In this issue:

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Immediate Attention Required: City of Hamilton Survey on Historical Monuments
Dear UELAC Members and Friends,
As we come to the end of August, I hope this memo finds you well. I am writing to bring an important matter to your immediate attention.
One of our UELAC Hamilton Branch members has brought to our notice a significant notification from the City of Hamilton, Ontario. The UELAC Executive and the Central West Regional Vice President have been informed. The City has initiated a survey seeking public input on three historical monuments within Hamilton. These monuments include:

  1. Queen Victoria Monument – Gore Park, west end facing James St.
  2. Augustus Jones Monument – King St. E. at Jones St. in Stoney Creek
  3. United Empire Loyalist Monument – In front of 50 Main St. E.

The City’s project, titled “Landmarks & Monuments Review: Honouring Our Indigenous Roots,” aims to gather feedback on how these monuments can better represent Indigenous stories and history. This initiative is part of a broader effort to provide a more equitable, balanced, and inclusive representation of Indigenous peoples’ histories and contributions in Hamilton. It also aligns with the ongoing spirit of reconciliation and education about the history of colonialism in Canada.
The survey is an opportunity for us, as members of the UELAC, to offer our insights and perspectives on how these monuments, especially the United Empire Loyalist site, should be represented. It is crucial that we actively participate in this process to ensure that the historical significance of these sites is preserved and accurately reflected.
The survey is open until August 30. I strongly encourage ALL members to take part in this survey and share their feedback with the City of Hamilton. Your participation is vital to ensure that our voices are heard in this important discussion.
To be more knowledgeable, please access the survey through the following link: Hamilton Survey.  At this site, there is further information as to the process of this development.

Key Dates

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Let’s ensure that our heritage is appropriately represented in the ongoing dialogue about these significant landmarks.
Best regards,
Carl Stymiest UE
National President, United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada (UELAC)

PS. A longer description of the monument can be seen at uelac.ca in the Monuments section, at Hamilton UEL Monument which in turn links to a more detailed history on the Hamilton Public Library website.

The Loyalists of Upper Canada: The Sabine Selection, Part Two of Two
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
In compiling his Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution, Lorenzo Sabine was only able to piece together the life stories for about 6 out of every 1,000 loyal refugees who settled in Upper Canada. Nevertheless, it is interesting to consider the lives of those that this American historian was able to feature in a dictionary of over 2,375 Loyalists’ names.
Working within the restrictions of the mid-19th century’s data gathering techniques, it comes as no surprise that Sabine’s Upper Canadian Loyalists tended to be those who went on to achieve some sort of leadership role in the new colony. They left the best “paper trail” in addition to descendants who were literate enough to correspond with Sabine.
Two cases that illustrate this point are Samuel Anderson and Joseph Anderson who both settled in what is now Cornwall, Ontario.  Samuel had been a captain under Sir John Johnson after he had fled from his New York home to Canada.  He was an early settler of River Raisin (which became Cornwall). In time, he held several civil offices: magistrate, district court judge, and an associate justice of the Court of King’s Bench. He died at the age of 101 in 1836.
If Sabine had been able to access other documents, he would have discovered that Anderson served in the King’s Royal Regiment of New York for 8 years. His wife’s name was Prudentia Deliverance Butt, mercifully shortened to Dolly in everyday conversations. Supplying beef to the British government made him “inimical” to Patriots based in Albany, New York. The latter made plans to have Anderson put in prison in Connecticut, but he was able to escape and joined General Burgoyne.
Joseph Anderson was Samuel’s son. Sabine notes that he was a lieutenant in the King’s Regiment and that he died in Cornwall in 1858 at the age of 90. His death notice said that Joseph was “one of the last survivors of the United Empire Loyalists“.  Other sources note that Joseph was in the King’s Regiment for 6 years. His brother Ebenezer — who disappears from the historical records– also served in the regiment for 6 years as an ensign.

Napier Christie-Burton, an “American by birth” began his military career as an ensign in the British Army in August 1775. He saw action in New Jersey, Virginia, and South Carolina, fighting in the famous battles of Guilford and Cross Creek. During the siege of Yorktown, the battle that brought the revolution to its end, Patriots took Burton as a prisoner of war.

Sabine failed to mention that the officer only acquired his Burton surname in 1784 when he married Mary Burton, a member of the British gentry.  This made the American the Lord of Hotham Hall in York and Lord of Hall Bank in Beverley, Yorkshire, England.

