As part of the January 1, 1776, organization of the Continental Army, Huntington's 8th Connecticut Regiment became the 17th Continental Regiment. Originally planned to have a strength of 728 officers and men, by the end of January the 17th only had about 400, as did most of the other regiments. On March 4, the 17th regiment was one of those ordered to take and hold Dorchester Heights, the action that ended the siege by forcing the British to evacuate Boston. The day following the end of the siege, Washington began moving the army to New York, and by April 22, Huntington and most of his unit were in position there.