In this issue:

 


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Introducing Erin Isaac a 2023 UELAC Scholarship winner
During our recent fund raising challenge Branch finances allowed 8 branches to donate to either the Scholarship Endowment Fund or the Loyalist Scholarship Fund. Thank you to all Branches and Individuals. Your gifts directly support academic research in the field of Loyalist study.
Our Dominion office ensured that the two scholars who have been awarded scholarships starting in 2023 received the payment prior to the start of the academic year.
This week I want to introduce you to Erin Isaac who is a 4th year PhD candidate in the University of Western Ontario’s Department of History. Erin may not need our help for the 3 installments of the scholarship but we are very pleased to be assisting her as she works towards completion.
Erin’s submission to the committee began with this paragraph:

“My doctoral research project considers embodied history in Nova Scotia in the years immediately following American cession from British North America, approximately 1783– 1810. Specifically, my project considers how Black and white loyalists, Mi’kmaq, and existing colonists in Shelburne County understood and bodily engaged with their environment.”

You will notice an emphasis on the environment in each of the scholar’s work. Our collective concern over the unusual climate conditions in Nova Scotia and all our provinces makes this research into historic environment emphasis very relevant.
To read more about Erin, see a photo of her and her dog and read more about her research you will find her biography at https://uelac.ca/scholarship/
Christine E. Manzer UE, Chair, Scholarship Committee

Remembrance Day: Historical Markers, Forgotten Cemeteries, and Finding the Revolution in Your Backyard
Note: Although this article is about a cemetery and remembering and honouring its Revolutionary War veterans, by changing a few words, the same applies to any number of cemeteries in Canada, or to Loyalists buried in cemeteries in the USA.
by Zachary Finn 2 Nov 2023 Journal of the American Revolution
The din of passing cars and semi-trucks jockeying for position as lanes converge ahead rises above the rattle of leaves clinging to the branches of a towering maple tree above. Across the road, a Walmart Supercenter dominates the landscape. NY-13, a busy throughway in Cortland and Cortlandville, New York, ebbs-and-flows with traffic to and from nearby Ithaca.
The world passes the South Cortland Cemetery.
Blink while driving by and you’ll miss it; and yet, having driven past the cemetery numerous times myself, I’ve noticed a slight lull in the pace of traffic around it. Maybe I’m imagining, but I like to think it is folks easing on the gas—for a moment at least—to admire the burial ground. I know I always do. That being said, until very recently, in all my years of passing by and even visiting it, I can’t recall ever seeing anyone else within those stacked stone boundaries meandering through the headstones. Read more…

