01/01/1733 – 12/31/1755
Captain William Hendricks was among the frontier officers from Cumberland County who answered the Continental Congress’s call in 1775 to carry the war north into Canada. When Colonel Benedict Arnold launched his audacious march through the Maine wilderness toward Quebec, Hendricks commanded a company of Pennsylvania riflemen—men selected for endurance, marksmanship, and their ability to survive in unforgiving terrain. The expedition quickly became one of the most punishing campaigns of the Revolutionary War. As a captain, Hendricks bore responsibility not only for military command, but for holding his company together under conditions that tested the limits of human endurance. On December 31, 1775, the American force launched its desperate assault on Quebec during a blinding snowstorm. Captain Hendricks led his riflemen forward in the attack and was killed in the opening phase of the engagement, becoming one of the expedition’s early casualties. The assault ultimately failed, but the courage displayed by officers like Hendricks left a lasting mark on the Continental Army.