New York
In 1775, New York raised four infantry regiments and an artillery company, with a total strength of 3,000 men. The gunners, under Captain John Lamb, came almost entirely from New York City, and were clothed in blue faced buff to avoid being mistaken for lowly infantrymen. After 31 December, almost all of the survivors re-enlisted in a new company under Lieutenant Isaiah Wool. In 1776, two new companies were formed in New York City, and assigned to Schuyler.The infantry regiments were recruited from New York City, Albany and the Mohawk Valley, the northern Hudson valley, and the southern Hudson Valley, respectively. The 1st included several officers who had fought in the French and Indian War, while the 2nd had a strong Dutch influence.
Each regiment had 758 men, comprising a colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major, five "staff' (adjutant, quartermaster, surgeon, surgeon's mate, and chaplain), and ten companies, each with a captain, three lieutenants, three sergeants, three corporals, a drummer, a fifer, and 64 privates. Companies were based on existing militia units, whose own precedence determined each regiment's seniority, and the regiments tended to represent the majority politics - radical, or conservative - of these areas.In April 1776, another four (later five) infantry regiments were raised, also numbered 1st to 4th. Three incorporated veterans of the 1775 campaign, but apparently only the 1st corresponded to its 1775 counterpart, the 2nd being based on the old 3rd and the 3rd around the old 4th. The 4th was a new unit, raised in Albany, whilst the old 2nd eventually became the 5th Regiment. Colonel John Nicholson also formed a provisional battalion at Quebec from the men remaining after the expiry of the second tranche of enlistments in April 1776, but the unit was disbanded and the men transferred to another regiment based in the Mohawk Valley (both of these corps employing three-year enlistments).
New Jersey
New Jersey raised three infantry regiments during the winter of 1775. Initially intended for Washington's Main Army, they were diverted to reinforce Schuyler, the 2nd arriving in Canada in March, and the 1st in May (the 3rd went to the Mohawk Valley). The two senior regiments were based on existing militia structures, the 1st recruiting in the north-east and the 2nd in the south-west; the 3rd appears to have been recruited "at large". Both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania contingents included a number of French and Indian War veterans.Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, not being a Royal colony, had no established militia, but formed volunteer units - "Associators" - during the 1770s. In January 1776, six infantry units (referred to as battalions, rather than regiments) were authorized, of which the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th served in Canada. One of their conditions of service was that they operated as a single brigade, under a Pennsylvanian general. One of the eight companies in each battalion consisted of riflemen, which brought complaints from officers concerned at how an asymmetrical seven-company unit would maneuver when the riflemen were detached. A seventh battalion - named after its commander, Colonel Aenas Mackay - was raised in the summer of 1776 to help defend the frontier of the Northern Department.Due to a misunderstanding, Pennsylvania also formed an artillery company, which Congress later agreed to adopt. The unit was recruited by the engineer, Bernard Romans and led into Canada by Captain-Lieutenant Gibbs Scott.