Lost Stories: Two Black Loyalists
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Over the five years of its mandate, the Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists considered the claims of 5,656 loyal Americans. Only 47 of the petitions were made by Black Loyalists who managed to get to London to attend the commission’s hearings. Although the commissioners heard Loyalist claims in British North America between December 1785 and May 1788, no Black Loyalists received compensation when the RCSAL convened in Saint John, Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal, Carleton Island or Niagara.
Of the hearings held in Britain, only the claims of Benjamin Whitecuff**, John Twine, Scipio Handley**, David King**, Samuel Burke, and Shadrack Furman** have found their way into collections of Loyalists’ petitions. As they had been slaves at the beginning of the American Revolution, Black Loyalists did not suffer the loss of property and possessions that were the focus of white Loyalists’ claims for compensation. However, as the commission was also supposed to consider the “services of American Loyalists”, the African descendants who had fought or worked on behalf of the crown had legitimate grounds for seeking some financial redress from the British government.
Sadly, the RCLSAL commissioners were quick to dismiss the validity of the Black Loyalists’ losses, saying –as they did in one case—that the Blacks had “lost nothing by the war”, and through it had gained their liberty. Despite the fact that Black Loyalists received little or no monetary compensation, they were nevertheless recognized as Loyalists during the course of the hearings. This recognition by a government body meant that if they so chose, those 47 Black Loyalists could place the initials “U.E.” after their names like any other loyal Americans.
The claims of John Twine and Samuel Burke, two Black Loyalists, are not just documents that delineate the losses they suffered during the revolution; they are primary sources for the stories of what Blacks endured during this time of civil unrest. They reveal the lost stories of two participants in the struggle to maintain a “united empire” in North America.
John Twine was born a free Black in New Jersey, but at the outbreak of the revolution, he lived in Petersburg, Virginia where he had a house and an acre of land on a small island. He would later claim that this property and “some few articles of furniture” were not worth more than £150.
Although he was a wagon driver for the rebels for a time, Twine joined the British army at Trenton, New Jersey in 1777. Rather than having a combat role, he found work as a servant to a British officer. During a battle in Camden, New Jersey, Twine was wounded in the thigh – but whether it was caused by a bayonet, shrapnel, or a musket ball goes unrecorded. Leaving the army, Twine went to live in New Bern, North Carolina.
At some point, Twine married and became a father. In December of 1782, evacuation vessels docked in Charleston, South Carolina and filled up with white and Black Loyalists bound for sanctuary in Nova Scotia. However, the Twine family arrived too late, and was left behind. The Black Loyalist was able to find passage on the Union, which was bound for Great Britain. On its transatlantic voyage, enemy forces captured the ship and took it to France.
When John Twine and his family were released, they went to England. How a Black family of three made such a journey through unknown terrain goes unrecorded. During his testimony before the compensation board on September 13, 1784, the Black Loyalist said that he was “now in strange country with wife, reduced to great poverty“.
The records note that Twine had been christened in May. Although he knew “the nature of an oath”, he was not sure how old he was. A Mr. John Dudley spoke on Twine’s behalf, but on the following day, the commissioners dismissed Twine’s claim for “want of evidence”.
What happened to this Black Loyalist is not known. Those who could not find work in Britain often ended up in the poorhouse or in jail. Some of those in Twine’s situation would later attempt to found a colony of free Blacks in Sierra Leone.
Samuel Burke appeared before the compensation board on the same day as John Twine. He was described as a native of Charleston, South Carolina. Like Twine, he was born free, but had lost the all-important documents to validate his claim. At the outbreak of the revolution he was a servant to Thomas Brown, a prominent southern Loyalist, who wrote a certificate to vouch for Burke’s status as a free man and for his loyalty to the crown.
Unlike other Black Loyalists, Burke “bore arms” and was wounded on two occasions. He claimed to have killed at least ten men at the bloody Battle of Hanging Rock. Defeated by Patriot forces, the British and their Loyalist allies lost 192 soldiers during the Americans’ attack on August 1780. As Patriot casualties are given as 12 dead and 41 wounded, it seems that Samuel Burke may have exaggerated his contribution to the conflict.
After being stationed in New York City with the British troops, Burke met and married a widow of Dutch and African ancestry. In marrying her, Burke acquired a house, a garden, and furniture on #5 Dutch Street. (This street still exists; it is four blocks east of the 9/11 Memorial.)
At some point in the last years of the war, the British used Burke’s house as a barracks. A General’s Aide de Camp told Burke that the house was worth £350. Unfortunately, Burke was unable to produce papers for the house to back up this estimate. A witness who had seen inside his New York house and could verify its value failed to appear on the day of Burke’s hearing.
How Burke and his wife came to be in England was not given in his testimony, but in all likelihood, the couple were passengers on one of the evacuation vessels that carried soldiers and Loyalists from New York to Great Britain during the spring, summer, and fall of 1783. After arriving in Ireland, Burke was christened as a member of the Church of England – a ritual that would help to validate all that he gave in evidence to the RCLSAL.
When the compensation board commissioners handed down their ruling on the day following Burke’s appearance, they disallowed his claims for lost property for “want of evidence”. However, his military service prompted the board to given him £20 “from the treasury”. Like Twine, Samuel Burke was also recognized as being a Loyalist.
How Burke and his wife managed to thrive in England after his appearance before the compensation board can only be a matter of speculation. Nevertheless, thanks to the fact that Burke made a claim to the RCLSAL, he gave posterity a glimpse into the experience of a Black Loyalist.
The documents of the era contain only a handful of Black Loyalist “voices”; primary sources that relate to African descendants’ experiences during the American Revolution are written by white authors, and thus provide a “second hand” perspective. Although both John Twine and Samuel Burke received little more than recognition as Loyalists for all of their efforts to be compensated, the stories contained in their claims have provided historians and genealogists with an invaluable record of their lives that is recounted in their own words.
“Second-hand” sources, however, are better than none at all. By examining the all-too-brief references to enslaved Africans in the compensation claims that white Loyalists made, a picture of what comprised the experiences of Black slaves during the American Revolution can be pieced together. Those findings will be the subject of the second part of the Lost Stories series that will appear in next week’s Loyalist Trails.

