th (July) the name of John L.
Hardenbergh appears as First Lieutenant in the Second New York Militia
under command of Col. Morris Graham, and assigned to the Brigade of
Gen. George Clinton, who had remained in the Continental Congress to
vote for the Declaration, when he hastened home to his command. Having
served several months in this regiment raised under special call,
Hardenbergh was commissioned Nov. 21, 1776, First Lieutenant in the
Second New York Continental Regiment, under Col. Rudolphus Ritzema,[2]
who was superseded Nov. 30, 1776, by the appointment of Col. Philip
Van Courtlandt, a gallant officer and a personal friend of Washington
whose confidence he shared to an unusual degree.[3] The regiment had
the previous month been in the battle of White Plains, under
Lieutenant-Col. Weissenfels, where it did some hard fighting; and was
ordered by Washington to Fishkill for the winter, to be recruited and
disciplined, and thus ready for active service in the Spring. But few
enlistments, however, were obtained, though several recruiting parties
were sent out for the purpose; and in the Spring of 1777, it was
ordered to Peekskill, a point for the collection of military stores,
and where at this time large quantities had been gathered under
protection of General McDougall's brigade. Soon after, a fleet of ten
British ships or transports appeared in Peekskill Bay, and landed a
force of five hundred men with four pieces of artillery, which
compelled Gen. McDougall, who had scarcely half that number of troops,
to retreat to Gallows Hill, about ten miles in the rear, leaving what
stores could not be removed, in the hands of the enemy, who remained
in possession of the town until McDougall was reinforced, when they
retired to their ships and returned to New York.

After several weeks of hard and perilous service, Col. Van Courtlandt
with his regiment, was ordered to Albany and thence to the relief of
Fort Stanwix, then besieged by Colonel St. Leger with a party of
Indians; but on information that the enemy had retired, he joined
General Poor, then on the advance to Stillwater, to whose brigade the
regiment became attached, and thus made a part of General Arnold's
command, forming a portion of the left wing in the first battle of
Stillwater, which was fought on the 19th of September. The loss of
killed and wounded of the Second New York was two out of eleven, which
was a larger proportion than of any other regiment engaged, t