Saint Croix Courier, St. Stephen, NB
May 11, 1893
GLIMPSES OF THE PAST
Contributions to the History of Charlotte County and the Border Towns.
LXVI – THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS.
[Rev. W. O. Raymond, M. A.]
13.-The Loyal Regiments Disbanded.
Reference has already been made to the fact that a large number of Loyalists were enrolled in the king’s service and served with distinction throughout the war. After the cessation of active hostilities, the violent temper manifested by the victorious Americans caused the officers commanding his Majesty’s Provincial regiments to unite in laying their cause before Sir Guy Carleton, in a letter dated March 14, 1783, in which they state:
That from the purest principles of loyalty and attachment to the British government they took arms in his Majesty’s service; and relying on the justice of their cause and the support of their Sovereign and the British nation, they have persevered with unabated zeal through all the vicissitudes of a calamitous and an unfortunate war. That their hearts still glow with loyalty to their Sovereign and the same attachment to the British Constitution which first stimulated them to action . . . . That whatever stipulations may be made at the peace for the restoration of the property of the Loyalists and permission for them to return home, yet, should the American Provinces be severed from the British Empire, it will be utterly impossible for those who have served his Majesty in arms in this war to remain in the country. The personal animosities that arose from civil dissensions have been so heightened by the blood that has been shed in the contest that the parties can never be reconciled.
The letter goes on to refer to sacrifices of property, of lucrative professions, etc., made at the call of duty; and to the anxiety felt for the welfare of their families:
Wives born to the fairest expectations and tenderly brought up, and children for whose education and future happiness they feel the most anxious concern . . .
Many who have served in the Provincial troops in subordinate capacities during the war have been respectable yeomen, of good connections and possessed of considerable property which from principles of loyalty and a sense of duty they quitted, and in the course of the contest have shown a degree of patience, fortitude and bravery almost without example.
Reference is made to the ‘great number of men incapacitated by wounds, many having helpless families who have seen better days;’ and the letter concludes as follows:
Relying on the generous promises of their Sovereign to support and protect them, and placing the fullest confidence in your Excellency’s benevolent interposition and favorable representation of their faithful services, they are induced to ask-
That grants of land may be made to them in some of his Majesty’s American Provinces and that they may be assisted in making settlements in order that they and their children may enjoy the benefit of British government.
That some permanent provision may be made for such of the non-commissioned officers and privates as have been disabled from wounds, and for the widows and orphans of deceased officers and soldiers.
That as a reward for their services the rank of the officers be made permanent in America, and that they may all be entitled to half pay upon the reduction of their regiments.
(Signed by the commanding officers of fourteen Provincial corps.)1
Perhaps the most influential of the officers at this time in command of the Provincial regiments was Lieut. Col. Benjamin Thompson, of the King’s American Dragoons. The source of his especial influence with the British ministry we may gather from the following passage in a letter written by Judge Jonathan Sewell to Ward Chipman, Oct. 2d, 1781:
I send this under the care of Colonel Thompson-there’s a fortunate young fellow for you-from being scarcely known in America to become Lord G. Germaine’s favorite and one of his under secretaries and now a colonel of a regiment in British pay; but all agree he is well deserving of the favors fortune showers upon him.
Col. Thompson actively exerted himself on behalf of his Loyalist comrades in arms. In a letter to Lord North, written in London, June 8, 1783, he mentions having personally assisted in drawing up the representation and petition of the commanding officers of the loyal regiments and adds:
The situation of the Provincial officers, particularly such of them as are natives, or were formerly inhabitants of the American colonies, is truly distressing. Having sacrificed their property and all the expectations arising from their rank and connections in civil society, and being now cut off from all hopes of returning to their former homes by the articles of the peace, they have no hope left but in the justice and humanity of the British nation.
I will not trouble your Lordship with an account either of their services or of their sufferings; their merit as well as their misfortunes are known to the whole world, and I believe their claim upon the humanity and upon the justice of this country will not be disputed.
They have stated their situation in a strong but at the same time most respectful manner in their representation, which I am informed has been transmitted to his Majesty’s Secretary of State by Sir Guy Carleton, and strongly recommended.
As they are extremely anxious to know their fate, I am to request of your Lordship that I may be informed whether any and what resolutions have been taken relative to their petitions, and whether their claims of permanent rank in America and half-pay upon the reduction of their regiments will meet with the countenance and support of his Majesty’s Ministers. Your Lordship will see by the enclosed extract of a letter I have just received from New York, how anxious the Provincial officers are and how much they expect that I should exert myself in their behalf.
