The 3rd Continental Light Dragoons were a mounted regiment of the Continental Army raised on January 1, 1777, at Morristown, New Jersey. By September 1778, the regiment had seen action at several major engagements including the Battle of Brandywine, the Battle of Germantown, and the Battle of Guilford Court House. The unit was positioned near Old Tappan, New Jersey, in close proximity to British positions when it became the target of a surprise attack.
On the night of September 27, 1778, the 3rd Continental Light Dragoons were surprised while sleeping in barns near Old Tappan, New Jersey. The Continentals referred to this engagement as the "Baylor Massacre." The attack resulted in at least 67 men as casualties and 70 horses killed. Among those captured was the regimental commander, Lt. Col. George Baylor, whose capture represented a significant loss of leadership for the unit.
Following the Baylor Massacre, Lt. Col. William Washington was transferred from the 4th Continental Light Dragoons to replace Baylor on November 20, 1778. In 1779, while the regiment was engaged in recruiting and remounting operations, it participated in the rescue of James Wilson during the "Fort Wilson Riot." The regiment was subsequently posted to the Southern department on November 1, 1779. The unit would face additional losses in April 1780 when British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton conducted a night attack on April 14, 1780, resulting in 15 killed, 17 wounded, 100 men captured, and 83 horses lost. These accumulated losses led to the unofficial amalgamation of the 3rd Continental Light Dragoons with the 1st Continental Light Dragoons.
The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) grew from colonial resistance to British taxation without parliamentary representation — a dispute that radicalized through the Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767), and the Boston Massacre (1770). Fighting began at Lexington and Concord in April 1775; the Continental Congress declared independence on July 4, 1776. The Continental Army under George Washington faced severe shortages of supplies and troops, enduring the brutal winter at Valley Forge (1777–1778) before French alliance and French financing turned the military balance. Major engagements included Bunker Hill (1775), Trenton (1776), Saratoga (1777) — which secured French intervention — and Yorktown (1781), where British General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. An estimated 25,000 American soldiers died in service, from combat, disease, and captivity. The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized American independence and ceded British territory east of the Mississippi, though it left unresolved questions about Indigenous land rights and the status of Loyalists.
At least 67 men were casualties; 70 horses killed
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