Moses Hazen Moses Hazen ( June 1 , 1733 – February 5 , 1803 ) was a Brigadier General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . Born in the Province of Massachusetts Bay , he saw action in the French and Indian War with Rogers ' Rangers . His service included particularly brutal raids during the Expulsion of the Acadians and the 1759 Siege of Quebec . He was formally commissioned into the British Army shortly before the war ended , and retired on half - pay outside Montreal , Quebec , where he and Gabriel Christie , another British officer , made extensive land purchases in partnership . During his lifetime he acquired land in Quebec , New Hampshire , Vermont , and New York , but lost most of his Quebec land due to litigation with Christie and the effects of the revolution . In 1775 he became involved in the American invasion of Quebec early in the American Revolutionary War , and served with the Continental Army in the 1775 Battle of Quebec . He went on to lead his own regiment ( the 2nd Canadian , also known as " Congress ' Own " ) throughout the war , seeing action in the 1777 Philadelphia campaign and at Yorktown in 1781 . He was frequently involved in litigation , both military and civil , and constantly petitioned Congress for compensation of losses and expenses incurred due to the war . He supported similar efforts by men from his regiment who were unable to return to Quebec because of their support for the American war effort . Early life . Moses Hazen was born in Haverhill , a frontier town in the Province of Massachusetts Bay , to an old New England Puritan family . Some histories that mention Hazen sometimes indicate that he was Jewish . A genealogist clearly documents Hazen ' s lineage to England , where the family name was Hassen . Contemporaries of Hazen seem to have thought he was Jewish ; for example , Sergeant James Thompson , in his diary " The Fraser ’ s Highlanders " , describes meeting him during the retreat from the Battle of Sainte - Foy : " On the way , I fell in with a Captain Moses Hazen , a jew " . French and Indian War . Hazen was apprenticed to a tanner when the French and Indian War broke out . In 1756 , he enlisted with the local militia , which included a number of family members . He first served at Fort William Henry near Lake George , where he probably first met , and may have served under , Robert Rogers of Rogers ' Rangers . Rogers eventually recommended him for an officer ' s commission in a new company of the Rangers ; in 1758 , after having worked for his brother providing supplies for the British Siege of Louisbourg , he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in John McCurdy ' s company of the Rangers at Fort Edward . In McCurdy ' s company , he saw action at Louisbourg , including the initial landings , when the action was quite fierce . After Louisbourg , the company was stationed first at Fort Frederick ( Saint John , New Brunswick ) , and then at Fort St . Anne , where the company was part of a campaign against Indians and Acadian s that had taken refuge there from the ongoing expulsion of the Acadians . These raids were sometimes quite brutal ; the company was known to scalp Acadian settlers . In one particularly brutal incident , Hazen was responsible for the scalping of six men , and the burning of four others , along with two women and three children , in a house he set on fire . Joseph Bellefontaine , a leader of the local militia and the father of one of the women , claimed that he was forced to witness this event in an attempt to coerce his cooperation with the rangers . ( Bellefontaine escaped into the woods with two of his grandchildren . ) General Jeffrey Amherst , who did not hear of the incident until after he had promoted Hazen to captain , noted , " I am sorry that to say what I have since heard of that affair has sullied his merit with me as I shall always disapprove of killing women and helpless children . " In January 1759 , Captain McCurdy was killed when a tree felled by one of his men fell on him ; Hazen was given command of the company . Later in 1759 , his company was at the siege of Quebec , where the company was primarily engaged in scouting and raiding in the countryside ; he was away on one of those raids during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham . In another notable atrocity that may have involved Hazen ' s company , a priest and thirty parishioners in a parish near Quebec were killed and scalped . Hazen also fought at the 1760 Battle of Sainte - Foy , where he was severely wounded in the thigh . In February 1761 , he purchased a commission as a first Lieutenant in the 44th Regiment of Foot in the British Army . He spent the remainder of the war on garrison duty at Montreal , retiring on half - pay in 1763 . General James Murray wrote approvingly of Hazen in 1761 , " He discovered so much still bravery and good conduct as would justly entitle him to every military reward he could ask or demand " . Land development . During the siege of Quebec , Hazen had met Gabriel Christie , then a deputy quartermaster . Christie owned some land in the Richelieu River valley south of Montreal , and wanted to expand his holdings . ( Christie later became one of the largest landowners in Quebec . ) After the war , Christie and Hazen jointly purchased the seigneuries of Sabrevois and Bleury , located on the east bank of the Richelieu near Fort Saint - Jean . They also leased land on the west side of river from the Baron of Longueuil . These holdings gave them almost exclusive control over the land holdings around Saint - Jean , which is the northernmost navigable point reachable