Isnt it amazing how that sounds now . Holly, dr. Mayor, is now a professor emirita from the college in the graduate school of at Duquesne University in my hometown of pittsburgh, pennsylvania, where she taught for many decades. She did two stints as chair of the History Department there after joining duquesne, after receiving her ph. D. At the college of. Shes also served as the visiting Harold K Johnson chair of military history at the u. S. Army war college out in carlisle, pennsylvania, the carlile merits. And its currently during this Academic Year at west point where shes serving as the charles bull ewing visited professor of history. Shes also has been commissioned, went through rotc and served in the u. S. Army reserves. And so, she sends a long time ago. But you still stand fairly straight. You are recognizable as a military person, still. Shes the author of a whole slew of articles about her military and history, historical, im sorry, the military political social sort of intersections of history in the era of the American Revolution of the colonial era. Her first book, belonging to the army, camp followers and community nearing the American Revolution still its an essential text for studying this period of time. Shes here to talk tonight about her hot off the press, i think this is maybe literally hot off the press new book, congresss own canadian regiment, the Continental Army and the american union. Canada, what does canada have to do with the American Revolution . So please join me in warmly welcoming doctor holly mayer. Thank you so much. It is wonderful to be here with all of you and to share in this community of history and the revolution in particular and do, of course, examine this particular very unusual regiment or an uncommon regiment for an uncommon revolution, as we could also say. So, im starting off and i just want to point out that that is an image. It is a painting from don trone that is on the cover of my book. I figured i might as well say kudos to him as well for helping illustrate my book, as well as, of course, being here in his other illustrations and paintings in about a month that you will be able to see. So, well worth it, wonderful. So, with congresses own, i wanted to talk about a few things with the regimen in particular. And then actually spend more time talking about Sergeant Major john h. Hopkins. Who was the person who introduced me to this regiment, through his writings in that journal that i found at the Historical Society of pennsylvania. I wanted to take a step further to talk about this with you. And make sure im going in the right direction here. To pick up and talk about the congresss own regiment, which actually went through three or four different names through its lifetime. As uncommon regiment, it was first formed, actually, it january of 1776. Authorized by the Continental Congress for moses hazen as the colonel and Lieutenant ColonelEdward Antill as the second in command. It was commissioned as the second canadian regiment. So, it brings us up to this point about why a canadian regiment. I asked students that time, did you know that canada was involved . Yeah, there was an invasion, the americans lost. They had to retreat from quebec by june of 76 and theyre gone and that was the end of canada. Well no, not really, not by any means in here. But while the american invading force was up in canada, it was already starting to recruit canadians to join in this rebellion. Certainly, the Continental Congress was sending out declarations to the canadians, especially the French Canadians. Essentially saying, come join us, rebel with us and you might think it goes back to the enemy of my enemy as my friend. The French Canadians, at one point, had certainly been the enemies of most of the new englanders and most others who had been fighting colonial wars with the french and their indian allies through a series of imperial conflicts. But at this point, it was lets invite the canadians and because we truly want this to be a continental rebellion. Let us have a true Continental Congress with canadian representatives. Let us have a Continental Army, which includes canadians as well. As we invite others to join us in what was first, of course, a rebellion, a defense of the rights of americans. Or these continental provincials in the early part. And then, after july of 76, ultimately a revolution for the independence of the country itself. We saw, they were joining us. The first regiment, first canadian, was by james livingston, who had already been in action up there. So, he got the first canadian. And moses hazen got the second canadian. To give you some background on moses hazen he had been in rogers rangers during the seven yearswar and then he had. Actually gotten a commission with the 44th regiment of foot. Which ultimately led him to retire in the Montreal Region and around saintjean in canada itself. I like to point this out, here is an american who did get a British Commission as opposed to washington, who did not. Hazen actually was really, really torn about which way he was going to go in this conflict. He was getting a pension from the British Government for his service during the seven yearswar, he was right there on the borderlands, if you can see it up there in canada, up along saintjean just south of montreal. Would he give up that pension . Would he give up those lands to join to this american rebellion . At first, he wasnt sure. He was really on the fence in those borderlands which way he was going to go. Ultimately, in the, and of course, as we know, he decided to join with the americans, with the pro visa that he could create his own regiment and that he had command of that regiment. The second canadian regiment, in this case. Hazen is not the person, though, that i really want to talk about. I want to continue on with this regiment