The Price of Loyalty:
The Treatment of Loyalists after the American
Revolutionary War
Mustafa Motlani
Historical Paper
Junior Division Paper
2076 words
Here in the United States we Americans celebrate our victory over the British in
the Revolutionary War. It is with good reason: we emerged as the winners. However, few
people dare to ask what happened to the Loyalists who lost the war. In The Other Side of
the Revolution: Loyalists in the British Empire, historian Maya Jasanoff states that "it
remains surprisingly controversial in the United States today to count Loyalists among
the victims of republican chauvinism"(Jasanoff 207). Her writings suggest that even now,
few are concerned with, or are aware of, the fate of the Loyalists after the Revolutionary
War. This paper examines the treatment that the Loyalists encountered that led to their
forced and voluntary exploration for a new home. In turn, this exploration led to many
exchanges between Loyalists and the inhabitants of countries to which they migrated.
The American Revolutionary War was fought between the residents of the
thirteen British colonies in America and the British Crown. The war began with small
skirmishes between the two sides at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts in April,
1775. By the summer, a full fledged rebellion was under way. No side had taken the
advantage until France allied with the colonists in 1778. After three years of bloody
battles, the Continental Army of the Colonists brought the war to a close. The French
assistance paid off and General Cornwallis of the British Army surrendered at Yorktown.
This surrender marked the beginning of American independence. However, it also left the
Loyalists to fend for themselves. The Loyalists were individuals who stayed loyal to the
British during the Revolutionary War. They believed that the colonies could not run
themselves, and that they were better off under British rule. After the war came to an end,
some Loyalists fled while some dared to stay. Those who stayed were faced with three
types of treatment: abuse, expulsion, and occasionally forgiveness. The first two violated
the tenets of the Treaty of Paris.
Signed soon after the end of the war, the Treaty of Paris stated that Americans
were not to seek revenge on the Loyalists and that the “spirit of reconciliation which, on
the return of blessings of peace, should universally prevail” (Raphael 175). Most
Americans completely disregarded the Treaty of Paris and set out to make the lives of
their former enemies hellish. Many Loyalists were victimized relentlessly for no reason.
One alarming example involved a young former Loyalist from New York. Upon his
return to the home of his parents, he felt the full wrath of American hatred. His head and
eyebrows were shaved off, he was tarred and feathered, and a hog yoke and a cowbell
were put around his neck (Raphael 181).
Another incident shows that family members of Loyalists were also victimized,
even if they were physically disabled. The one-armed son of a Loyalist named John
Segee reported that he had been assaulted by four men, stating that they “flogged him the
whole way from North Castle to the White Plains.” He adds that they “cut his hair...gave
him between twenty and thirty strokes with his cane and told him to go about his
business” (Raphael 181-182). Another example of the mistreatment of loyalists involves
a young man named Prosper Brown was attacked on his way home to his parents. Brown
complained to officials that he was "hung up by his neck with his hands tied... stript, and
whipt with a cat and nine tails in a most inhuman manner and then tarred and feathered
and again hung up...as a public spectacle” (Crary 370). Brown describes the Americans
as “the most diabolic crew that ever existed on earth” (Crary 370).
Anne Hulton’s diaries reflect the experiences of female loyalists after the
Revolutionary War. Anne was the sister of Henry Hulton, a man who had been sent to
Boston as a British customs officer. She witnessed many Loyalists being victimized by
the Americans. In her diary she refers to the Americans as “these Sons of Violence,”
stating that “after attacking houses, breaking windows, beating, stoning and bruising
several gentlemen belonging to the Customs, the Collector mortally, and burning his
boat… All was ended with a speech from one of the leaders, concluding thus: ‘We will
defend our Liberties and property, by the Strength of our Arm and the help of our God’”
(Extracts from the Diary of a Female Loyalist). Elsewhere in her diary Hulton stated: “I
hope we shall be in no more dangers or alarms from lawless mobs… it is certain that our
safety and quiet depends on the army and navy being here.” The “lawless mobs” to which
she referred included groups such as the Sons of Liberty who abused Loyalists at random,
both physically and mentally. Anne later claimed that “the tyranny of the Multitude is the
most arbitrary and oppressive… many persons awed by the people, are obliged to court
popularity for their own security, this is only to be done by opposing [the British]
government at home” (Extracts from the Diary of a Female Loyalist). Her comments
suggest some Americans felt compelled to persecute the Loyalists out of the fear that
they would be victimized by their peers.