from Lake Champlain . Christie , who was still in military service , was frequently away from the land , so Hazen developed the land while Christie provided the funding . Hazen constructed a manor house at Iberville , and two mills , and set about selling timber and other business endeavours . In 1765 , Hazen was also appointed a deputy land surveyor , and a justice of the peace . As part of his business dealings , he offered General Thomas Gage , then in command of British forces in New York City , facilities and lumber for military use . Gage was uninterested at the time , letting Hazen know that he would keep the offer in mind , if the need for military movements became necessary in the area . Hazen expanded the business of the seigneuries , but his aggressive development also incurred debts , which caused friction with Christie . In 1770 , Christie , unhappy with the debts , eventually demanded an accounting . This ultimately led to a division of the holdings , with Hazen receiving the southern portion of the Bleury seigneurage , styled Bleury - Sud . Hazen and Christie were in and out of court for years afterward over control of these lands ; Christie eventually won complete control over those lands after the American Revolution . In 1762 Hazen ' s brother John settled Haverhill , New Hampshire , in the far north of that province on the east side of the Connecticut River , and in 1764 Jacob Bayley settled Newbury , in what is now Vermont , across the river from Haverhill . Hazen had shares in both of these settlements ; he also acquired land west of the Connecticut River in what is now Bradford , Vermont . It was at this time that the idea of constructing a road from there to Saint - Jean was first raised ; this idea surfaced again during the American Revolutionary War , when George Washington authorized construction of what became known as the Bayley Hazen Military Road . His land developments continued to grow in 1764 when he joined the Saint John River Society , and organization created by a group of military officers for the purpose of developing land along the Saint John River , then in Nova Scotia ( now New Brunswick ) . His coinvestors included Thomas Gage , Frederick Haldimand , William Johnson , and Thomas Hutchinson . In the fall of 1770 Hazen married Charlotte de la Saussaye , a woman from a good family in Montreal . They settled down near Saint - Jean , where they built a house and began farming . Revolutionary War . Continental Army arrives . At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 , Hazen was living on half - pay in Saint - Jean . When Benedict Arnold raided Fort Saint - Jean on May 18 , Hazen reported the news of that raid ( as well as the capture of Fort Ticonderoga ) first to the military authorities in Montreal , and then to Governor Guy Carleton in Quebec , before returning home to consider the consequences the conflict might have on him and his lands . The American invasion of Quebec arrived near his home at Saint - Jean on September 6 . On that day , Hazen met with General Philip Schuyler , explaining to him that Fort Saint - Jean was well - defended and unlikely to be taken by siege , and that the local habitant s were unlikely to assist the American effort . This gloomy portrait led Schuyler to consider retreating ; but the arrival of additional American troops , and a more optimistic assessment from James Livingston , a grain merchant living near Chambly , encouraged the Americans to renew the attack . Livingston went on to form the 1st Canadian Regiment in November 1775 . Imprisonment and release . On September 17 , Brigadier General Richard Montgomery , now commanding the American forces , began to besiege Fort St . Jean . The next day , a detachment of American forces under the command of John Brown arrested Hazen north of the fort . However , a British sortie from the fort forced Brown ' s men to retreat ; Hazen ended up in British hands . Major Charles Preston , the British commander , was mistrustful of Hazen , and sent him to Montreal under the guard of Claude de Lorimier . Brigadier General Richard Prescott , unhappy with Hazen ' s explanations of his movements , imprisoned him . He was held in poor conditions for 54 days . Following the fall of Fort St . Jean , the British withdrew from Montreal , transporting prisoners on one of the many ships used in the evacuation . Most of this British fleet was captured by the Americans , who released Hazen and other political prisoners who had supported them . Unhappy with the treatment he received by the British , Hazen joined the American forces , which were on their way to Quebec City . He did this in spite of the fact that the Americans had done significant damage to his estate during the siege , plundering the estate for supplies , and using his house as a barracks . Service in Quebec . Hazen served in the Battle of Quebec , and was one of two men ( the other was Edward Antill ) sent to report the devastating loss to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia . The Congress , in recognition for his efforts , gave Hazen a commission as a colonel , leading the Continental Army ' s 2nd Canadian Regiment . ( Antill was commissioned the regiment ' s lieutenant colonel . ) The regiment was often referred to as " Hazen ' s " or " Congress ' Own " , the latter because the regiment was established by Congress and was not part of any state quotas . Hazen was initially offered a position as brigadier general , but he refused , requesting instead a colonel ' s commission , and indemnification against losses caused by the conflict . ( His property had already been significantly