**Articles on these three Black Loyalists have appeared in earlier editions of Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: New York City.
From a Hessian Diary of the American Revolution.
This excerpt from the diary of Johan Conrad Dohla (170 pages).
Having set out marching on 28 February 1777, they boarded ship and set sail on 29 March from Dordrecht, crossed the English Channel (first time on ocean waters for most; seasickness), passed Dover, anchored at Portsmouth to add provisions for seven days and finally set sail on 7 April. Passed the Azores, and after almost two months sailing, sighted America on 2 June. At June 4, the author relates some history and a description of New York City.
NEW YORK (page 26)
New York is a large, beautiful, rich, and splendid port and trade city. It consists of about six thousand houses and very many inhabitants, because in many houses forty to fifty persons live. The houses are often four, five, or even six stories high, built of brick and tile, but artistically covered over with hardwood in small boards in a style which we call shingles. These roofs are varnished and painted in a variety of colors and, as a result, make a splendid appearance. The rooms are nicely set up, splendidly furnished and papered, with expensive mirrors, and decorated with beautiful portraits, and everything is kept neat and clean. Most of the inhabitants of the city eat and drink from silver tableware. Very rich business people live there. There are eighteen churches in New York, not counting the prayerhouses, among which Saint Paul’s Church is the most beautiful and pleasant. During these war times, however, only three hold religious services. The others have all been made into hospitals, barracks, and prisons for the captured Americans. There is also a beautiful academy in the city, which presently serves as a hospital for the English troops. In summary, all the structures of the city are built in an oriental style, and equipped with Dutch roofs. New York is also strongly fortified at the entrance to the harbor, which on both sides, on Long and Staten Islands, is provided with and defended by good, solid defensive works, as is the city, which has a solid fort and defensive positions on the water of the Hudson River, facing the sea. This is called Fort George, from which a ship can be sunk if it should attempt a blockade by water.
Just behind the city there is also a strong and solid fort on a site called Bunker Hill, which can fire on the entire area outside the city. Other than these, there are also defenses on the North River, the Star Position, and the Infantry Redoubt. Next, at the edge of the city on the west, the New Redoubt has been constructed, and on the upper East River the New Royal Redoubt and Corlaers Hook,28 two strong fortifications, have been established for defense. New York is also protected from the rear by the exceedingly strong Fort Knyphausen, and opposite, on the North River, there is also a small island called Paulus Hook. This also has some good defensive positions, as well as well-planned redoubts for protecting the city and the safety of ships standing in the harbor.
The air in New York and the province is healthy and temperate, and the soil about the city and in the entire province is very fertile. It has an advantage because it is easy to move on the many rivers and lakes in the land to Quebec and the free Indians of Canada, and on the other side there are many good harbors for the ships on the World Ocean.
The inhabitants have a reputation for good manners and a polite way of life. Their commerce and trade consists primarily with the Indians from Canada, from whom they receive furs of the marten, sable, beaver, and fish otter and the hides of deer, bear, panther, and such, and many birds, fish, and game, for which they trade flint, powder, lead, axes, knives, clothing, and cloth. To the Antilles Islands they send corn, flour, salted fish, peas, apples, wood for construction, all types of household furnishings, and crude and manufactured iron; for which they receive sugar, rum, and gold. Their most important trade, however, is with England, to whom they send furs, naval supplies, and copper and receive in exchange all sorts of European wares. All religions are tolerated here, and everyone can and may speak and serve God without hindrance according to his propensity, judgment, and style.

