Participation in the American Revolution
When the time came for the American Colonists to back up their claims for Independence from the British crown, those of German ancestry entered into the conflict without hesitation. It must be remembered that those who took up arms were volunteers - - they had to be because there was, as yet, no central government to draft them.
When the Pennsylvanians cast the deciding vote that adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Johannes Hildebrand and all four of his sons stood ready for Military duty, and as the war progressed, all entered the service of the Continental Army. The father, as was proper, was the first to enroll. In the Year of Independence, 1776, when he was 61 years old, he enlisted in Capt. John Jones company of Militia in Col. Peter Grubb’s battalion of “Associators” raised in nearby Lancaster County. (Pa. Archives, Ser. 5, Vol. 7, P. 803.) “Associators” was a name used to designate the men who as volunteers made up an organized militia in the counties of Pennsylvania. Within two years of the four sons of Johannes had followed their father’s example.
In 1778, the returns of associators in the militia in York County for a company raised in Codorus township, list the name of Felix, Jacob, Casper and Henry Hildebrand, (all sons of the pioneer Johannes) enrolled in the Sixth Company of the Seventh Battalion. (York County, Pa., in the American Revolution, a source book by H. J. Young, pp. 591. 592, 601 and 602.) It is interesting to note the ages of these young men at this time: Felix was 29, Jacob 26, Casper 23, and Henry 21 years old.
The services of father and sons in the armed forces of the infant nation were continuous to the end of the war, and, in one instance, after peace had come. In 1779, Jacob transferred to a unit from Shrewsbury township in the Fifth company of the Fifth Battalion of militia. In 1780 his name appears upon Capt. Ferries’ company til 1782 when the fighting was over. Apparently Jacob was discharged from duty that year while Felix remained in the service some years more as will be described later in the treatment of his generation. (Pa. Archives, Ser.6, Vol. 2. pp. 654, 670-71.)
Meantime Johannes, the father, appears as a private in 1780 in Capt. George Gieselman’s company from York County. He was then 65 years old and undoubtedly assigned to some duty other than combat.

In 1782, a year after Cornwallis had surrendered his army at Yorkstown, V., the names of both Casper and Henry Hildebrand also appear on the muster rolls of Capt. Gieselman’s company. (Pa. Archives, Ser. 6, Vol.2, pp. 674-75.)