The 1st Canadian Regiment (1775–1781), was an Extra Continental regiment of the

American Patriots Patriots, also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs, were the colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rejected British rule during the American Revolution, and declared the United States of America an independent n ...

' Continental Army. The 1st was raised by James Livingston to support Patriot efforts in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

during the invasion of Quebec. Livingston, who was born in New York and living in Quebec, recruited men from Chambly,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

as early as September 1775, but a formal regimental designation was made by Richard Montgomery on November 20, 1775, with recognition by the Second Continental Congress following on January 8, 1776. The regiment, which never approached its authorized size of 1,000 men, saw action primarily in the Canadian theater and New York, and was disbanded on January 1, 1781, at King's Ferry, New York.

Formation

In September 1775, colonial forces under the command of

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alb ...

and Richard Montgomery crossed into

with the aim of driving British military forces from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

and

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

. Guy Carleton, the British governor and military commander, had fortified Fort Saint-Jean as the primary defense of Montreal. The colonial forces, preparing to besiege the fort, sought local support. James Livingston, a grain merchant living near Chambly, about from Saint-Jean, raised a local militia, which in October assisted in the siege and capture of

Fort Chambly Fort Chambly is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. Fort Chambly was formerly known as Fort St. Louis. It was part of a series of five fortificat ...

, and the capture of supplies intended for the besieged moving on the

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kn ...

. Following the fall of Montreal, Livingston was authorized by Montgomery on November 20 to raise a regiment to assist in the coming assault on Quebec City. In eight days he raised approximately 200 men. The regiment received formal recognition from the Second Continental Congress on January 8, 1776. Livingston, p. 238 The regiment at first consisted of a mix of

Canadien French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

s, Acadiens, and Anglophones. Two of Livingston's brothers served in the regiment. Richard Livingston was a lieutenant colonel, and Abraham served as a captain.

Service

Quebec

When Montgomery's army arrived outside Quebec, the 1st Canadian consisted of two to three hundred Canadiens. Institute of Canada Annual Report, p. 44 On December 31, 1775, the regiment was charged with making a diversion at

's Saint Jean gate, to draw British attention away from the primary attacks, which were led by Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery, and were directed at the city's Lower Town. The diversions did not work, and the battle ended disastrously for the Americans, with Montgomery killed, Arnold wounded, and about 400 men taken prisoner. The remnants of the army, then under Arnold's command, besieged the city until May 1776, when British reinforcements began arriving, forcing the Americans into a panicked retreat. The retreat ended at Sorel on May 20, where they were met by reinforcements, and eventually put under the command of General John Sullivan.

Trois-Rivières

On the night of June 7, 1776, Livingston's regiment was part of a force of about 2,000 under Brigadier General William Thompson that returned from Sorel to

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

to drive off what they believed to be 300 to 600 British troops from Quebec. When they arrived near Trois-Rivières, they instead found the vanguard of the British counteroffensive, numbering several thousand. After a brief skirmish, the Americans forces were broken, and made a disorganized retreat back to Sorel. Following this battle, the regiment retreated with the rest of the army to

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French milit ...

. While the regiment had never been particularly large (Livingston never had more than a few hundred men under arms at any one time), the retreat from Quebec left the regiment much reduced in size, since anyone leaving the province was unlikely to be able to return.

New York

Following the army's return to Ticonderoga, the regiment was assigned garrison duty in upstate New York, primarily the

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

and Schoharie valleys, so that it could be reorganized. Gardiner, p. 178 Wright, p. 60 During this time, Livingston was known to be recruiting in New York City. Magazine of American History, p. 72 Following Burgoyne's invasion from Quebec in 1777, the regiment was moved to the upper

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

valley. In August 1777, the regiment was assigned to Benedict Arnold on his expedition in relief of the Siege of Fort Stanwix. It then saw service in both Battles of Saratoga as part of

Ebenezer Learned Ebenezer Learned (April 18, 1728 – April 1, 1801) was a brigadier general in the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Early life and career He was the son of Ebenezer and Deborah Haynes Learned, and was born at Oxford, ...

's brigade.

Rhode Island

The regiment saw action in the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778.

Garrison duty

For the remainder of the war, the regiment had garrison duty in New York. Most notably, Colonel Livingston was in command of Verplanck's Point on the

in September 1780, and played a crucial role in the unmasking of Benedict Arnold's treachery. While on guard duty, his troops fired on the British sloop of war ''Vulture'', forcing that vessel to retreat southwards. This ship had brought Major John André to meet with General Arnold, who was then in command at West Point. Since the ship was driven off, André was forced to attempt travel by land to New York, when he was captured not far from the British lines near

Tarrytown Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hu ...

with incriminating papers in his possession. André was hanged as a spy, and Arnold, his plot discovered, managed to escape to the British lines.

Disbandment

The regiment was disbanded as part of a major reorganization on January 1, 1781, at King's Ferry, New York. Members that remained in service were assigned to the

2nd Canadian Regiment 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 ...

. Wright, p. 157

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:1st Canadian Regiment Military units and formations established in 1775 Military units and formations of the Continental Army French Canadians in the American Revolution Military units and formations of Quebec Expatriate military units and formations Military units and formations disestablished in 1781 Canadian-American history