Physical and verbal abuse were not the only experiences that the Loyalists
encountered after the Revolutionary War. They also experienced widespread
displacement. Immediately after General Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown, about 1520% of the white population in the U.S remained Loyal to the British Crown. That is
nearly 500,000 men, women, and children. It has been estimated that around 60,000-
80,000 of these Loyalists fled the U.S after the Revolutionary War. Historian Ruma
Chopra states that they did not always leave of their own accord: They were expelled. In
Choosing Sides: Loyalists in Revolutionary America Chopra states that “the practice of
confiscating the property of suspected Loyalists kept the wavering in line, created
revenue at the expense of those who refused support for the rebel cause, and dislodged
and expelled committed loyalists”(Chopra 13). Maya Jasanoff also states that the
Americans “could strip [the loyalists] of their land and possessions or imprison or
formally banish them" (Jasonoff, 207). Jasonoff and Chopra’s studies show that the
Americans held great power over the fates of the Loyalists, and profited by expelling
them.
Whether through expulsion or voluntary migration, Loyalists who left America
explored new regions in which to make a home for themselves. Of the Loyalists who
fled, 33,000 traveled up north to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada. Nearly
6,000 fled to Quebec, and 2,000 to Prince Edward Island. Another 5,000 traveled south to
Florida. Loyalists in the southern colonies traveled farther south to the West Indies and
Bahamas, most prominently the Abaco Islands. Jasanoff describes the migration of a
Loyalist named Reverend Jacob Bailey, a missionary preacher from the Church of
England to Halifax, Nova Scotia. When he and his family landed ashore, they were
viewed with astonishment by the local population. In his later writings Bailey thanked
God for leading "me and my family to this retreat of freedom and security from the rage
of tyranny and the cruelty of opposition"(Jasanoff 205). Clearly Bailey despised the
revolutionaries enough to risk his family’s safety on a dangerous two week exploration
from Maine to Nova Scotia across the Bay of Fundy.
Although many patriots did not heed the advice in the Treaty of Paris, some
Americans did choose the path of reconciliation with the Loyalists. In 1774 a New Haven
town invited Loyalists who were "of fair character, and will be good and useful members
of society,” to come back to their community, showing that some communities were
more forgiving than others (Raphael 178). The people of this particular community
thought that instead of suppressing the defenseless Loyalists, they could help themselves
and the Loyalists. In War for Independance and the Transformation of American Society,
Harry M Ward states that “the war caused the Loyal Americans deprivation and severe
stress that made them refugees from their homeland”(48). He adds that “by the 1790s
differences were put aside, and many former Loyalists not only had recovered full
citizenship and social acceptance but also had achieved prominence in service to the new
Republic”(48).
Another instance of Loyalists being forgiven comes from North Carolina.
According to Carole Watterson Troxler, North Carolina’s treatment of Loyalists was
light. She states that “There were many trials and imprisonments, but large numbers of
Loyalists were merely paroled to their neighborhoods”(Loyalist Fate at War’s End). Yet,
Troxler goes on to say that former Loyalists that continued to fight against the peace
would be imprisoned and those who were considered dangerous would be moved to a
more secure location in the U.S. Clearly the fate of Loyalists remaining in America was
uncertain, and depended greatly upon whether or not the Americans considered them a
threat.
There were many other outcomes and consequences of the treatment of Loyalists
after the Revolutionary War. For some Loyalists staying pro-British payed off in the end.
The story of Phillip Marchington is a positive example. He, among a few other Loyalists,
received ample payment from the British government for this loyalty to the Crown during
the Revolutionary War. Marchington went on to create an extremely successful business
in the textile industry. He also had a church built on Argyle street in Halifax, Nova
Scotia. Another Loyalist that overcame adversity and became successful was Colonel
John Simcoe. He had been jailed after burning a Dutch Reform church to the ground. He
was caught by the patriots after having his horse shot from under him. He was knocked
unconscious and woke as a prisoner of the Americans. After Cornwallis surrendered at
Yorktown Simcoe remained a “prisoner on parole in the United States”(Simcoe quoted in
Royal Raiders 239). In January, 1783, he was released by Benjamin Franklin. His success
started when he became the first general-governor of Canada. Later he held a similar post
in Santo Domingo. In 1806, he was appointed to the prestigious job of commander-inchief of India.
