The 2nd Canadian Regiment (1776–1783), also known as Congress's Own or Hazen's Regiment, was an Extra Continental regiment of the American Patriots' Continental Army, consisting primarily of volunteers from the Province of Quebec. It was authorized on January 20, 1776 under the command of Colonel Moses Hazen. All or part of the regiment saw action at Staten Island, Brandywine, Germantown and the Siege of Yorktown. Most of its non-combat time was spent in and around New York City as part of the forces monitoring the British forces occupying that city. The regiment was disbanded on November 15, 1783 at West Point, New York.
The regiment was one of a small number of Continental Army regiments that was the direct responsibility of the Continental Congress (most regiments were funded and supplied by a specific state). Commanded by Colonel (later Brigadier General) Moses Hazen for its entire existence, the regiment was originally made up of volunteers and refugees from Quebec who supported the rebel cause during the disastrous invasion of Canada. Hazen and his staff were later authorized by Congress to recruit in other areas to supplement their ranks.
Origins
Late in 1775, Colonel James Livingston raised and commanded a regiment of Canadians that fought at St. Jean, Quebec, in support of General Montgomery's 1775 invasion of Quebec. Livingston's 300 Canadians, along with about 50 Americans, were instrumental in the fall of Fort Chambly during that engagement. Livingston's regiment, which was not formalized by Montgomery until November 1775, also participated in the action at Quebec. On January 3, 1776, Congress commissioned him Colonel, and his organization became known as the Canadian Regiment.
Moses Hazen had served as a lieutenant in the 44th Regiment during the French and Indian War and was receiving a half-pay pension for his British service. In 1775, while he was living on this plus the income from his estate in St. Jean, Quebec, the colonial army invaded. Nevertheless, Hazen was arrested by the British on suspicion of spying for the Americans. He was held a prisoner for 54 days, until he was finally released by General Montgomery after the fall of Montreal in November. Hazen then joined the American cause, and took part in the battle of Quebec. Following the American failure to take the city, Hazen and Edward Antill, an American expatriate, traveled to Philadelphia to report on the battle. Congress partially compensated Hazen by establishing the 2nd Canadian Regiment. He accepted the command, thus forfeiting his British half-pay.Everest, p. 35 Antill was made lieutenant colonel of the regiment. Although John Duggan, one of Livingston's captains, had been promised a regiment by Benedict Arnold, Hazen and Antill reached Philadelphia before Duggan, and Hazen smeared his name in his effort to get command of the regiment.Everest, p. 36
On January 20, 1776, Congress authorized the 2nd Canadian Regiment with an allowed maximum strength of 1,000. It would consist of four battalions (5 companies each), the only oversized regiment in the Continental Army. It was assigned to the Army's Canadian Department, and was organized by Hazen on February 10, 1776, at Montreal, to be recruited from the Richelieu and St. Lawrence Valleys. Over the next two months, Hazen and Antill recruited in those areas, until early April, when the recruiting funds dried up, raising about 250 men.Everest, pp. 38–39
During much of the war, the 2nd Canadian Regiment was known as Congress's Own Regiment, and Livingston's command continued to be known as the Canadian Regiment. Greatly depleted by its five years of service, Livingston's regiment was disbanded in the reorganization of the Continental Army on January 1, 1781. Its Canadian elements were assigned to Hazen's command, which was then redesignated as the Canadian Regiment.
Montreal and retreat The regiment was first assigned to garrison duty in and around Montreal, which was under Major General David Wooster's command. In March 1776, Wooster went to Quebec City to assume command of the army there; Hazen was temporarily placed in command of the forces at Montreal until Benedict Arnold arrived from Quebec in April.Everest, p. 38 Arnold then assigned the regiment to guard duty at Fort Chambly, where it remained until the American retreat in June 1776.Everest, p. 42
On July 2, the Canadian Department was disbanded, and regiment was reassigned to the Northern Department. The regiment was at Fort Ticonderoga in July 1776, Albany in September, and then Fishkill, New York, for winter quarters.Everest, p. 175 By the time the regiment reached Albany, its strength had dropped to about 100.Linn, p. 103 On November 12, the regiment was assigned to the Highlands Department. It was reorganized on January 1, 1777, to consist of four battalions (20 companies), and Hazen was given permission to recruit "at large" – that is, he was allowed to recruit from any states, not just Quebec. These recruitment efforts met with mixed success, as most states had been assigned quotas for troop recruitment to fill their line companies, and thus preferred to have men enter those commands rather than Hazen's. On January 8, the regiment was assigned to the Main Army.
New Jersey campaign The regiment was at Princeton, New Jersey, as early as May 19, 1777, where it was assigned on May 22 to the 2nd Maryland Brigade of the Main Army. In early August the regiment, brigaded as part of General John Sullivan's Division, was encamped at Hanover, New Jersey. Several of the regiment's companies participated in the Battle of Staten Island on August 22, 1777. Its losses included 8 officers and 40 men, with the captured including Antill and Captain James Herron.Everest, p. 52 Antill would not be exchanged until November 10, 1780.
