Caleb Gibbs was the first commander of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard

Commander-in-Chief's Guard

The Commander-in-Chief's Guard, commonly known as Washington's Life Guard, was a unit of the Continental Army that protected General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Formed in 1776, the Guard was with Washington in all of his battles...

, the unit that protected General George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 during the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

.

Gibbs was born on February 28, 1748, in Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

. He took up residence in Marblehead

Marblehead, Massachusetts

Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. During the American Revolutionary War, he was a captain in the 14th Massachusetts Regiment

14th Massachusetts Regiment

The 14th Massachusetts Regiment was raised on September 16, 1776 under Colonel Gamaliel Bradford at Boston, Massachusetts. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Monmouth. The regiment was disbanded on January 1, 1781 at West Point, New York.-External links:*...

 from Marblehead. On 12 March 1776, General Washington appointed Captain Gibbs as the commander of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard, with the title of captain commandant. Three years later, in 1779, Gibbs was succeeded as commander by William Colfax. During his command of Washington's "Life Guard" Gibbs was promoted to the rank of Major on July 29, 1778.

On November 6, 1818, Gibbs died in Charlestown, Massachusetts

Charlestown, Massachusetts

Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...

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Letters between Caleb Gibbs and General Washington

http://www.consource.org/index.asp?bid=582&fid=600&documentid=61817

http://www.consource.org/index.asp?bid=582&fid=600&documentid=61838

http://www.consource.org/index.asp?bid=582&fid=600&documentid=61841

External links

• http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/gibbs.html
• http://www.newenglandancestors.org/database_search/msc.asp?f=RESEARCH\DATABASE\MSC\CONTENT\CALEB+GIBBS.HTM
• http://www.sar.org/committee/colorguard/Insignia.html