The subject referred to by Col. Thompson had already received consideration, and on the 9th day of June, 1783, were issued the King’s orders and instructions to Sir Guy Carleton respecting the disbanding of the Loyalist and other regiments. The uncertainty of the Loyalists at New York was not set at rest until some two months later, when his Majesty’s instructions arrived in America. These instructions provided that-
The non-commissioned officers and private men of the land forces, who may be reduced in Nova Scotia, and wish to become settlers in that province, will be allowed grants of lands at the rate of 200 acres to every non-commissioned officer, and 100 acres to every private man, exclusive of what he shall be entitled to in right of his family, discharged of all fees of office and quit rents for the first ten years. And as a further inducement to them to become settlers, each man shall be furnished out of the public stores, with the usual rations of provisions allowed to him for one year, and shall be permitted to retain his arms and accoutrements.
It was further provided that an allowance of half-pay to the commissioned officers entitled thereto should be made from the time of disbanding, and that the non-commissioned officers and men should receive a gratuity of fourteen days’ pay on the day of their discharge. The Loyalist corps, with such men of the British regiments as desired to be discharged in America, were directed to hold themselves in readiness to embark for Nova Scotia, unless any of them should choose to be dismissed at New York.
The loyal regiments mentioned in the instructions, with their commanding officers, were:-
The Royal American Regiment (or 60th foot) 3rd and 4th battallions, General Lord Amherst in command.
King’s American Regiment, Col. Edmund Fanning.
Queen’s Rangers, Col. John Graves Simcoe.
British Legion of Cavalry, Lieut. Col. Sornistree Tarleton.
New York Volunteers, Lt. Col. George Turnbull.
Loyal American Regiment, Col. Beverly Robinson.
New Jersey Volunteers, Brigadier General Cortlandt Skinner commanding. 1st Battalion, Lt. Col. Elisha Lawrence; 2nd Battalion, Lt. Col. John Morris; 3rd Battalion, Lt. Col. Isaac Allen.
DeLancey’s Brigade, Brigadier General Oliver DeLancey, commanding. 1st Battalion, Col. John Harris Cruger; 2nd Battalion, Col. George Brewerton.
Prince of Wales’ American Regiment, Col. Montford Browne.
Pennsylvania Loyalists, Lt. Col. William Allen.
Maryland Loyalists, Lt. Col. James Chalmers.
Loyal American Legion, Brigadier General Benedict Arnold.
Detachment of Royal Garrison Battalion, Lt. Col. Robert Donkin.
British Legion of Infantry.
Royal Guides and Pioneers, Col. Beverley Robinson.
King’s American Dragoons, Lt. Col. Benjamin Thompson.
In addition to the above, several other corps were in whole or in part disbanded in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, among which were the Carolina King’s Rangers, Lt. Col. Thomas Browne; King’s Orange Rangers, Lt. Col. John Bayard; Royal Fencible Americans, Lt. Col. Joseph Gorham; DeLancey’s 3rd Battalion, Col. Gabriel G. Ludlow; the 2nd Battalion of the 84th, or Royal Highland Emigrants, Sir Guy Carleton in command; and a part of the 42nd, or Royal Highland Regiment of foot, Lord John Murray in command.
Col. Edward Winslow2 in a memorial to the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty’s treasury, mentions the interesting fact that at the peace he was sent by the commander-in-chief, Sir Guy Carleton, to explore and locate lands for the officers and men of the disbanded corps to that part of Nova Scotia which is now called New Brunswick-a duty which he executed without fee or reward.
Whilst thus engaged Col. Winslow was intimately associated with Brigadier General Henry E. Fox, then commander-in-chief of his Majesty’s forces in Nova Scotia.
A few selections form the official correspondence of the day will throw some light upon the proceedings connected with the disbanding of the loyal corps.
General Fox wrote Governor Parr from Annapolis Royal, Sept. 16:-
By letters received this day from his Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief [Sir Guy Carleton] I find that it is his wish that the Provincial Regiments should be discharged as contiguous as possible to the lands on which they are to settle, for which purpose he desires me to communicate with your Excellency and request that you would be pleased to determine the district of country where the different Regiments are to settle that they may be immediately ordered to their respective destinations.
Those Regiments which were embarking at New York are by the Commander-in-Chief’s particular order to proceed immediately to the River St. John and to take possession of that tract of land which your Excellency has assigned the Provincial corps. And the King’s American Dragoons being already settled at that place it only remains that your Excellency should point out places for the accommodation of the Fencible Americans, commanded by Lieut. Col. Gorham, and the King’s Orange Rangers, commanded by Lieut. Col. Bayard-the Loyal Nova Scotia Volunteers not being particularly mentioned in the above order for reduction.
Whenever I may be favoured with your Excellency’s decision relative to these corps, I shall give the necessary orders for their moving to the places assigned them.
The following day Edward Winslow wrote from Annapolis to Major Samuel Bayard, commanding the King’s Orange Rangers, requesting him to make immediate application to Governor Parr in order to ascertain the location assigned his corps, so that orders might be given for removing such of the commissioned and non-commissioned officers and private men as were disposed to avail themselves of their grants to the place assigned them, in order to be there disbanded. Major Bayard in reply wrote that his Excellency had been pleased to grant a tract of land for that purpose at a place called Quoko Head, in the Bay of Fundy, a few leagues to the eastward of the entrance of the St. John river.