damaged by the American action around St . Jean . ) Hazen was fortunate in arriving in Philadelphia before John Duggan , one of Livingston ' s captains , to whom Benedict Arnold had earlier promised the commission for the 2nd Canadian . Hazen and Antill returned to Quebec , where Hazen was stationed at Montreal while Antill recruited men for the regiment . Hazen was briefly in command of the defenses of Montreal for the Americans , from late March to mid - April 1776 , when General David Wooster took command of the American forces outside Quebec , and Benedict Arnold assumed command of the Montreal garrison . During the time he was in command , Hazen dispatched Timothy Bedel and 390 men to fortify The Cedars , about upriver from Montreal ; these forces surrendered to a British - Native force during the Battle of The Cedars in May . Trouble with Arnold . Following Arnold ' s assumption of command at Montreal , Hazen ' s regiment was assigned to garrison duty at Fort Chambly . Hazen ( and likely his men ) were called as reinforcements to assist in the American response to the action at The Cedars . In council , Hazen and Arnold had a heated exchange over what actions to take ; in Arnold ' s opinion , Hazen ' s behavior bordered on insubordination . Arnold had previously held a high opinion of Hazen , writing that he was " a sensible , judicious officer , and well acquainted with this country " . During the American retreat from Quebec in May and June 1776 , Hazen and Arnold were embroiled in a dispute that led to charges and counter - charges , courts martial and other hearings , lasting into 1779 . At issue were supplies that Arnold had ordered seized from merchants in Montreal and sent to Chambly for eventual shipment south as part of the retreat . Hazen , in charge of the facilities at Chambly , refused to sign for the goods , as he recognized them as the property of friends in Montreal . In the ensuing retreat , most of these goods were plundered and lost . Arnold wanted to immediately court - martial Hazen for failing to follow orders , but the arriving British army delayed any such activity until the army ' s return to Fort Ticonderoga . Arnold ' s opinion of Hazen clearly changed ; he wrote , " This is not the first or last order Col . Hazen has disobeyed . I think him a man of too much consequence for the post he is in . " Hazen ' s court martial was held on July 19 , 1776 ; he was honorably acquitted . However , there were irregularities in the proceedings ( the judge advocate was the same officer who had delivered the goods from Montreal to Chambly , so he did not testify ) , and Arnold continued to attack Hazen afterwards . In December 1776 another inquiry was held , and Hazen was again cleared of any wrongdoing . Hazen then countercharged Arnold with the plundering of the Montreal merchants ; Arnold was not cleared of these charges until a higher - level inquiry in 1777 . Building his regiment . Hazen ' s regiment , which was significantly reduced in size by the retreat from Quebec , was assigned first to Ticonderoga , and then to Albany , in the summer and fall of 1776 , before being ordered to winter quarters at Fishkill , New York . During this time , Hazen continued recruiting , receiving permission from Congress to recruit anywhere in the United States . In the northern states he ran into difficulties , as those states were having trouble filling their own regimental lines ; he was often outbid by other recruiters . Antill , who recruited in the central states ( primarily New Jersey , Maryland , and Pennsylvania ) , had greater success . By June 1777 , the regiment reached about 700 members , out of an authorized strength of 1 , 000 . The cultural differences between the original Quebec enlistees and the new recruits from the Thirteen Colonies was a regular source of friction within the regiment , and Hazen consequently kept the French - speakers in companies separated from the English - speakers . Hazen also submitted to Congress a claim for damages to his estate in Quebec . The original bill was for $ 11 , 363 ; Congress paid $ 2 , 595 in October 1776 . Philadelphia campaign . In May 1777 , Hazen ' s regiment was ordered to join the main army at Princeton , where it was active in the Philadelphia campaign as part of John Sullivan ' s brigade . Some of Hazen ' s companies ( but not Hazen himself ) participated in the Battle of Staten Island ; in this action , Antill was captured . Hazen ' s command during the Battle of Brandywine included the northern ( right ) end of the American line ; this position was one of those flanked by the British in their attack . Hazen made an early report indicating the presence of British troops on the American flank that turned out to be the main British thrust . His report was dismissed by General Sullivan , who wrote , after receiving other reports , that " Colo . Hazen ' s Information must be wrong . " To Sullivan ' s detriment , the other reports were wrong , and Hazen ' s was correct ; the British flanking maneuver was instrumental in the American loss of the battle . Hazen ' s regiment lost 4 officers and 73 men in the battle . In the Battle of Germantown , Hazen commanded a brigade that included in addition to his own regiment , the 2nd , 4th , and 6th Maryland Regiment s . They formed part of Sullivan ' s column when it marched on the town ; his regiment lost 3 officers and 19 men in the engagement . Bayley - Hazen Road proposed . Hazen , ever since his return to the United States in 1776 , had maintained a constant stream of communications with Congress , primarily on the subject of Canada . In January 1778 , these