He was associated with early battles of the IX Corps as well as Union involvement in North Carolina and the Tidewater region of Virginia.

[1] On October 5, 1861, he was appointed colonel of the 8th Connecticut Infantry[2] and served in Ambrose E. Burnside's North Carolina Expedition.

Harland was placed in command of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, IX Corps and led it at the battles of South Mountain and Antietam.

He remained in command at New Bern until January 1865 when Union forces under Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield were moving inland from Wilmington, North Carolina, to link up with the armies of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman.

Harland’s forces became the 1st Brigade, 1st Division in Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox's Provisional Corps and fought at the Battle of Wyse Fork.