Christie-Burton fought in Flanders during the Napoleonic Wars before being appointed as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada, an office he held from 1799-1802. He returned to Britain where he served as a Member of Parliament. Sabine notes that he was an invalid in the years leading up to his death at 75 in 1835.  However, the historian seems to have been unaware that Christie-Burton was a spendthrift and had to sell most of his possessions to pay his debts. He actually spent time in prison in 1812 for owing money.
When he did not have a lot of biographical material on an Upper Canadian Loyalist, Sabine “padded” entries with information about their children. For example, Allan McNab’s biography is only 51 words long. It notes that he was a lieutenant in Colonel Simcoe’s Queen’s Rangers, that he received 13 wounds, and that he served in the colony’s House of Assembly. However, his son, Sir Allan McNab is given 440 words in the same entry.
Although Loyalists with German roots made up a sizeable proportion of the refugees who settled in Upper Canada, Sabine only had an entry for one German. George Pozer, a native of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and had settled in Schoharie, New York before the American Revolution. When he refused to swear allegiance to the Patriot cause, local rebels drove him away. Pozer went to New York City where he became a successful merchant. After the peace of 1783, he went to Germany to “recover a small landed estate which he had inherited“.  Pozer and his family then settled in Canada. He died in Toronto at age 95 in 1848.
Other sources reveal that this Loyalist’s name was Johann Georg Pfotzer in German.  Sabine was completely unaware that the Pozer family had moved to Quebec (Lower Canada) in 1785 or that the Loyalist had purchased three seigneuries that made him a wealthy man. He recruited 200 Germans from Wilstedt, his home village, to settle on one of his seigneuries where they became hemp farmers. How Pozer came to die in Toronto is not revealed.
While most Loyalists from the Southern colonies either found refuge in the West Indies or the Maritime Provinces, Christopher Robinson is an example of a Virginian who made Upper Canada his home.  In 1781, Robinson fled to New York City where he became an officer with the Queen’s Rangers. Sabine incorrectly thought that Robinson had been with the Loyal American Regiment and that he had settled in Wilmot, Nova Scotia in 1783. Instead, Robinson went to New Brunswick’s St. John River where he met and married Esther Sayre, the daughter of a Loyalist Anglican minister.
Other sources flesh out Robinson’s life story. In 1792, John Graves Simcoe, his former commanding officer, persuaded him to move to Kingston, Upper Canada. There, Simcoe appointed the Virginia Loyalist as the deputy surveyor general of the forests.  Later, Robinson became a member of the colony’s house of assembly where, in 1798, he tried to enact a bill “to enable persons migrating into this province to bring their Negro slaves into the same.” A more successful venture was his work in establishing the Law Society of Upper Canada.
The historian R.E. Saunders notes that money problems “haunted Robinson all his life“. Robinson was “able to obtain official preferment only because of his link with Simcoe. He seems always to have been disappointed that the more comfortable life to which he felt his birth, education, and loyalty entitled him did not materialize.” Robinson died in York, Upper Canada on November 2, 1798 following a long trip on horseback.
As this all-too-brief sampling of Sabine’s 44 Loyalists settlers of Upper Canada demonstrates, the historian had limited sources of data and so was not always accurate.  Rather than being among the first who had settled the region in 1784, many of his featured Loyalists were those who had first settled in New Brunswick and then moved on to Upper Canada The entry for William Wynn is but one example: “Of Dutchess County, New York. In 1783, he retired to New Brunswick, where he remained nineteen years. He removed to Upper Canada, and died at Queenstown in 1834.”
Despite its shortcomings, Sabine’s biographical dictionary is a valuable starting point – and an often overlooked resource– for piecing together the story of the loyal Americans who made Upper Canada their home.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Ramsour’s Mill, June 20, 1780: The End of Cornwallis’ Loyalist Illusion
by Scott Syfert 20 Aug 2024 Journal of the Ameican Revolution
Following the surrender of the major coastal capital of Charlestown, South Carolina (present-day Charleston) to the joint army-navy expeditionary force led by Maj. Gen. Sir Henry Clinton and Vice Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot in May 1780, British land forces began to fan out across the Carolina interior to reestablish Royal control. When Clinton returned to New York in early June, command in the south transferred to Lt. Gen, Charles, Earl Cornwallis.
As late May gave way to early summer, British strategy was, first, to mop up any remaining Continental or militia forces outside of Charlestown. Second, to establish contact with population centers thought to be especially sympathetic to the British. Although it was not clear where and to what extent such sympathy existed, areas around Orangeburg, South Carolina and Cross Creek (now Fayetteville, North Carolina) were thought to be broadly loyal. Third, to establish garrison posts commanded by regular British officers at key junctions to subdue and overawe the local population, especially in predominantly Whig areas. Cornwallis intended to use these garrisons as rallying points where Loyalist militias could be organized, armed and trained by British officers.
The British began to establish forward posts in an arc across South Carolina. To the west, near the Indian frontier, he sent forces to take the existing fort of Ninety Six. In the center, a depot was established at the town of Camden, which could be supplied from Charlestown. Read more…

