On this day 250 years ago in New York, Gen. George Washington requested that Maj. Elisha Sheldon of Connecticut form a regiment of dragoons from the 400 men of the 5th Connecticut Light Horse that Sheldon had commanded from before the beginning of the War. Washington had declined to accept the service of the Connecticut Light Horse before the Battle of Brooklyn and after the Battle of White Plains, Washington finally recognized the necessity of cavalry to guard against flanking movements by the British. Sheldon’s regiment would soon be commissioned as the Second Continental Light Dragoons and would be informally called “Sheldon’s Horse” and serve with distinction for the remainder of the War.

Sources: https://valley.newhavenindependent.org/2026/10/30/dar-remembers-washingtons-cavalry/; https://dragoons.info/our_past/