on a few other points. Second canadian was then in the retreat from canada and at that point it had lost about half of its recruits on that retreat. Down to crown point and then for the condo rogin on to albany. Through the summer of 76, there was a true question as to whether or not these canadian regiments we continue. Canada was not choosing to join in this rebellion. So, why would you have this other canadian regiment . The original idea behind it was that it would be like all the other colonies that became states, as it would have its own iteration of a regiment. But if its not joining the rebellion, what are we doing with this regiment . Ultimately, what happened is that congress, by september of 76, went back to hazen, and he was really pushing for this, and said yes, we will reauthorize your second canadian regiment. That you can recruit among the canadian refugees that were up around albany. Certainly, recruit those that had come with the American Forces to ticonderoga. But we are also authorizing you to recruit among all the states. So, here is another unique factor about this second canadian regiment. That it is allowed to recruit elsewhere. Well, this brings up the next point. How many people from elsewhere would actually want to join the canadian regiment if theyre from pennsylvania, new jersey, maryland, connecticut, rhode island . Which is where theyre trying to recruit. In the middle of that, certainly by the end of 76, going into 77, we see than the advertisements going out, the recruiting going out for congresss own regiment. This is not something necessarily that congress had authorized, it seems to have come out of the regiment itself. I think it actually probably came from Lieutenant Colonel antel who was part of this. He was more of a thinker, i think, then moses hazen was, quite frankly. I see hazen as the pugilist. He was always rather irritating as an individual, from what i can see. I think its Commanding Officers saw him as that. Certainly, general knocks at the end of it said that this was a man who was blessed with one of the most obstinate tempers he had ever seen. But it was a kind of temper that meant this regiment continued in action through the rest of the war. But given, this it starts going out for recruiting for congresss own, so you can see whats going on here. You cant recruit for second canadian among all of them but you can for congresss own guard. Here, its got elite status. This is really good, this is better than simply the first pennsylvania. Really . The first virginia . Why not congresss own. And they did tremendously well. This regiment was authorized 1000 man. So, much bigger than the common continental infantry regiment. But, it was authorized 1000 and by the spring of 77 it was hitting close to 900 men who had enlisted in this regiment. Now, they all say . Absolutely not. See it in the records. Some of these guys joined up, put the cockade in their cap, got their bounty money, and headed off. Weve got that, they do not all stay, but, it was tremendously successful recruiting under congresss own. Unfortunately, this regiment did not always get along well with others. They got a rather in for a low reputation for what they were doing and congress came back and said, youre not supposed to be calling it congresss own. So what is it supposed to be called . Back to second canadian . No, that is not doing recruiting. They tended to keep going, which was traditional, by hazens name. So it was hazen regiment by much of the score. But it also knows it by some of the the captains put little cor under their roster. They knew how they were being recruited and how they were doing the recruiting. So, they were incredibly successful under that name of congresss own. They continue to do that through the rest of the war, even after 1781 when james livingstons regiment was demobilized. As well as other foreign recruits joining hastens regimen, and it became known as the canadian own regiment. Let me say, that is not what is in the pensions account. Hazen or congresss own is usually what you say. They picked up on that identity. This leads me into the other one that they want to talk about. This is how we get is that they were recruiting among all of these other camps and garrisons up in the new york area. They are sending recruiting officers down here into pennsylvania, into these other states to the point where theyve got soldiers from 11 of the states in the regiments. The only ones we do not have it would not have anybody from South Carolina or georgia in this regiment. But, they have somebody from every other state. Theyve got this tremendously unique regiment that was caused canadian, was called congresss own, but, in some ways is a microcosm of the Continental Army itself, is that within this company and many of them were segregated by states, there were still two that were french canadian, with officers who were talking french with her soldiers with all of these other recruits. So, Sergeant Major john h. Hopkins had actually first enlisted in a pennsylvania unit. And served through it. And then, january of 77 was up for reenlistment. So many of the soldiers who were listed in 76 were on short term placements. So, the army was trying to recruit an army at this point. And, john h. Hopkins realist in congresss own. As he realest it, because he also had service time, and also because he was so literate he was a writer, he had come to that moment. He was first given a corporals enlistments. And then, very quickly, within weeks was made a sergeant of the regiment. So, john h. Hopkins, who is he . I think he is from philadelphia. Some of this, i will not say full assumptions, but i am following clues. I spent probably way too much time trying to find this guy in the records. Not always the easiest person to find, but, from what i could understand. First of