 He enlisted in the Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion, on January 28, 1776, which worked in conjunction with the Continental Army during the war.McClelland later became a Captain in the First Battalion of Westmoreland Militia, a unit which was prominent in the Siege of Yorktown.However, it was actually his son, John McClelland (1766–1849), who helped illustrate the unfair nature of the taxes imposed during the Whiskey Insurrection.