1st Canadian Regiment The 1st Canadian Regiment , an Extra Continental regiment , was raised by James Livingston to support Colonial efforts in the American Revolutionary War during the invasion of Quebec . Livingston recruited men from Chambly , Quebec 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 and Richard Montgomery crossed into Quebec with the aim of driving British military forces from Montreal and Quebec City . 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 , and the capture of supplies intended for the besieged moving on the Richelieu River . 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 . The regiment at first consisted of a mix of Canadien s , Acadien s , and American colonials who had settled in Quebec after the British took control of the territory of the French province of Canada . 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 . On December 31 , 1775 , the regiment was charged with making a diversion at Quebec City ' 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 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 . 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 and Schoharie valleys , so that it could be reorganized . During this time , Livingston was known to be recruiting in New York City . Following Burgoyne ' s invasion of from Quebec in 1777 , the regiment was moved to the upper Hudson River 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 . 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 Hudson River 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 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 .