2nd Canadian Regiment

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.[16] 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.[17][18] The regiment lost 4 officers and 73 men in the battle.[19]

A period map showing the locations of the battles at Brandywine and Germantown.

Still under Sullivan's command, the regiment participated in the Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777.[20] 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 17 miles (27 km) 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.[21]

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.[22] The regiment formed part of Sullivan's early attack on the British; its losses were 3 officers and 19 men.[20][23]

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.[24] They encamped at the present-day Brandywine Park in Wilmington.[25] 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.[26]

On January 24, 1778, Washington ordered Hazen's regiment to Albany, New York, transferring it from the 2nd Maryland Brigade to the Northern Department.[5][9][27] 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.[28] The regiment was then reassigned to the Highlands Department on April 4 and ordered to West Point.[5][9][29] The regiment was relieved July 22 from the Highlands Department and assigned to the New Hampshire Brigade, an element of the Main Army.[5][9] In July 1778 the regiment was sent to White Plains to help guard New York City.[29]

A flag purported to be that of the regiment.

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.[29]

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.[30] 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.[31]

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."[31][32]

In March 1779 the regiment was reassigned to the Northern Department,[5][9] 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.[33]

Hazen's objective was to extend a road in a northwest direction following the general path of an old Cohâssiac Indian trail from Lower Coös to St. Johns, Quebec. The road cut through the heavily forested Upper Connecticut Valley in an area of the New Hampshire Grants that was then known as Upper Coös, but is today known as Vermont's Northeast Kingdom.[33]

The village of Peacham became the base of operations for the military road project. The road actually started at the town of Wells River on the Connecticut River just north of Newbury. Blockhouses were built at Peacham, Cabot, Walden and Greensboro. Hazen made requisition upon the selectmen of the river towns to provide teams for the movement of his stores. Wells were dug at various points, swamps were bridged with logs and the road made passable for teams.[34] Hazen encamped for some time on the present site of Lowell village, and he called the place "the camp at the end of the road", although the road's actual terminus was some miles further on.[35]

The road crossed the Vermont Piedmont—rolling hills and valleys with isolated mountains. On June 22 it was reported that Hazen with half his men were within 40 miles (64 km) of St. John's. The regiment was recalled to the New York area in August; as a result, the road was never completed. A total of 54 miles (87 km) of road was built; the location where it ended is now known as Hazens Notch.[5][9][36]

In the fall, Hazen leveled charges of corruption and mismanagement against Isaac Tichenor, the deputy commissioner of purchases at Coös, General Bayley, the deputy quartermaster-general, and Matthew Lyons, the deputy commissioner of issues. His regiment were poorly supplied the whole summer at Coös, supplies of beef arrived spoiled, and Hazen had to send his men into the fields to help with the harvest so they could eat. Courts-martial were later held.[37]

In October 1779 the regiment was ordered to Peekskill, New York,[37] and on November 25 it was assigned to Hand's Brigade in the Main Army.[5][9] They spent the winter at Morristown, New Jersey, where they experienced severe shortages of food. The site, known as "Jockey Hollow", is in the Morristown National Historical Park.[12][38]

On January 14, 1780, the regiment participated in a "commando" raid of Staten Island planned in secrecy by General Washington and led by Lord Stirling. The object of the raid was a surprise attack on the enemy at the Watering Place Redoubts and to secure provisions. Preparations for the raid called for British attention to be focused on Irvine's detachment in the vicinity of Elizabethtown, while the 2nd Canadian marched to Connecticut Farms (present-day Union). Meanwhile, Steward's detachment would advance onto Staten Island, and Stirling's forces would then push to Richmond, in the center of Staten Island, where they would surprise enemy troops.[39]

Lord Stirling had intelligence that the enemy had a force of about 1,000 men, with the main body in huts near the Watering Place Redoubts. These were three British circular redoubts, double-abatised, with about 200 men each, located at present-day Fort Hill Circle in St. George, just north of Tompkinsville.[40] Around midnight on January 14, loaded with cannon and 1,500–3,000 troops, American forces crossed over the frozen ice of the Kill Van Kull waterway from Elizabethtown Point on 500 sleds. It was a starry night, and Loyalist spies had warned the British of the American approach. As a result, the Americans found the British on the posts and alert. With the element of surprise gone, and conditions extremely cold, the raid was aborted. American troops suffered minor frostbite injuries but brought back 17 prisoners, as well as some horses and camp supplies.[12][41]