Book: The Traitor’s Homecoming.  Benedict Arnold’s Raid on New London, September 4-13, 1781
By Matthew E. Reardon
Almost everyone is familiar with the name of at least one Revolutionary War battle. Some, like Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, and Yorktown are nearly household names. Others are less well known but readily recognized when mentioned. An engagement in Connecticut during the war’s sixth year, commanded by one of history’s most famous military names, is not among them. Matthew E. Reardon has set out to rectify that oversight with the publication of The Traitor’s Homecoming: Benedict Arnold’s Raid on New London, Connecticut, September 4-13, 1781.
By 1781, the war in North America had reached a stalemate. Throughout the summer the combined Franco-American armies of Generals George Washington and Jean-Baptiste comte de Rochambeau deceived British General Sir Henry Clinton into believing they were about to lay siege to New York City. When in fact, they were moving south toward Yorktown, Virginia, in a bid to trap Lord Cornwallis’ army against the sea. Clinton, falling for the deception, dispatched former American General Benedict Arnold to attack New London, hoping the move would derail militia reinforcements and supplies headed from Connecticut to the allied armies outside New York City, as well as destroy the privateers which operated out of its harbor.
Situated in southeastern Connecticut, New London was the center of the state’s wartime naval activities. State and continental naval vessels operated out of its harbor, which doubled as a haven for American privateers. Arnold landed on September 6 and, in a textbook operation, defeated local militia, took possession of the town, harbor, and forts, and set New London’s waterfront ablaze. But that is not how it is remembered. The Connecticut governor’s vicious propaganda campaign against the British and Arnold, who was already infamous for his treachery, created a narrative of partial truths and embellishments that persist to this day. As such, most of the attention still remains focused on the bloody fighting and supposed “massacre” at Fort Griswold, but there is much more to the story.
The Traitor’s Homecoming utilizes dozens of newly discovered British and American primary sources to weave together a balanced military study of an often forgotten and misunderstood campaign. Indeed, Reardon achieves a major reinterpretation of the battle while dismantling its myths. Thirteen original maps and numerous illustrations and modern photographs flesh out this groundbreaking study.
Publisher: Savas Beatie (August 15, 2024) 372 pages

Worcester’s connection to the roots of the American Revolution
WORCESTER, Mass. – Deep in the City Clerk records, Worcester has one of the earliest pieces of what became the American Revolution – smeared in ink.
“The Worcester Patriots wanted to redact information from the Royal loyalists,” Mary Vigliotti said.
The Tories of Worcester had essentially entered their loyalty to the British Crown into the town’s record in response to the Massachusetts Government Act of 1774 and the local revolutionists decided to force the clerk’s hand.
“They had all those that the 56 signers of the protest come up one by one and, and line out their names like cross out their names,” Ray Raphael said. “Clark Chandler, they had him cross out the whole protest, not just the signatures, but the protest. Then that wasn’t enough, and they dipped his hand in ink and forced it, like to smudge the whole thing.”
American historian and author Ray Raphael has written extensively about the Constitution and the Revolution. He said this was the beginning for Worcester. Read more…

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: New York – A Soldier’s Life December 1780
From a Hessian Diary of the American Revolution.
This excerpt from the diary of Johan Conrad Dohla (170 pages).

Major Moves during Johan’s deployment:

  • March 1777:   Depart Germany
  • 3 June 1777:   Arrive New York, then Amboy NJ
  • November 1777:  To Philadelphia
  • June 1778: to Long Island
  • July 1778: To Newport RI
  • October 1779: to New York

December 1780: At New York (page 90)
Continuation of Occurences in North America During the Fourth Year, 1780

IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER [1780]

1 December. Near Sandy Hook an English frigate, the Thames, thirty-six guns, with a crew of  316  men, was attacked  and,  after  a  two-hour  engagement,  was  captured  by  an  American frigate, Thoomeel, forty guns, and a privateer of sixteen guns, both of which had sailed from Philadelphia  on  the  Delaware  River.  The  frigate  was  coming  from  Charleston.  Our  two regiments  received  orders to  be  prepared to march because,  it was said,  a  strong  expedition will soon depart for Virginia.
5 December. I received a letter from my parents in Wunsiedel in which it was reported that His  Serene  Highness  assured  them  of  his  permission  for  my  return,  which  I  read  with  joy.  God’s will be done.
8 December. I reported with this letter to my First Lieutenant von Adelsheim, but received neither a resolution nor my letter back.
16 December.  At  noon  the  wife  of  the  sick  attendant  Rhau  had  to  hang  on  the  wooden gallows [the pillary] for one hour because she had struck Lance Corporal [Heinrich] K†mmelmann, of the Colonel’s Company, hard.
19 December.  The  first  joint  of  the  thumb  of  my  left  hand  was  amputated  by  our regimental surgeon, Schneller,  because worms  had  completely  eaten  through  it. This caused me great pain.
20 December. I attended the punishment by our regiment. Grenadier Kalb II, of Molitor’s Company; and Private P‡then, of Eyb’s Company, had to run a gauntlet of three hundred men, twelve times, for contemplating desertion.
During this month it was generally warm and pleasant weather.
Again, under God’s gracious hand, another year has passed, that of 1780.
(to be continued)

