document - Pay Order and Proof of Service

Pay order for service in the Continental army.

The Connecticut Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term “Connecticut Line” referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Connecticut by the Continental Congress at various times. The size of this allocation was determined by Connecticut’s population compared to other states. These regiments, along with similarly apportioned contingents from the other twelve states, formed the Continental Line. This concept was particularly crucial in promoting commissioned officers. Officers below the rank of brigadier general were usually ineligible for promotion except in their own state.
During the war, 27 infantry regiments were assigned to the Connecticut Line. This included the eight provincial regiments from 1775, Wooster’s Provisional Regiment (formed by consolidating the remnants of the original 1st, 4th, and 5th Regiments), the five numbered Continental regiments from 1776, the eight Connecticut regiments from 1777, S.B. Webb’s Additional Continental Regiment (which later became the 9th Connecticut Regiment), and four new regiments created by consolidation in 1781.