Captain Allan Macdonald had fought in the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in North Carolina, where he was captured. He was imprisoned for two years until a prisoner exchange in 1777, when he was sent to New York and then to Fort Edward in Windsor, Nova Scotia. Major Small gave him command of the Second Battalion, 84th Regiment, at Fort Edward (Nova Scotia). He served there along with two of his sons, Ranald and Charles, who were among the young officers of the regiment.