Richard "Long Hunter" Skaggs and Morgan's Rifles

Richard "Long Hunter" Skaggs was one of the Longhunter brothers, sons of James and Rachel Skaggs of the New River valley of Virginia.  His more famous brother, Henry, is the one we usually think of when we think of adventurers, however, Richard had a well-documented three-year military career during the American Revolution as a member of the 7th Virginia Regiment of Foot (Infantry) and the Provisional Rifle Corps, otherwise known as Morgan's Rifles.

We don't know exactly when Richard was born but we do know it was before 1765 since the 1810 Barren County, Kentucky census has Richard as over the age of 45.  Richard is mentioned in Frontier Kentucky by Otis K. Rice as in 1769 having 

"left Fort Chiswell, on New River, in early June, with men drawn from the New River section of Virginia, Rockbridge County, and the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina."

In 1774 Richard Skeggs was paid for 20 days service in Capt. Joseph Cloyd's company of the Virginia militia during Lord Dunmore's War against the Shawnee.  Richard was also paid for four-days service and provisions in Sgt. Henry Skaggs' detachment.  This military service in Lord Dunmore's War indicates that Richard was probably born sometime before 1754.

In December 1776 Richard joined Capt. Joseph Crockett's company of the 7th Virginia Regiment of Foot for a three-year enlistment.  The 7th Virginia Regiment was sent up to New Jersey to support Gen. George Washington's Philadelphia campaign.  They saw action at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown before wintering at Valley Forge, Pennnsylvania.  However, in July 1777 Col. Daniel Morgan returned to the army from British capture at Quebec City and was given command of the 11th Virginia Regiment and the Provisional Rifle Corps, an elite unit consisting of riflemen from his 11th Virginia Regiment and other nearby regiments.  One of those other nearby regiments was the 7th Virginia Regiment because Richard Scaggs was assigned to Morgan's Rifles in July 1777.  Richard was back with the 7th Virginia Regiment by September 1777 and fought with them at Germantown, then wintered with them at Valley Forge.

By April 1778 Richard was back with the Provisional Rifle Corps in New Jersey sniping at the British as the war turned into a stalemate in the North and the British began focusing on trying to win the war in the South.  In 1779 Richard was with the Provisional Rifle Corps in New York as part of the Sullivan Campaign against the Iroquois Confederacy, driving the Iroquois Indians and Loyalists into Canada.

Richard's three-year enlistment was over in 1779 and he returned back to Virginia, after the war migrating to Kentucky.  He shows up in the 1810 and 1820 census for Barren County, Kentucky and his will was probated there in 1821.