(To be continued)

The Mechanics: Genesis of Clandestine Warfare
By S.W. O’Connell 3 Nov 2019 in Yankee Doodle Spies
The American War for Independence was the culmination of over a decade of political unrest and discontent with British policies and treatment (real and perceived) of the colonists. Although led by some of the brightest minds of the age, or any age, the movement was also a grassroots movement, which gradually built to a political movement – the idea of the ideas bantered around in taverns, coffee houses, homes, and farmsteads.
By the early 1770s, the movement spurred what was to become an insurgency of sorts. Insurgencies are of their own nature clandestine and they necessitate the development of clandestine activities and the trade-craft (use of spies, secret writing, etc.) necessary for success. As the political side of the patriot movement grew, organizations like “The Sons of Liberty” also sprung up, serving as the action arm.
Boston Ablaze
By the outbreak of rebellion in 1775, the Americans had established organizations necessary to wage the clandestine side of the war as these were already well underway. The British had their counter to this but these activities tended to lag and over time became eclipsed by the Americans’ ability to control the ground in all but those few areas dominated by the British Army and Royal Navy.
One of the first clandestine networks established was, of course, in Boston. This was only natural as Boston was the scene of so much political and subversive discourse during the pre- Rev War period. Names like Sam Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock were legend even then. “Agitprop” became a really effective tool as crowds were whipped up for all sorts of things. In a way, the British missteps in countering all this activity in Boston fueled the flames that eventually burst into a conflagration that scorched the eastern seaboard after April 1775.
Enter the Mechanics
The first patriot intelligence network was a secret group in Boston called the Mechanics. The Mechanics were spawned in Boston from “The Son’s of Liberty” , known famously for their opposition to the Stamp Act and other repressive measures. But the mechanics operated a bit differently. Read more…

The Lord North Conciliatory Proposal: A Case of Too Little Too Late
by Richard J. Werther 31 Oct 2023 Journal of the American Revolution
Just prior to the start of hostilities in the American Revolution, and even early on in those battles, last-minute efforts were made in many quarters to reach a peaceful settlement to the differences between the belligerents. One lesser analyzed of these was Lord North’s Conciliatory Resolution, made in February 1775. This proposal, unlike an earlier and more comprehensive conciliatory measure proposed by Lord Chatham, even gained the approval of the British Parliament. American colonial bodies were somewhat less enamored of it and rejected it rather quickly. As a result (no spoiler warning necessary), the Revolution carried on. It is nonetheless worth recounting the thinking that went into, and interpretation of, this Resolution by both sides, as it further clarifies the unresolved disputes that drove the colonial position and how several key people on both sides were viewing them.
Before we look at what happened, it is useful to look at the resolution in its entirety. It was relatively short and was as follows… Read more…

Advertised on 27 October 1773: “Subscriptions to a circulating library”
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
“Any orders for books … will be regularly forwarded by a packet that goes weekly between Baltimore and Annapolis.”
When William Aikman opened a circulating library in Annapolis in the summer of 1773, he hoped to gain subscribers in Baltimore and other towns. Unlike modern public libraries open to all patrons, eighteenth-century circulating libraries lent books and other reading material only to subscribers who paid fees to access them. To make the venture viable, Aikman needed to recruit as many subscribers as possible. According to the advertisement he placed in the October 30 edition of the Maryland Journal, the newspaper only recently established in Baltimore, Aikman stated that he had learned that a “number of the friends of literature” in that city expressed interest in subscribing to his library yet refrained solely due to the “trouble and risk they run of procuring and returning the books” at such a distance. His library catalog revealed which books subscribers could borrow, but the logistics of checking them out and returning them to the library presented remained an obstacle.
Aikman proposed a solution to that problem. Read more…

Two Women, One Infant, but which was the mother?
By Sarah Murden 30 October 2023, All Things Georgian
In October 1803 two women reputedly gave birth to two daughters, except they didn’t, just one of them gave birth to a child at that time, but the child was then claimed by both women to be theirs.
Here is where the mysterious tale began, and one which appeared for some considerable time in the national and regional newspapers of the day. Alas, DNA testing was to be two centuries away, therefore even today it is impossible to know which of the women was telling the truth, but at that time the court were required to make a decision as to which woman should raise the baby in question. Read more…

“The Ruin of All Witches” in Ben Franklin’s World
Malcolm Gaskill, Emeritus Professor of Early Modern History at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, and one of the leading experts in the history of witchcraft, joins us to discuss details from his new book The Ruin of All Witches: Life and Death in the New World.‌
During our investigation, Malcolm reveals how people understood witches and witchcraft in early modern England and how those ideas informed beliefs in seventeenth-century Massachusetts; Details about the colonial settlement at Springfield, Massachusetts; And how a married couple in Springfield–Hugh and Mary Parsons–came to be accused and tried for witchcraft in 1651. Listen in…

UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions
Entries which have been added, or revised, this week, with thanks:

Kevin Wisener, Abegweit Branch, PEI, contributed information about several Loyalists:

  • Pvt. Edmund Meade served with the Kings Rangers. He settled, possibly in Lot 40 or 47 of Kings County PEI. There were alt least two children Charles b c1805 and Sarah (married James Geary)
  • Cpl. George Sutherland was possibly from Long Island NY. He served with the Royal Nova Scotia Volunteers. He received three different land grants: in 1784 Clements Township, Annapolis County, NS; In 1786 in Bear River, Annapolis County, NS; and subsequently a 100 acre land grant on the Wheatley River, lot 24, Queens County, Prince Edward Island. He arrived with a spouse and one child under ten.
  • Moses Graham served in the 1st Battalion of the Kings Rangers. He received a 100 acre land grant on the Pinette River, Queens County, Prince Edward Island. Married, they had three identified children: 1) Moses b. 1790 m. Jane Burke 2) John b. c. 1798 m. Mary Alexander 3) William Edward b. 1809 m. Elizabeth.


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

Loyalists and descendants who participated in the War of 1812: Dr. James Stuart and Son Henry
Dr. James Stuart, gives claim in Montreal, February 8th, 1788 before Commissioner Dundas “appointed by Act of Parliment of Enquire into the Life’s and Services of all such persons who have suffered in their Rights, Properties & Provisions.” In his sworn statement, Dr. James Stuart says he was Surgeon’s Mate to Sir John Johnson’s 1st Batalion from 1777 to 1783 (KRRNY). He is a native of Scotland and came to America in July, 1774 where he purchased 100 acres of land in Ulster County, New York. Says he had 4 horses, a yoke of oxen, 2 heifers, 2 steers. The rebels took his livestock, farming utensils, books & surgical instruments. Read more…
Note: This is not a new entry but has been revised to correct some details which further research had shown to be incorrect.

Submitted by Elizabeth Stuart UE, British Columbia, Canada (Eleanor McLeod/Stuart and Henry Stuart are her fourth great-grandparents)

Read about other Loyalists and the sons and daughters of Loyalists who participated in the War of 1812.

Submissions are still welcome. Send up to 500 words describing the Loyalist’s experience or participation in the war, and where settled before and afterward, to loyalist.trails@uelac.org. Please reference both the Loyalist experience, perhaps to a lesser degree, along with the 1812 history.

In the News

Stained glass windows at St. Alban’s Church
29 October 2023 The Napanee Beaver
What do angels, lambs and St. Marrtin’s knees have in common?
They are all featured in a new book by local historians Jane Lovell and Diane Berlet. In showcasing the surprisingly large number of stained glass windows in St. Alban’s, The Windows of St Alban’s — A Century of Illumination celebrates the artistic and historicak legacy of the 1884 Gothic Revival limestone church, one of Lennox and Adington’s most distinctive heritage buildings. Read more… See book launch details.

Ridgefield [CT} Historical Society Awarded $20,000 Grant for Forensic Analysis of Skeletal Remains
By Stephen Bartkus 2 Nov 2023 Ridgefield Historical Society
The Ridgefield Historical Society is excited to announce that it has been awarded in partnership with the Town of Ridgefield, a $20,000 Historic Preservation Enhancement Grant from the State of Connecticut’s Historic Preservation Council, to support the forensic analysis of the skeletal remains discovered on the Revolutionary War battlefield in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
In December 2019, construction activities working to lower the dirt floor under a house basement dating to 1790 uncovered human skeletal remains in Ridgefield, CT. Local police were contacted and reported the discovery to the Office of the Chief State’s Medical Examiner, whose forensic team identified the remains as being historic and not part of a modern criminal investigation. In compliance with state statutes, the state archaeologist was notified to assume the enquiry. Subsequent excavations yielded four skeletons of young, robust adult males hastily buried in a common, shallow grave where the bodies were commingled with overlapping arms and legs. The discovered burials are located on the battlefield of the Revolutionary War “Battle of Ridgefield” (April 27, 1777). Read more…
Submitted by Ken MacCallum UE who lives nearby and whose ancestor probably fought in that battle.