The Septennial Act: An Unknown Act that Changed the World
by Bob Ruppert 22 Auguat 2024 Journal of the American Revolutiion
In 1688, King James II of England, a Catholic, was deposed by Mary II, an Anglican, and William III of Orange, a Protestant. The invasion, the battles and the deposition have become known as the Glorious Revolution. In December 1688, James fled to France. The Convention Parliament declared that James’s action was an abdication of the Crown and therefore the Crown was vacant. In January 1689, Mary and William were declared joint monarchs of England and Ireland. In 1694, the same year that Mary died, Parliament passed An Act for the frequent Meeting and calling of Parliaments. It read that according to:
the ancient Laws and Statutes of this Kingdome and frequent Parliaments ought to bee held And whereas frequent and new Parliaments tend very much to the happy union and good agreement of the King and People . . . it is hereby declared and enacted by the King and Queen . . . by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Com[m]ons in this present Parliament That from henceforth a Parliament shall bee holden once in Three years att the least.
Soon the Act would be known as the Triennial Act of 1694. In 1701 Parliament also passed An Act for further Limitations of the Crown. It read:
    it was hereby further enacted that all and every Person and Persons that then were or afterwards should be reconciled to or shall hold Communion with the See or Church of Rome or should professe the popish Religion . . . should be excluded and are by the Act made forever incapable to inherit, possess or enjoy the Crown and Government of this Realm.
Upon William’s death in 1702, Mary’s sister, Anne, an Anglican, became Queen. Read more…

Seeing Slavery in Eighteenth-Century American Salt-Glazed Stoneware: Richard Williams’ Savings Bank
Elise Lemire August 2024 in Common Place
It was a relentless circle of brutal exploitation in which the salt raked by Mary Prince and other enslaved people was sold to northern fishermen who sold it back southward in the form of salted fish with which to feed the enslaved who raked the salt.
In the spring of 1798, Richard Williams’ second birthday was approaching. Someone close to the little boy took the opportunity of being in the teeming port city of New London, Connecticut, two days’ sail from the family’s home in Potapoug Point (now Essex) on the Connecticut River, to shop for a gift that would express the Williams family’s hopes for this fifth son, born shortly after his forty-five-year-old father’s rise to the top of maritime Connecticut’s economy.
New London’s deep and well-protected harbor on Long Island Sound had become the region’s portal to the lucrative West Indies trade in the seventeenth century. Caribbean planters committed to sugar as their sole crop were dependent on the mainland for virtually all of their staples, most especially food sources for the massive number of people they enslaved. New England’s farmers and fishermen shipped live animals, produce, and salted fish, as well as timber and other supplies, down the coast and across to island plantations in exchange for sugar, rum, molasses, spices, and salt. Seeking a gift for Richard in New London would have entailed pushing past porters loading and unloading the numerous ships docked at the city’s many wharves, clerks with ink-stained fingers rushing to and from their desks, the savvy merchants orchestrating it all, and the one out of every ten New London residents who were enslaved to them and the city’s ministers.
Because of its prime location in the increasingly connected circum-Atlantic world, New London offered shoppers a dazzling array of imported goods from which to choose. On June 6, 1798, the Connecticut Gazette advertised, for example, that the Eleven Sons was in from Liverpool with one hundred crates of crockery ware “among which are a number of elegant Dining, Breakfast, and Tea Services.” Read more…

Advertised on 20 August 1774: “Simpson’s Hard-Ware Store.“
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

20 Aug 1774

“Simpson’s Hard-Ware Store.”

As fall approached in 1774, a new advertisement in the Providence Gazette alerted the public that “Simpson’s Hard-Ware Store” had “Just opened” and offered a “large Assortment of Hard-Ware Goods” for “Wholesale only.”  Shopkeepers seeking to replenish their inventories could acquire merchandise there rather than place orders with merchants who would then import those goods.  The speed and convenience may have been especially attractive considering that many colonizers anticipated a general boycott on importing textiles, hardware, and all sorts of other items from England in response to the Coercive Acts passed by Parliament.  Delegates were already enroute to Philadelphia or arrived there to discuss a united response at what would become known as the First Continental Congress.
Simpson did not make explicit mention of politics, but doing so would not have been necessary for readers to understand the context in which he marketed his wares.  Several articles in the August 20 edition of the Providence Gazette provided coverage, in addition to the conversations, debates, and anxious musings taking place in private and public spaces throughout town.  Read more…

Book Review: No Longer Subjects of the British King
Author: Shawn David McGhee;  Yardley, PA: JAR Books/Westholme Publishing, 2024.
Review by Jeff Broadwater 19 August 2024 Journal of the Amercian Revolution
As Continental Congresses go, the Second Continental Congress, which adopted the Declaration of Independence, is clearly the star, but Shawn David McGhee, in No Longer Subjects of the British King, makes a plausible case that the First Congress deserves more attention—and respect—than historians have traditionally given it. McGhee views the delegates who assembled in Philadelphia in September 1774 as a truly radical body, and he argues the economic sanctions they adopted against Great Britain helped forge a pan-colonial political movement.
In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament adopted the Coercive Acts, closing the port of Boston, empowering the royal governor to appoint certain local office-holders and to restrict town meetings, allowing trials of royal officials to he held outside Massachusetts, and providing for the quartering of British troops in vacant buildings. Colonial outrage at Parliament’s punitive measures produced the First Congress. Dinner parties and social events brought the disparate delegates together, but the radicals soon seized the initiative at the expense of more moderate delegates and what McGhee calls “imperial traditionalists.” Read more…