Philadelphia campaign
Battle of Brandywine
Sullivan's division then marched south to join Washington's army in the defense of Philadelphia. On September 11, 1777, a battalion of 200 of Hazen's men was sent a mile north of Jones's Ford to cover Wistar's Ford, and a second battalion of 200 men was posted at Buffington's Ford about a mile north of Wistar's Ford, situated just below the forks of the Brandywine Creek. Hazen's troops spotted British troops in a flanking maneuver and crossing the Brandywine River. They sent a report of this movement to George Washington, who initially did not believe this intelligence despite its corroboration by Lieutenant Colonel James Ross.Everest, pp. 53–54 The regiment lost 4 officers and 73 men in the battle.Everest, p. 54
Battle of Germantown
Still under Sullivan's command, the regiment participated in the Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777.Everest, p. 55 The British were encamped at Germantown northwest of Philadelphia. On the evening of October 3 General Washington ordered his troops, encamped at Skippack Creek on the north side of the Schuylkill River, to march as part of a planned surprise attack on the British at daybreak. The Americans would then descend upon Germantown from the north in four columns, under the commands of Generals Sullivan, Greene, Armstrong and Smallwood, along four main roads leading into Germantown. The main effort of the advance was to be General Sullivan leading the column on the right and General Nathanael Greene on the left. Sullivan's column, with the Continental troops of his own division and others, was to advance down Germantown Road against Howe's center.McGuire, p. 50
The regiment was part of the platoon of the advance party that first entered Germantown before the battle became general. Unbeknownst to Washington, the columns of Greene and Smallwood got lost. Washington himself accompanied Sullivan's force and, at 5 am, ordered him to launch the assault. The leading element of Sullivan's column, General Thomas Conway's brigade, attacked the British 2d Light Infantry battalion, which had been reinforced by the British 40th Regiment of Foot under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Musgrave. The regiment formed part of Sullivan's early attack on the British; its losses were 3 officers and 19 men.McGuire, p. 69
Winter quarters 1777–1778
On December 21, 1777, the regiment and a detachment of the Maryland Line under the command of General William Smallwood (the 2nd Maryland Brigade) arrived at Wilmington, Delaware, to protect the city from the British.Everest, p. 58 They encamped at the present-day Brandywine Park in Wilmington. The highlight of this time included Smallwood's capture of the British armed brigantine Symmetry on December 30. This ship was laden with supplies, including winter clothing, en route to the British in Philadelphia.
Activities on the northern front
New York and Connecticut On January 24, 1778, Washington ordered Hazen's regiment to Albany, New York, transferring it from the 2nd Maryland Brigade to the Northern Department. The objective was a planned invasion of Quebec. Hazen was assigned to the deputy quartermaster's post for the expedition, which was anticipated to involve 2,500 men. The effort was troubled by supply and manpower difficulties, suspended in February, and then called off by Congress in March.Everest, pp. 57–58 The regiment was then reassigned to the Highlands Department on April 4 and ordered to West Point.Everest, p. 60 The regiment was relieved July 22 from the Highlands Department and assigned to the New Hampshire Brigade, an element of the Main Army. In July 1778 the regiment was sent to White Plains to help guard New York City.
At White Plains, Hazen proposed a new potential invasion route to Quebec. This route went from Newbury in the New Hampshire Grants (present-day Vermont), where Hazen owned property, to Saint Francis, Quebec. On July 12, Hazen departed Newbury to scout the route. By July 25, he had returned to White Plains; the effort was abandoned for the time being because the manpower was needed in the New York area.
That summer, low manpower in Hazen's regiment caused Washington to consider disbanding it; the regiment's size had dropped to 522, and Washington was concerned over an excessively large number of officers (33) in the regiment. Hazen successfully argued for retention of the regiment, and noted that the large number of officers was needed because companies from the regiment were often detached to other units for service.Everest, p. 61 During the autumn a large shipment of clothing and shoes arrived from France. After a lottery was held in October, Hazen's regiment were issued the uniform of brown coats faced with red.Everest, p. 64
In November, the regiment was ordered to Connecticut where it encamped at Redding for winter quarters. (Today, this is the site of Putnam Memorial State Park, where more than 100 piles of stone in the area of the park known as the "Encampment Site" are believed to mark the locations of the huts that sheltered troops from this and other regiments.) A weekly return for the brigade dated December 26, 1778, states that 162 men in the regiment were "unfit for duty for want of shoes."
Coös Country In March 1779 the regiment was reassigned to the Northern Department, and marched to Springfield, Massachusetts. From Springfield they marched to Charlestown, New Hampshire and picked up clothing and supplies. They arrived in what was called the Coös Country of northern New Hampshire in May, and were tasked to build a road now known as the Bayley-Hazen Military Road from the Connecticut River to St. Jean, Quebec. Hazen had been secretly ordered to the area by Washington in April. Along with a large portion of Colonel Timothy Bedel's Regiment and Major Benjamin Whitcomb's New Hampshire rangers, they began to extend the road, a portion of which had been constructed in 1776 under the direction of Colonel Jacob Bayley.Everest, p. 70