 The success of these rifle units during the skirmishing period , coupled with the arrival of large numbers of new army recruits , led Washington to create additional provisional rifle companies . He placed them under the command of Daniel Morgan in early June 1777 , calling the unit the Provisional Rifle Corps , although it was most commonly known as Morgan 's Rifle Corps in period documents . Morgan then simultaneously led the 11th Virginia Regiment , his permanent unit , and this provisional unit . Thirty @-@ five officers and enlisted men in Smith 's and Long 's composite companies , as well as others selected from their regular musket regiments , were detached from their permanent units to form this elite regiment @-@ sized force . The men from the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment all served in one of the Rifle Corps ' eight companies , Capt. Gabriel Long 's Provisional Rifle Company ; with the exception of a single man , all other members of the company came from the 11th Virginia Regiment . Like Morgan , Long was now technically in command of two Continental Army units , one permanent and one provisional . Long served in the Rifle Corps until his resignation in May 1779 , at which time command of his company passed to Marylander Lt. Elijah Evans , also one of the original officers of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment . Evans returned to Rawlings ' regiment , his permanent unit , when his detached duty in the Rifle Corps ended with its formal disbanding in early November 1779 . The Rifle Corps is most notable for the major role it played in the Battles of Saratoga . 
