6 For the commendable execution of his duties, Gibbs was promoted to the rank of major on July 29, 1778. Moreover, Gibbs would command detachments for special combat missions at various times during the war. The young officer was initially tasked with coordinating the security of the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, but quickly and ably took on the supervision of its daily operations. ![]() Washington was impressed with Caleb Gibb’s supervisory function in one of the best disciplined units in the Continental Army and selected the New Englander to command the guards the following day with the rank of captain. ![]() 3 As the British Army prepared to evacuate Boston in March of 1776, General Washington recognized the shift in the war and saw a need to establish a guard “for himself and Baggage” in the General Orders of March 11. After turning “out a Volunteer at the Battle of Lexington,” Gibbs was appointed Adjutant of Glover’s regiment on April 24, 1775, with the rank of lieutenant. 2 By 1769, he had moved to Marblehead, Massachusetts and became acquainted with local patriot leader John Glover. The third child of Robert and Sarah Gibbs, Caleb was baptized on September 25, 1748, at the Second Congregational Church in Newport, Rhode Island. ![]() Before retiring as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, George Washington attested that Gibbs, “on all occasions …behaved with propriety & honor that he several times performed the duty of a temporary Aid with fidelity and intelligence – and that having been present at the various skirmishes & actions he always conducted himself as a brave & discreet officer.” 1 Appointed the commander of the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard on March 12, 1776, Caleb Gibbs served as both the head of headquarters security and chief steward of George Washington’s military household for nearly five years during the War for Independence.
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