On the 28th of September, General Fox wrote from ‘Augh Pack’3 to General Haldimand at Quebec:
The whole of the Provincial Regiments, consisting of upwards of 3000 men are embarked for the River St. John, where they are to become settlers, and a tract of land assigned them extending from the townships of Maugerville and Burton, on both sides of the river on the route to Canada, as far as to accommodate the whole, which will be a very considerable distance.
This circumstance will, I flatter myself, agreeably facilitate the communication between the provinces of Nova Scotia and Canada, an object which I am informed your Excellency is anxious to effect, and which it is very evident must greatly contribute to the benefit of both provinces.
The same day General Fox issued an order in which Major Murray was directed to disband the King’s American Dragoons at the ‘Township of Prince William’ on the 10th of October.
On his return to Fort Howe, Oct. 1st, Gen. Fox issued an order for the disbanding of the companies of the Royal Fencible Americans in garrison at that place.
Owing to the late arrival of the royal instructions in America, and to the lack of shipping, the majority of the Loyalist troops to be disbanded on the St. John river did not leave New York until Monday, the 15th of September, the vessels arriving at St. John on or about the 24th of the same month. Very inadequate preparations had been made for their reception and the lateness of their arrival rendered their situation pitiable in the extreme. One of the vessels of the fleet, the Martha, with about 170 souls on board, including a part of the Maryland Loyalists and a part of the third battalion of DeLancey’s brigade, was wrecked on a ledge off Tusket river, and about a hundred perished miserably; the remainder were taken from rafts by four Massachusetts fishing vessels and landed at Yarmouth.
The distressed situation of the Loyalist soldiers when they had arrived at St. John deeply impressed Edward Winslow, who, in writing to Ward Chipman, his old friend and deputy Muster-master-general, says:
I have seen those ‘provincials’ which we have so frequently mustered, landing in this inhospitable climate in the month of October, without a shelter and without knowing where to find a place to reside. The chagrin of the officers was not to me so truly affecting as the poignant distress of the men. Those reputable sergeants of Ludlow’s, Fanning’s, Robinson’s, etc., (once hospitable yeomen of the country,) addressed me in language that almost murdered me as I heard it:- ‘Sir, we have served all the war; we were promised land; we expected you had obtained it for us. We like the country; only let us have a spot of our own and give us such kind of regulations as shall protect us.’
Many of the soldiers, with their wives and families, spent their first winter at ‘Lower Cove’ in log huts or bark camps; some even in tents covered with spruce branches brought in boats from Partridge Island. Their sufferings were naturally very severe, and a number of persons died through exposure.
Speaking of this time, Peter Fisher, in his little work Sketches of New Brunswick, published in 1825, says:
‘Frequently in the piercing cold of winter a part of the family had to remain up during the night to keep fire in their huts to prevent the other part from freezing. Some very destitute families made use of boards to supply the want of bedding; the father or some of the elder children remaining up by turns and warming suitable pieces of boards which they applied alternately to the smaller children to keep them warm; with many similar expedients.
The lateness of their arrival, combined with the fact that no definite grants had as yet been assigned several corps, induced the great majority of the disbanded troops to remain at the town of Parr during the winter. A few adventurous spirits, however, pushed on to Saint Anne’s Point, where they arrived in the early part of November, after a nine days journey up the river. Before they had time to complete their huts, the snow was on the ground, and part of the winter was spent in tents. The awfulness of their situation can be readily imagined. ‘Women, delicately reared, cared for their infants beneath canvas tents rendered habitable only by the banks of snow which lay six feet deep in the open spaces of the forest. Men unaccustomed to toil looked with dismay towards a future which seemed hopeless.’ Through the non-arrival of the supplies expected before the close of navigation, starvation at one time stared the little colony in the face; and, as one said who as a child passed through the experience of those dreadful days, ‘Strong, proud men wept like children, and lay down in their snow bound tents to die.’ Frequently had these poor settlers to go from fifty to one hundred miles, with hand sleds or toboggans, through wild woods or on the ice, to procure a precarious supply for their famishing families. The privations and sufferings endured in some instances almost exceed belief.
1This letter is given in full in the Annual Register for 1784.
2Col. Edward Winslow was Muster-Master General of the Provincial forces during the greater part of the war. His duties were at the first of an extremely arduous nature. He was frequently exposed to danger from the constant necessity of visiting all the outposts of the army. His efforts to correct the irregularities and detect the errors which were committed in the accounts of the Provincial troops he says involved him in personal quarrels and in two instances personal combats. The subsequent appointment of Col. Alexander Innes, of the South Carolina Loyalists, to the post of Inspector General of Loyalist forces, in a measure relieved him from the responsibilities that had previously devolved upon him.
3The old Indian village on the St. John river, six
miles above Fredericton.