Exhibits: Treason of the Blackest Dye: The True Story of Arnold, André, and Three Honest Militiamen
Treason of the Blackest Dye highlights a fascinating chapter in the Revolutionary War, filled with intrigue, betrayal, and chance circumstances.
On September 22, 1780, U.S. General Benedict Arnold secretly turned over plans for the fortification at West Point to British spy Major John André. With these plans, the British might have captured West Point and turned the tide of the war.
By luck, local militiamen John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart captured André, who was carrying the papers in his boot, as he passed through Tarrytown on his way to New York City, revealing Arnold’s treasonous plot. André was executed as a spy days later. Arnold made a narrow escape and defected to the British.
Nearly 250 years later, the original “boot papers” will return to Tarrytown for the first time in the exhibition Treason of the Blackest Dye. Curated by the nonprofit organization Revolutionary Westchester 250 and produced with The Pocantico Center, this exhibit tells the story of Benedict Arnold’s betrayal and the remarkable capture of Major André. It will feature the rarely seen original documents, loaned by The New York State Archives, as well as the original Fidelity Medal awarded by Congress to Isaac Van Wart, buttons from the Hessian coat worn by John Paulding, the original Orderly Book with “Treason of the Blackest Dye” written boldly across its pages, and costumes and original cast photos from the AMC Series Turn: Washington’s Spies.
Treason of the Blackest Dye is open to the public every Wednesday and select Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., from September 25 through December 11, 2024. Some original items, including the boot papers, will be replaced with exact facsimiles after opening day for the duration of the exhibit.  More information, registration etc…
Thanks to Ken MacCallum for noting this.

Put to the Torch — The Burning of Washington Through the Eyes of the British
By Robert P Watson 27 July 2023 at Military History Now

“The burning of Washington remains a singular moment in American history. It constituted an existential threat to the young republic, marked the only real invasion of American soil by a foreign enemy, and can be said to have been the nation’s first day of “infamy.”

THE BATTLE OF Bladensburg, fought in Maryland in the blistering heat of August 24, 1814 was an embarrassment to the American military.
Though possessing superior numbers to the invading British, the hodge-podge collection of U.S. regulars, sailors, state militiamen, and government clerks was routed by a disciplined enemy force, many of whom were part of the army that had recently bested Napoleon in Europe.
Of the battle, it was said that the Americans “ran like sheep chased by dogs” and the only thing that prevented the British from utterly destroying their foes was the weather—unaccustomed to Washington summers, the British were simply too exhausted to give chase. Indeed, some redcoats “died without sustaining a scratch,” succumbing to the scorching heat. However, the humiliation was about to get worse.
After the lopsided victory, the British general Robert Ross rested his weary army. The battle was so quick and decisive that much of the main force was still in the rear and had yet to move into position. Moreover, a few hundred soldiers collapsed during the march and after the battle.
“Out of the twelve hundred men who bore the brunt of the battle, nearly one-half had fallen,” recalled Lt. George Gleig, who was a part of the fighting. “Of those who survived, and were fit for duty, many were absent for the purpose of attending to the wounded, and burying the dead.”
Ross worried about whether his army was in a condition to strike Washington, yet he wanted to press his advantage and deny the Americans the chance to regroup. The city was a mere seven miles away and nothing stood between it and the invaders. Read more…

Transportation to Australia of convict, Sarah Murden
By Sarah Murden 19 Nov. 2023 at All Things Georgian
Today’s article is about my namesake – Sarah Murden (also written as Murdin), who was born on 16 February 1803, at Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, to parents John, a shoemaker, and his wife Ann née Beebby. Sarah’s younger brother, John followed in his father’s footsteps and he became a shoe maker; a traditional role in Northamptonshire, famed for its shoe industry. Sarah’s life, however, took a very different path and not in a positive way.
There is no evidence of Sarah having married in her twenties, as most of her peers probably did, nor of her occupation. However, given that the main employers in Wellingborough at that time were shoe/boot makers, it’s highly likely that Sarah would have worked for such an employer, perhaps working alongside other members of her family.
Sarah’s name came to prominence locally, when, at the age of 28 her name appeared in the Northamptonshire Mercury, 26 November 1831 – for larceny.  Read more…

Bathtubs of the plains
By Alanna Mitchell 4 Aug 2024 in Canadian Geographic
Tiny hotspots of biodiversity, prairie potholes can ease the effects of climate heating — if we stop draining them
By long tradition, the farmer has been the sworn enemy of the prairie pothole. Not only do the so-called “bathtubs” of the plains hold enough water to make them inhospitable to crops, but they also interfere with the straight lines that make field work go smoothly. Worse, they attract waterfowl, noted eaters of grain.
The zeal of farmers across the North American prairies to eradicate the pothole is legendary. Read more…

UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions

    Entries which have been added, or revised, this week, with thanks:

  • to Vicki Holmes for information about:
    •  Jacob S. Myer (Meyer) born 3 Jan 1732 Bulach, Zurich, Switzerland but before the war was settled at New Philadelphia or Philadelphia Bush, 11 miles east of Johnstown NY. After the war resettled at Concession VI Lot 32 all. And Lot 21 in the first and second Concessions Williamsburg, Dundas County, Ontario. Married to Anna Maria Hager/Heger b 1731. They had eleven children. Much detail and many sources.
    • Martin Silmser born in Germany c1728. Settled in Moved to Johnstown, Fulton County, New York circa 1766. Served in     Major Edward Jessup’s Corp and resettled in Town of Cornwall, Stormont County, Ontario, They had six xhildren. Many details and sources.
    • Martin Alguire Sr.  born in Germany in 1746, mirated to America, settling ca. 1770 Albany Patent near Johnstown, Albany County, (now Fulton Co. N.Y.).  He served in 1st Battalion KRRNY Major James Gray’s Co. and resettled Township #2 Cornwall 4th Concession on the Eastern Boundary, Lot 12. Married 1. Elizabeth Catherine Eamer/Wiemer dau of Philip Eamer and Catrina Lyser, Married 26 Nov 1769. Stone Arabia, Albany Co. (now Montgomery Co.) N.Y.; Died between March 1779 and 1789. 2. Eva Hone/Hahn/Hawn probably dau of Henry Hawn of Cornwall. Eleven children. Much detail and sources.
  • to Katie Cleghorn for information about:
    • Alexander Rose from Kortright Twp, Delaware Co., New York who served as a drummer with the King’s Royal Regiment of New York and settled in Williamsburg Twp, Dundas Co., Eastern District, Upper Canada. He married tweice, to First wife: Huldah Wright, b (probably) at New Ashford, Massachusetts, 1775/6, m 30 Sep 1794, d c 1800, daughter of Jesse Wright and Sibyl (Roys) Wright. Second wife: Phoebe Forrester or Forrister, b in Nova Scotia 1785/6, m c 1802, d 10 Jun 1861
    • John Rose who married Catherine Munro (b. circa 1774), dau. of Alexander Munro & Jannet Sinclair
  • To Kevin Wisener for information about:
    • John Apps from New York who served with the Royal Fencible American Regiment. He received loyalist grants at Wheatley River PEI and Fox Harbour (River Remsheg, Cumberland County), NS

If you are willing to submit some information, send a note to  loyalist.trails@uelac.org All help is appreciated. …doug

Events Upcoming

Annual Pilgrimage at Old Hay Bay Church, Napanee ON. Sun. 25 Aug 2:00 – 5:00

Welcomes you to the Pilgrimage of exploration at 2 pm & the Annual Pilgrimage at 3 pm
Liturgist: Rev. Aaron Miechkota
Guest Speaker: Rev. Paul Reed
Guest Singers: Valerie Nunn & Gordon Burnett
Refreshments to follow.
2365 South Shore Road, Napanee. 613.373.9759

American Revolution Institute: The Marquis de Lafayette Wed 28 Aug 6:30

Lecture—The Marquis de Lafayette and the American Revolution.  Having learned of the American war in the summer of 1775, the marquis de Lafayette responded to the rebels’ calls for republican principles inspired by ancient Rome, the opportunity to avenge France’s defeat by the British in the Seven Years’ War and the chance to further his military career. In December 1776, the young marquis formally pledged to join the American cause. After landing in South Carolina in June 1777, he made his way to Philadelphia to present himself to Congress and became a member of George Washington’s military family…  By historian Iris de Rode   More details and registration…

Author’s Talk—Memory of ’76: The Revolution in American History Tues 3 Sept 6:30

American Revolutionary Institute: Americans agree that their nation’s origins lie in the Revolution, but they have never agreed on what the Revolution meant. For nearly 250 years, politicians, political parties, social movements, and a diverse array of ordinary Americans have constantly reimagined the Revolution to fit the times and suit their own agendas. The meaning of the Revolution has never been fixed, how remembering the nation’s founding has sometimes done more to divide Americans than to unite them. More and registration…

Gov. Simcoe Branch: “Richard Lippincott UEL and the Denisons” Wed 4 Sept 7:30

    Presentation by James Arnett.
The Lippincott and Borden families were 4th generation descendants of English families who had immigrated to New England during the Great Puritan Migration of the 17th century. By the time of the outbreak of the American Revolution, they were Quakers living in New Jersey.
Despite his Quaker upbringing, Richard Lippincott – a farmer in Monmouth county – became a Loyalist serving under arms. As such, he became involved in action which became famous – or infamous – and led to the intervention of General George Washington himself.
The Denison family were well known UE in Toronto during the 19th century – how so?
The meeting is both in-person and on zoom. More details and registration… 

America’s History LLC Bus Trip –  Forts, Raids, Battles and Mayhem: The Schoharie Valley, 1776 to 1780 – September 7, 2024, day bus trip

Many contributing factors made living on the western edge of Albany County, near the frontier, a very dangerous place during the war. Events here are indelibly linked to the people and events of the Mohawk Valley, as well as New York State and beyond. What happened in the Schoharie Valley region was part of a particularly brutal civil war that erupted on New York’s frontier.
Many of the opposing participants knew each other, as German, Dutch, and Mohawk friends, neighbors, and family members who chose sides and suffered often tragic consequences.
Along with a discussion of the violent history of the war in this region, there will be a rich narrative about the people who it impacted, their backgrounds, and what they had built and lost. This included the resident Mohawk community known as Wilden der Hoeck that was forever impacted. Read more and registration…

BOOKING DEADLINE 30 AUG for St. Lawrence Branch 2024 Charter Night Dinner, Sat 14 Sept 6:00pm

