The Journal of Lieut. John L. Hardenbergh of the Second New York Continental Regiment from May 1 to October 3, 1779, in General Sullivan's Campaign Against the Western Indians

This intimate journal opens with the voice of Lieutenant John L. Hardenbergh, a New York native whose family roots stretch back to the first Dutch settlers of the Hudson Valley. He writes from the spring of 1779, as General John Sullivan prepares a coordinated push into the western frontier, aiming to neutralize hostile Indian forces after years of raids. Hardenbergh’s entries capture the blend of personal duty and the weight of a long family tradition of service, giving listeners a vivid sense of the motivations that drove ordinary men to the edge of the wilderness.

Through his day‑to‑day observations, listeners hear the crack of musket fire, the exhaustion of long marches through the Allegheny foothills, and the uneasy negotiations with both friendly and hostile tribes. The journal is interwoven with excerpts from fellow officers—Majors Beatty and Grant, and Colonel Dearborn—offering multiple perspectives on the same campaign. Together they paint a picture of an army struggling with supply shortages, disease, and the moral complexities of frontier warfare, while still clinging to hopes of securing a new nation’s frontier.