The aftermath of the Revolutionary War also led to cultural exchanges between
Loyalists and the populations they encountered after migration. As more and more
Loyalists fled to Nova Scotia, the communities into which the Loyalists and their slaves
were integrated were not at first suited for such overwhelming numbers. In the face of a
limited supply of basic necessities like food with which to support a growing population,
the newcomers and the native populations had to find new ways to ensure their
prosperity. According to Mary Archibald, Watson Kirkconnel, and Gerald A. MacAlpine,
the Loyalists “adapted to the local industries: lumbering, shipbuilding and fisheries. They
lived off the capital they had, or the compensation they received from the government.”
The treatment of Loyalists after the Revolutionary War also impacted regions far
from American shores. The slaves of Loyalists who were not pleased with their stay in
Nova Scotia migrated to the British colonies of Sierra Leone and West Africa. These
former slaves felt that they had not received the reward that they had been promised for
fighting alongside the British during the war. When the opportunity arose to move to
West Africa, nearly half of the slaves from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick chose to
depart. Around fifteen ships were needed to transport the huge amount of former slaves
headed to west Africa. As soon as their ships docked, they became part of a growing and
thriving slave population that would eventually become the first free town for former
slaves all around the world.
If Loyalists had not been persecuted after the American Revolutionary War, many of
these exchanges would not have taken place. For example, years could have passed
before a group of English-speaking people settled in places such as Nova Scotia. This
was only possible thanks to the encounters faced by the Loyalists. Had they not faced
those types of treatment, they may never have explored the world or exchanged cultures
and ideas with new people. These Loyalists fled to every corner of the earth, bringing
with them their customs and unique views. Today we look at Loyalists as the losers.
What we fail to see is that their loss in the war changed the world, both positively and
negatively.
Works Cited
Chopra, Ruma. Choosing Sides: Loyalists in Revolutionary America. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
Print.
This resource helped me because it told me more about the expulsion of Loyalists
from the U.S after the Revolutionary War. I used information from this book in
my section about expulsion. It told me things like how the land of Loyalists was
confiscated and that this was how the Patriots kept suspected Loyalists in check.
"Extracts from Letters by a Female Loyalists (1768)." Alpha History. N.p., n.d. Web.
8 Jan. 2016. <http://alphahistory.com/americanrevolution/letters-femaleloyalist-1768/>.
This resource gave me an extremely interesting perspective. This gave me access
to the diary of a female Loyalist. Her name was Ann Hulton and she explained
how she saw her brother, Henry, and many others constantly victimized by the
merciless patriots. I used information from her diaries in my section about the
suppression of Loyalists.
"The Fate of Loyalists after the Revolution." Digital History. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct.
2015.
<http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=173>.
After the war, loyalists were treated far from well in some situations, such as the
one involving Brooks Watson, a loyalist. Land was confiscated from him and his
fellow loyalists in order to help land distribution in the new country. He describes
the preparations that he and other loyalists took before migrating north to Nova
Scotia. This source helped me in writing my section about expulsion of Loyalists
because he explains how he was getting ready to flee the U.S.
"Historical Background: St. Augustine, the American Revolution, and the Loyalist
Influx." ST. AUGUSTINE LIGHTHOUSE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MARITIME
PROGRAM. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/LAMP/Research/Storm%20Wreck/t
he-loyalist-influx>.
This resource discusses the Loyalists as they departed the colonies and headed
down south to St. Augustine, Florida. It is essential to remember that back then,
Spain owned Florida. This source also explains that a ship wreck was found in the
water outside of a port in St. Augustine, Florida. This fits together with a few of
my other sources like a puzzle. It is well known that a popular destination for
fleeing Loyalists was east Florida. St. Augustine is in the east. Many people
believe that this ship wreck may have been a Loyalist ship.This helped me in my
section about the expulsion of Loyalists because it tells about one place Loyalists
departed to.
Jasanoff, Maya. The Other Side of Revolution: Loyalists in the British Empire. N.p.:
n.p., n.d. Print.
This resource told me another interesting perspective. It was the perspective of a
Loyalist who had fled to Nova Scotia. His name was Reverend Jacob Bailey.
Jasanoff tells me about the things that Reverend Bailey encountered in Nova
Scotia and why he had decided to risk his life and the lives of his family to flee
the U.S. She explains that he was persecuted fiercely by the Americans. This
helped me a lot when I was writing my section about the suppression of Loyalists.
"Loyalist Fate at War's End." NCpedia. N.p., 2006. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
<http://ncpedia.org/loyalists-part-4-loyalist-fate-wars>.
According to this resource, after the war the loyalists were not treated completely
badly in North Carolina. Their treatment of loyalists was considered light. There
were the occasional trials and imprisonments of the serious offenders of peace,
but most of them were just paroled back to their neighborhoods. It all depended
on their relationship with the local people. This tells me that not as many loyalists
left North Carolina for Canada. This source helped me immensely with my
section about the forgiveness of Loyalists.
"Loyalists during the American Revolution." American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 5
Oct. 2015. <http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/history-1994/the-road-toindependence/loyalists-during-the-american-revolution.php>.
This source gives me a good amount of information on the Loyalists during the
Revolutionary War. I used a few things from this source for my background
information and context of the Revolutionary War section. This will help me ease
my readers into the topic.
"Loyalist Settlement in Nova Scotia." uelac.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.uelac.org/education/WesternResource/301-NS.pdf>.
This website explains in great depth what happened to the Loyalists that had fled
to Nova Scotia. I used this a lot in my sections about the outcomes and also the
expulsion of Loyalists. It helped a lot because it explains how bad the conditions
were in Nova Scotia and helps me understand why many Loyalists fled from there
to different places such as Sierra Leone.
"Persecution of the Loyalists (or Tories)." Kilts or KILTS. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec.
2015. <http://www.threerivershms.com/loyalistspersecution.htm>.
This website informs me about the persecution of Loyalists during the
Revolutionary War. This will give me a very effective perspective in terms of
how Loyalists were treated during the war as opposed to after the war. Also it
helps me a lot with my section about the context of the Revolutionary War. More
background info then anything.
Raphael, Ray. A People's History of the American Revolution. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
This book holds lots of good information regarding my topic. For example, a
description of the treatment received by a former British officer named Stephen
Jarvis, after the Revolutionary War. This book gave me so much information for
my paper. I got statistics for my expulsion section, and many primary sources for
my suppression section. Very helpful to my research.
Royal Raiders. N.p.: n.p., 1963. Print.
In this resource, I am finding things that tell me what really did happen to the
Loyalists after the Revolutionary War. A loyalist man named Colonel John
Simcoe was jailed after he had burned a Dutch Reformed Church to the ground.
The Patriots caught him after his horse was shot from under him. He was knocked
unconscious and woke a prisoner of the enemy. After the surrender of Cornwallis
at Yorktown, Simcoe remained a "prisoner on parole in the United States." He
was released by Benjamin Franklin in January of 1783. He went on to become the
first governor general of Canada and held a position similar to that in Santo
Domingo. In 1806, he was appointed to the job of commander in chief of India,
but became sick and returned home, where he later died. He died an Oxford
graduate and an excellent military commander(p. 239.) This shows that some
Loyalists became successful after the war.
"Transfer of Florida." Exploring Florida. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
<http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/trnsfer/trnsfer1.htm>.
This website told me about how Florida was tossed around in the air during and
after the Revolution. It also explains the Loyalist influx into St. Augustine, which
is in East Florida. East Florida was owned by Great Britain during the whole of
the Revolution, until it was ceded to Spain after the war. The Loyalists, unaware
of the exchange, flooded into St. Augustine. This helps me with my expulsion
section because this is a place where Loyalists fled to.
"Voices of the Revolution: Sons of Liberty." Constitution Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 15
Dec. 2015. <http://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-ofindependence/sons-of-liberty/>.
This source told me a lot of good information about the Sons of Liberty and the
Loyal Nine, who were the major suppressors of the Loyalists during and after the
Revolutionary War. This is helpful because it explains about how Loyalists were
suppressed and who suppressed them. Very interesting topic.
"What Happened to Loyalists after the Revolutionary War." www.npr.org. N.p., 3
July 2015. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.npr.org/2015/07/03/419824333/what-happened-to-britishloyalists-after-the-revolutionary-war>.
This source gives me a lot of background information. Also it helps me a lot with
my section about context of the Revolutionary War. Explains where many
Loyalists went after the war and how the fight continued after Cornwallis'
surrender at Yorktown.