all, by reading his journal is that he kept talking about his typographical brethren. Hey talked about printing offices, hey talked about newspapers. He was holding newspapers and books in his knapsacks. In fact, when you look at that journal over there they have it on the page. He is talking about what he lost when he threw his knapsack when he was running before those british highlanders to get away at brandy wine. And then, part of, it when you look and there he is talking about the papers, the quills, the books, and all the things he had in his knapsacks. Weve got this point that he was affiliated with the printing at some point. Went a little further and actually found a runaway ad for an apprentice that ran away from David Zellers printing shop here at philadelphia. This was back at 58, you would just go, is this the same guy as john hopkins, printing, pennsylvania. You know, yeah, it is very likely. Unfortunately i could not nail it down for sure because it did not say in his journal, anywhere, but he was a runaway apprentice. I wonder why. But, there was this and of course you get that little hints in this looking at hawkins in his story. He had run away from david sellers shop. David zeller had been the partner of david hall, who had been the partner of benjamin franklin. Who was the most notorious runaway apprentice of all, right . You are going, oh, he is well in that kind of tradition in some form or another. From what it appears he must have come back and serve out his term as an apprentice. Or found Something Else because he is back here in pennsylvania and philadelphia. But, obviously not finding a job or his own independent shop. And thus, there he was, enlisting in the Continental Army during the revolution. In this thing, we followed him in but it also makes sense about why he would be a sergeant. And, certainly a Sergeant Major. This is somebody who can keep the records, and he was. He was writing some of the orderly books. So we have proof of this individual, the big part was that journal. Of course, i looked at that journal and it is wonderful. I think about the Material Resources when you can touch this. And i was, when you are hearing this and going 250 years ago he was writing in this. And so, from his pen and ink to my eyes, to say what is going on in his world at that time. He is speaking to me through the writing, and, i intern im trying to speak to you through his writing as well. To introduce you a bit to his world and what he saw in this revolution. So to take it from there. Again, he is there in a regiment that had probably close to 1900 men serving it over the course of the war. Again, unique and tremendously large of a unit in their. So i wanted to take it a step further from his journal and this. And we can come back to talking about this. Certainly to answer your questions about the regiment itself, where it served, and how. But what i really wanted to pick up on in here is that cruise Country Campaign. That is not as familiar to many people looking at the revolution. Just like a canadian regiment is not so familiar. But, one of the great things ands journal is, when he talks about what he things as he when he is marching through this country. Who is he talking to . Who are some of the people . He is looking at a community that is becoming a nation. He is seeing what is similar and different as he is marching through it. This brings me back to this point that i wanted to point out. I am picking up on another scholars work who was talking about imagined political communities in this. And he promised that a nation is an imagined Political Community, because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow numbers. They will never meet them or even hear of them, yet, in the minds of each lives the image of their community. That image of communion can exist of the same time, their shared experiences, or overtime through events like this. So, we are part of that imagined community that is part of the nation. And, we are doing it through him. So, right now, as we work through his words we are part of the imagines community of that developing nation. In the 17 70s, going through the 1780s. So, we are sitting here in philadelphia, here in 2021 in the philadelphia that he was living in and 1776. That he marched through it on the way to not yorktown, also, he sailed through it in 1781. And, the like, but we are part of that imagined community. We are part of an imagined community right now, we are all finally getting to see each other. But, there are those who are over there, or over zoom, i say hi to you, you are part of this imagined community we are all together to look at this particular history. The other part that Benedict Anderson had mentioned in his is that, when we form these communities, he talked about journeys or pilgrimages between times and statuses and places. So, again, were part of that journey. But these are meaning creating experiences that create the experience of the imagined community. So, id like us to consider to that when we look at the Continental Army as it is marching through the United States, the new United States, they are creating this community. And its not all imagined. They are actually experiencing it, they are actually seeing it, theyre actually meeting these people. So, here it is. Thats philadelphian who is meeting people up in massachusetts and new york and up into the coups country that is vermont and New Hampshire. He is meeting them and he is making these distinctions about are they like us or unlike us . Are they with us or not with us, in some form . And we expand that to all of the thousands and tens of thousands who were part of that army at that time, taking what is imagined and making it real in some form or another. So, we come back to that reality as we look back to hawkins. I wanted to pick that up, especi