The troops that had served in the St. John river expedition were now distributed among the garrisons at Fort Cumberland, Windsor, Annapolis and Halifax, with the exception of McCurdy's, Stark's and Brewer's companies of Rangers and a small detachment of artillery, ordered to remain at Fort Frederick under command of Major Morris. This was a more considerable garrison than could well find accommodation there during the winter, but such was not Monckton's intention, for he writes in his journal: "The Fuel of the Garrison not being as yet lay'd in, I leave the three companies of Rangers, viz., McCurdy's, Stark's, and Brewer's, and have ordered that Captain McCurdy's company should Hutt and remain the Winter, the other two after compleating the wood to come to Halifax in the vessels I had left them." Monckton sailed for Halifax in the man-of-war "Squirrel" on the 21st of November, and with him went the 2nd Battalion of the Royal American Regiment of which he was the commander. In the month of January following, a tragic event took place at or near St. Anne's, an account of which has been left us by our early historians, Peter Fisher and Moses H. Perley, in substance as follows: After the winter season had fairly set in, a party of the rangers at Fort Frederick, under Captain McCurdy, set out on snow-shoes to reconnoitre the country and to ascertain the state of the French settlements up the river. The first night after their departure they encamped at Kingston Creek, not far from the Belleisle, on a very steep hillside. That night Captain McCurdy lost his life by the falling of a large birch tree, which one of the rangers cut down on the hillside--the tree came thundering down the mountain and killed the Captain instantly, Lieutenant Moses Hazen[44] succeeded to the command, and the party continued up the river to St. Ann's Point (now Fredericton), where they found quite a town. They set fire to the chapel and other buildings, but a number of the French settlers gathered together, whereupon the Rangers retreated, and, being hotly pursued committed several atrocious acts upon the people who fell in their way, to prevent their giving information. By reversing their snow-shoes and making forced marches they got back safely to St. John. [44] Moses Hazen was an older brother of William Hazen, who settled at St. John. He distinguished himself under Gen. Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham. In the American Revolution he fought against the British, raised a corps known as "Hazen's Own," and became a Major General in the American army.