At St. Matthew’s Presbyterian Church, 15 Memorial Square, Ingleside ON. Social hour from 5:00.  Chicken Cordon Bleu dinner, cost $30
Tickets in advance only by 30 Aug. from Darlene Fawcett at dmfawcett@ripnet.com
Non-members are welcome
Guest Speaker: Brian Porter will speak on The Royal Trio: Three ships running the rapids of the St. Lawrence prior to the Seaway Project (The Rapids Queen, the Rapids King and the Rapids Prince).
Raffle: Harvest Baskets. Donations for the raffle baskets, Contact Darlene

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • With a Highlander today.  At the Lower Selma Museum operated by the East Hants Historical Society.
    Nice Exhibit about 84th Regiment at Lower Selma Museum
    Video tour of the Museum, housed in an old church.   By Brian McConnell UE
  • Townsends, and “anything food”
    • Food That Time Forgot: Salamagundy (10 min)
    • Although the Irish potato originated in South America, and arrived in Ireland in the late 16th/early 17th century, potatoes were grown in Virginia by the time of the American Revolution. These potatoes were grown on the 1780s farm at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.
  • This week in History 
    • 21 August 1754, Banastre Tarleton is born in Liverpool, England, the son of a successful merchant who had profited from American colonial trade. Young Tarleton had a large inheritance when his father died —most squandered at the gaming tables. His finances caused him to leave the study of law.  He used what was left of his inheritance to purchase a commission as an officer in the dragoons. Tarleton quickly took to soldiering and was soon an expert with horse, saber, and pistol. At the outbreak of the Rev War, he quickly volunteered to go to America. He volunteered to serve in North America—arriving in early 1776. He quickly rose through the ranks and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel by the time he headed to the Southern theater in 1780. He would go on to be a very controversial cavalry commander during Am Rev, leading his Loyalist legion in brave actions and dastardly massacres that burnt across the Carolinas. image
    • 20 Aug 1773 A royal commission is formed to investigate the burning of the customs cutter Gaspee at Warwick, RI. Despite the crown offering rewards for witnesses – none come forward. image
    • 24 Aug 1775 American militia in NY capture the battery at the tip of Manhattan. But the crew of HMS Asia began to fire on the Patriot troops. The Americans took all 20 guns. A cannonball from the ship crashed through the roof of the famous Fraunces Tavern. image
    • 16 Aug 1776: The Public Advertiser, Lloyd’s Evening Post and the British Chronicle all in London become the first #European newspapers to publish the U.S. Declaration of Independence against Great Britain. The Continental Congress adopted it on July 4. image
    • August 17, 1776, NYC. Gen Washington, wanting to help protect the citizens of New York City from the expected bombardment by the Royal Navt’s guns and invading army, issued a Broadside Proclamation urging residents to leave. image
    • 20 Aug 1776. Long Island, NY. American Gen Nathanael Greene comes down with a fever and is replaced as commander of the forward-deployed Continentals by the fiery Gen John Sullivan, who will soon face a British onslaught. image
    • 21 Aug 1776 Delaware River. American Capt John Paul Jones and his 12-gun sloop Providence sailed out into the Atlantic on a 3-month cruise that would yield 16 prize ships. image
    • 22 Aug 1776 British cross from Staten Island & arrive at Long Island, between Gravesend & New Utrecht, with 24K troops. Gen William Howe’s strategy was to capture NYC & gain control of Hudson R, which would divide the rebellious colonies in half. image
    • 23 Aug 1776 Bedford Pass (LI), NY Col Edward Hand’s screening force skirmishes with Hessians under Col Karl von Donop. The Hessians force Hand to withdraw on the American lines.  image
    • 16 Aug 1777 Walloomsac, NY. Battle of Bennington. NH & MA militia led by Gen John Stark reinforced by Col Seth Warner & Green Mountain Rangers, soundly defeat a column of Brunswick dragoons, Canadians, Loyalists, & Indians led by Lt Col Friedrich Baum image
    • 17 Aug 1777 Fort Miller, NY. British Gen John Burgoyne learns of the defeat of Col Friedrich Baum’s forces at Bennington. He prepares his army for further military action against the rebel forces. image
    • 19 Aug 1777 Stillwater, NY. Gen Horatio Gates arrives & takes command of the Northern Department from Gen Phillip Schuyler, whose army has grown to 4,500 men. image
    • 21 Aug 1777 Ft Dayton, NY Col Benedict Arnold’s relief expedition halts to regroup. The crafty Arnold sends a “deserter” into the British camp to report the Americans are” more numerous than the leaves on the trees”, causing the Indians to retreat. image
    • 22 Aug 1777 Setauket (LI), NY Lt Col Richard Hewlett’s 150 Loyalists repulse an attack by 500 rebels under Gen Samuel Parsons. image
    • 22 Aug 1777 Warwick Township, PA After receiving intelligence of a British fleet entering Chesapeake Bay. Gen George Washington sends forces under Gen John Sullivan & Francis Nash to assemble near Chester, PA. image
    • 23 Aug 1777 Fort Stanwix, NY  Lt Col Barry St Leger’s Indian allies panic on the arrival of Col Benedict Arnold’s relief column. They abandon the siege in a flight west. The western prong of Gen Burgoyne’s pincer strategy is smashed. image
    • 19 Aug 1778 Newport, RI. Gen John Sullivan’s artillery begins to barrage the British-held city, but when the French fleet arrives battered the next day, Adm Conte D’Estaing withdraws his 3,500 troops & sails for Boston for repairs. image
    • 23 Aug 1778 Portsmouth, England Adm Augustus Keppel’s fleet sails out to engage a French fleet under Adm Louis, comte d’Orvilliers, who turns his fleet south to the safety of the Bay of Biscay. image
    • 17 Aug 1779 New Orleans, Spanish Louisiana Terr. Gov Bernardo de Galvez leads several hundred Acadian militia, African volunteers & pro-Spanish Choctaw warriors in a campaign against Ft Bute & Baton Rouge on the lower Mississippi River. image
    • 17 Aug 1779 Philadelphia, PA. Continental Congress sets forth terms for peace negotiations with Britain. Minimum demands were independence, firmly established boundaries, British evacuation of all American lands & Mississippi River navigation rights. image
    • 19 Aug 1779 Battle of Paulus Hook NJ. Major (Light Horse Harry) Henry Lee led a daring nighttime raid on the British fort, taking 158 prisoners. This attack greatly weakened British control of New Jersey.  image
    • 16 Aug 1780 Camden SC. American Gen Horatio Gates engages the British with a sick army. His militia broke before British Gen Cornwallis’s well-planned charge. 900 Americans died & 1,000 captured. Gen De Kalb was mortally wounded. Gates flees the field. image
    • 18 Aug 1780 The Battle of Musgrove’s Mill SC Colonels Elijah Clarke & Isaac Shelby repelled an attack by Loyalists, taking only 12 casualties but killing 63, wounding 90, and capturing another 70 attackers.  image
    • 18 Aug 1780 Fishing Creek, SC. Col. Banastre Tarleton & 350 Loyalists surprise a Patriot force under Gen Thomas Sumter 40 miles from Camden, killing 150, wounding & capturing 300, & freeing 100 British prisoners. Loyalists lost just 16 killed. image
    • 20 Aug 1780, Francis (Swamp Fox) Marion springs a dawn attack on British soldiers marching 150 American prisoners (captured at Camden) to Charleston. Marion’s men liberated the prisoners and captured 26 of the British escort. image
    • 19 Aug 1781 Wilmington, NC. Maj James Craig leads a force of 250 British & 80 Loyalists in a raid on New Bern. Craig’s forces torch the town.  image
    • 21 Aug 1781 Great Miami River, Ohio Chief Joseph Brant & Sam Girty’s Mohawk raiders capture 3 American scouts who reveal the approach of over 100 PA militia under Col Archibald Lochry. Brant sends for reinforcements & sets an ambush for the militia. image
    • 22 Aug 1781 Warsawsing, NY Col Albert Pawling’s NY militia defeated a large force of Loyalists& Indians led by Capt William Caldwell. image
    • 18 Aug 1782 Bryan’s Station, KY. Col Hugh McCary’s relief column rides to Licking River in pursuit of Loyalist Indian leader Sam Girty’s raiding party. McCary ignores scout Daniel Boone’s advice to await reinforcements & decides to cross & attack Girty. image
    • 23 Aug 1784, Counties in western NC declare independence as the state of Franklin. Settlers in Cumberland River Valley formed an independent govt from 1772 – 1777 & were concerned Congress would sell the territory to Spain or France to pay for #RevWar  image
    • 17 Aug 1786, “Davy” Crockett was born in Greene County, #Tennessee. Today Crockett occupies popular American mythology for his adventurous life. He served in the militia, in the TN State Legislature, & #Congress for 3 terms. Crockett died in battle at the Alamo in 1836. image
  • Clothing and Related:

