The 2nd Canadian Regiment (1776–1783), also known as Congress' Own or Hazen's Regiment, was authorized on January 20, 1776, as an Extra Continental regiment and raised in the province of Quebec for service with the American Continental Army 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 Commanded by Colonel (later Brigadier General) Moses Hazen for its entire existence, the regiment was originally made up of volunteers and refugees from Quebec who supported the rebel cause during the disastrous invasion of Canada.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. 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.
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.
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. Arnold then assigned the regiment to guard duty at Fort Chambly, where it remained until the American retreat in June 1776.