In the spring of 1780, the regiment was subjected to a thorough inspection by Baron von Steuben, and was found to be "well taken care of".[42] Von Steuben made recommendations as a result of his inspections (which covered much of the Continental Army) that resulted in the merging of the 1st and 2nd Canadian regiments in 1781.[42]

The regiment spent the summer of 1780 at King's Ferry, New York.[43] Regimental orderly books show that it was at Morristown, Bryant's Tavern, Ramapo and Preakness between April 23 and July 26.[44] On August 1 the regiment was reassigned from Hand's Brigade to the New Hampshire Brigade of the Main Army. This brigade was to be under the command of Enoch Poor, but its command was ultimately given to Hazen, although Hazen was not promoted to brigadier general.[43]

On August 23, von Steuben arrested Hazen for halting his brigade on a march without permission. The army was on the march from Tappan to the Liberty Pole, a pre-war landmark located near Englewood, when Hazen halted the march for his troops to drink water. Hazen was acquitted of the charges,[43] and promptly countercharged von Steuben with conduct unbecoming an officer over the incident; von Steuben apologized.[45]

Following the capture of British spy John André and the defection of Benedict Arnold to the British in September 1780, one hundred of Hazen's soldiers, under command of Lieutenant William Torrey, were detailed to be present at André's hanging on October 2, at Tappan, New York.[45]

In the fall of 1780 the regiment was headquartered at Nelson's Point in Garrison, New York, directly across the Hudson River from West Point, before entering winter quarters at Fishkill, New York, in November. During this time eleven officers of the regiment, led by Major James Reid, complained to General Washington (without first consulting Hazen) over the lack of advancement opportunities in the regiment, which were due in part to its unusual position as being the direct responsibility of Congress, rather than under a state's supervision. Reid also made complaints against Hazen, which were heard and dismissed in a November 1780 court martial. Hazen had Reid arrested and confined to quarters afterwards; a long court martial (running from December 1780 to February 1781) resulted in Reid's conviction on two counts and a public reprimand by General Washington.[46]

Regimental orderly books show that during these periods the regiment had operations at Orangetown, Steeprapie and West Point between September 16 and November 19, and at West Point from October 5 to March 5, 1781.[44]

On January 1, 1781, in accordance with von Steuben's recommendations, the 1st Canadian Regiment was disbanded. The Canadian members were reassigned to the 2nd Regiment, which was then designated as the Canadian Regiment. Most foreign volunteers were also assigned to the regiment.[42]

Hazen and part of the regiment participated in a raid on January 22 led by Lieutenant Colonel William Hull. Hull raided a position held by a Loyalist corps under Lieutenant Colonel Oliver De Lancey Sr. that was at Morrisania (in the present-day Bronx). The Americans burned the enemy's barracks, captured 52 prisoners, and took large supplies of ammunition and forage. Hazen's men were assigned to cover their retreat. About 1,000 British troops pursued Hull's men beyond a point where Hazen and his men were concealed. A skirmish took place, with British losing about 35 men.[47]

On June 1, the regiment was sent from the West Point–Fishkill area to Albany and the Mohawk River valley to guard against an expected British attack. For this action it was reassigned from the Highlands Department to the Northern Department.[5][9] The regiment arrived at Albany on June 5, and spent most of the month patrolling in the Mohawk River valley against an attack that never came. When the perceived threat subsided, the regiment was immediately ordered to return to West Point.[48] On June 29, Hazen was finally given a brevet promotion to brigadier general.[49]

The regiment was reassigned from Hazen's Brigade to the Middle Department on December 6, 1781.[5][9] On this date, a portion of the regiment went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where they guarded prisoners taken at Yorktown.[5][9][58] They were on this detail for 10 months with prisoners under guard at Lancaster, York and Reading.[53][58] The most notable prisoner under Hazen's watch during this time was 20-year-old Captain Charles Asgill. On May 3, 1782, upon orders by Washington, he was selected to hang in retaliation for the brutal summary execution of American Captain Joshua Huddy by the British. In November 1782 his life was spared after heartrending correspondence by his family and intervention by the Queen of France.[59][60]

In June 1782 Hazen again had James Reid arrested on charges including disobedience and conduct unbecoming an officer. The court martial, held in December, resulted in a mistrial, with Hazen alleging bias on the part of the presiding judge advocate. After additional hearings, Reid was ultimately acquitted of the charges.[61] In November 1782, the regiment was moved to Pompton, New Jersey, for winter quarters. Its duties during this time included the interdiction of trade between the countryside and the British in New York City.[62]