communications bore some fruit , when , with French assistance , planning for an invasion of Canada began . Hazen was assigned the job of deputy quartermaster for this operation . However , the planning was hampered by supply and staffing difficulties , and never got off the ground . It was ultimately cancelled by Congress in March 1778 . This failure did not deter Hazen from offering a new route for invading Canada . This route went from Newbury , where Hazen owned land and knew the area , 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 . Plans for possible attacks against Quebec based on routes departing from the Newbury area were again contemplated in the fall of 1778 , but Washington continued to resist the idea . Construction work on the road . In the spring and summer of 1779 , Hazen ' s regiment and that of Timothy Bedel worked on construction of the Bayley Hazen Military Road , once again with the eventual goal of launching an invasion . Part of the road , between Newbury and Peacham had been constructed in 1776 by Jacob Bayley . Hazen supervised the development of the road up to what is now called Hazens Notch in northern Vermont . Work was discontinued on the road in August after word was received that the British were preparing a military force at Saint - Jean to attempt capture of the construction crew . General Washington had never intended to send an invasion along this route ; the entire works was a ruse to divert British attention , and deter them from launching an invasion . Washington wrote to Congress that the work " was for the purpose of exciting jealousies at Quebec and at the Enemy ' s posts on the St . lawrence , and of making a diversion in favor of the late expedition under general Sullivan . . . this very happily succeeded " . Service around New York . Hazen and his regiment spent the winter at Washington ' s main encampment in Morristown , New Jersey . There Hazen was again involved in litigation ; he was rejected for service on a court martial considering charges against Benedict Arnold due to their previous confrontations , and he also opened complaints of supply mismanagement during the summer ' s roadbuilding activities . A detailed review of the army in the spring of 1780 by Baron von Steuben led to the recommendation that the regiments of Hazen and Livingston be merged , as Livingston ' s had shrunk to 103 men . Hazen and Livingston had a political tussle over seniority ; although Hazen lost the claim to seniority , he ended up in command of the combined regiment . In January 1780 the regiment was involved in a failed attack on Staten Island ; word of the operation leaked to the British . Hazen ' s regiment was then transferred to the brigade of Enoch Poor . By the time the transfer was effected , Hazen was given command of the entire brigade , although repeated requests he had made for promotion to brigadier general were rejected . During the summer the brigade was relocated to the West Point area . While en route , Hazen allowed his men to stop for water , breaking the army column . Von Steuben ordered Hazen ' s arrest for this transgression of military discipline . Hazen was acquitted , and promptly countercharged von Steuben with behavior unbecoming an officer and gentleman ; von Steuben apologized . Hazen ' s regiment was garrisoned opposite West Point that fall when British Major John André was captured and General Arnold defected . One hundred of Hazen ' s men , including his nephew , Benjamin Mooers , witnessed André ' s hanging . Yorktown . On June 29 , 1781 , Hazen was finally promoted to Brigadier General and assigned command of a brigade under Lafayette during the Siege of Yorktown . Hazen ' s brigade served on the right of the line , and was deeply involved in the October 14 battles for the redoubts . Following the British surrender , Hazen and his unit were given prisoner guard duty at Lancaster , Pennsylvania . While on this duty , a misstep by Hazen caused a minor diplomatic incident , known as the " Asgill Affair " . The British accused an American soldier of spying , and were threatening to hang him . George Washington threatened to hang a British soldier if this happened , and instructed Hazen to choose an officer whose rank was similar to that of the accused American . The man he chose by lot , Charles Asgill , should have been ineligible for selection due to the terms of the Yorktown surrender . The accused American was eventually acquitted , but Asgill ' s plight drew the attention of Marie Antoinette ; Washington received a letter from the French foreign minister asking for a pardon . During the winter of 1781 – 2 Hazen also took time off for personal business . Among his dealings was a partnership with Timothy Bedel to acquire land along the military road they had built in Vermont . After the war . After the war , General Hazen , unable to return to Quebec , received a grant of land in northern New York . He was active for many years on behalf of the men who served under him and their families , especially those that originally came from Quebec , in their quest for compensation for their losses . He also continued his litigious ways — he was involved in an ongoing string of legal actions until his death . He died in 1803 in Troy , New York where he was buried . His nephew , Benjamin Mooers , was ultimately responsible for untangling many of Hazen ' s affairs . On May 26 , 1828 , Congress authorized a payment of $ 3 , 998 . 81 to Hazen ' s heirs in compensation for the half - pay lost to him when he joined the American forces . Hazen was an original member of the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati .