Even
after the Declaration of Independence and the commencement
of the war, many
Americans continued to think of themselves as British citizens,
and remained loyal to the crown. They made up about 16% of
the population. About 50,000 of them moved to Canada and became
part of the British settlement there.
In
March of 1777, a regiment was formed in New York of loyalists
who fought for the British crown.  Their
commander was a wealthy New York colonist, Beverley Robinson.
They were called The
Loyal American Regiment, and were involved in the
infamous treachery of Benedict Arnold. After the war they
were shipped to New Brunswick and given tracts of land with
which to start over.
An
interesting episode of the LAR (Loyal American Regiment),
is the
courtmartial of Joshua Barnes. He joined the regiment
as a captain in April of 1777. Later he was accused of stealing
rebel property, including a pair of leather breeches for himself.
Even though many LAR officers testified against him, he was
found not guilty of plunder and cowardice in 1779 and went
on to serve with Benedict Arnold.
More
than three hundred Maryland men joined the First Battalion
of Maryland Loyalists, a Provincial red-coat regiment raised
in 1777. sent them to Florida to fight Spain. Like other loyalists,
they lost their land and jobs and were finally shipped off
to Nova Scotia. (For more information on the Maryland
Loyalists, you may wish to read Maryland
Loyalists in the American Revolution by Christopher
New)
Not
every loyalist was willing to fight their countrymen. But
all faced an uneasy choice; they could leave their homes and
move to a new land and start over, or they could stay and
either risk their lives or pretend to support the rebels and
be safe. The loyalist view is well expressed in The
Pausing American Loyalist inspired by Hamlet's
dilemma. |
