Sunday, June 2, 2013

William Miller, Philadelphian


Miller entered the Royal Irish on 27 May 1771 most likely somewhere near Philadelphia. He was originally assigned to the General’s Coy. So he may have travelled to Ft. Pitt in the fall of 1771 and then down the Ohio to Illinois in the spring of 1772. If so, he returned from Illinois shortly and was back in Philadelphia by the end of October 1772, at which point he was transferred to Payne’s Coy. When the regiment prepared to leave Philadelphia, Miller was transferred to the Grenadier Coy on 9 October 1774 for the trip to Boston.
While in Boston, Miller stayed out of trouble and wasn’t mentioned in any of the documents related to the regiment other than in muster returns. He most likely fought at both Concord and Bunker Hill. He was present with the company at Charles Town Heights on 7 October 1775 and was drafted into the Grenadier Coy of the 52nd Foot in December 1775.  He was present with the 52nd Grenadiers for the Long Island Campaign, being listed as present at Staten Island on 12 July 1776. He was at Brunswick on 19 April 1777 prior to the start of the Philadelphia Campaign. He fought at Brandywine and Germantown. He was still present with the 52nd on 9 February 1778 when the company was mustered at Philadelphia. He decided to end his service on his own terms and deserted on 19 June 1778 from Philadelphia. It is probable he was a native Pennsylvania and took the opportunity go back to his previous life before the army left Philadelphia.[1]


[1] WO 12/6240, Returns of the 52nd Regiment of Foot.