    • a beautiful embroidered pocket from about 1710-20. This fabulous fashion accessory is made from two pieces of fine plain weave linen and features a colourful floral design embroidered in red, green, yellow, blue and pink wool.
    • Wedding dress, England, 1763
    • Just one of the hundreds of amazing photographs to come out of #thekyotocostumeinstitute over the years, this a parade of the #1770s and three robes à la française. Are they gossiping, plotting or telling a ribald joke? Maybe all three
    • These dragoon caps have two piece crowns, the Rhode Island (far-right) cap a six-piece crown. The linings in the caps are leather, linen or a combination of the two. All construction is done using a saddle stitch. Sometimes the leather is painted, and at other times it’s dyed.
  • Miscellaneous
    • What strikes you about this painting?
      This is one of the few 17th-century examples of a woman posing with her hand on her hip. The pose underlines the social and economic status of Geertruida den Dubbelde.
    • If parsley thrives in a garden it was said to be a sign of the woman of the house being in charge.
      “Where the mistress is the master,
      The Parsley grows the faster.”
      #FolkloreThursday
    • Did you know that George Washington was a redhead? This is a lock of his hair from 1797. ⁣The iconic white hair color we see in his portraits is a product of powdering his hair. He preferred powdering to wigs and kept his hair long and tied back in a queue or ponytail.⁣⁣

 

Published by the UELAC
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