Upcoming Events

Friends of St. Alban’s book launch Sun. 5 Nov. @2:00 at St. Alban’s Centre

“The Windows of St. Alban’s – A Century of Illumination”
Introducing this detailed and colourful book that explores the intricate stained glass artwork adorning St Alban’s. As well as examining how the windows were made and the symbolism embodied in them, the book chronicles the lives of the people memorialized in the windows and those who sponsored the work. United Empire Loyalists and other early pioneer families are well represented.
The authors will provide a glimpse behind the scenes, revealing their motivation and inspiration in documenting these remarkable windows.
10419 Loyalist Parkway, Adolphustown ON. Refreshments Provide

Sir Guy Carleton Branch “Loyalists in the American Revolution” Tues. 7 Nov. 7-9:00 ET

The presentation is about where to look when researching Loyalists who came to Canada, Great Britain and the Caribbean. Becket is currently Emeritus Professor of Canon Law at St Paul University in Ottawa. He is descended from a dozen Mayflower passengers and is Deputy Governor and Elder of the Canadian Mayflower Society, and Secretary and Historian of the NC Mayflower Society, as well as editor of the George Soule “silver book.”
A virtual meeting; to attend, please contact: carletonuel@hotmail.com

The American Revolution Institute: Radicals vs Moderates Rues Nov 14 @6:30

During the American Revolution, American policymakers were divided into two factions: radicals and moderates. Radicals saw the United States as a great power, equal to France and worthy of alliances with as many foreign powers as possible. Moderates, however, doubted American military power and were content to rely on military assistance from France alone. In each case, battlefield results determined who held the upper hand when it came to diplomacy. More details and registration…

The American Revolution Institute: A Handkerchief and King George III Fri 17 Nov 12:30

Museum Collections and Operations Manager Paul Newman discusses a handkerchief commemorating the reign of British monarch King George III, made ca. 1812. The large printed handkerchief chronicles contemporary events in a lavishly decorated manner and includes several portraits of notable British figures from the period. More details and registration…

Kawartha Branch “Who’s your Gramma?” Phillip Mintz Sun. 19 Nov @2:00 ET

Phillip was 33 – 40+ yeara ago – when the fateful family history/genealogy bug hit him. The number 2 hobby in North America, it has been his passion ever since. With a database of almost 125,000 names and 2,300 photos. Along the way he has discovered in his tree in-laws, outlaws, pirates and royalty. DNA has helped. He discovered that his 2x great grandfather Isaac Mintz was adopted, and perhaps his father Joseph as well. Phillip will describe his journey. Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89531103434?pwd=nGvxvXKInF2tsoy3jsbW21NgAttcdJ.1 Meeting ID: 895 3110 3434 Passcode: 433526

From the Twittersphere and Beyond

  • Townsends – or Food
  • This week in History
    • 2 Nov 1751, George Washington arrived in Barbados with his older half-brother, Lawrence. They arrived in Bridgetown, one of the most populous cities in British America, and the largest urban area George Washington had ever seen.
    • 1 Nov 1765 In the face of widespread opposition in the American colonies, Parliament enacted the Stamp Act, a taxation measure designed to raise revenue for British military operations in America.
    • 28 Oct 1775 After a month of hazardous travel, Col. Benedict Arnold’s army reaches the St Lawrence and Atlantic watershed and he decides to press on despite his starving men desperately feeding on shoe leather and dogs.
    • 31 Oct 1775 Gen Washington tries to encourage re-enlistment in the Continental Army by reserving new supplies for any who commit to another year of service and promising each man time to visit his family during the winter.
    • 2 Nov 1775 After defending St. Johns Quebec for 55 days, Maj Charles Preston surrendered to American Gen Richard Montgomery, who took 500 prisoners and 41 guns. Montreal is next, but the delay helps foil the campaign.
    • 4 Nov 1775 Continental Congress reorganizes the Continental Army at Boston into a force of 20,372 officers and men, the majority remaining in service only through 1776.
    • The Rev War Minute: 28 October 1776, White Plains, New York. Some 13,000 British & Hessians advance on 14,000 Americans defending a 23-mile front. American commander General George Washington fortified a position between the Bronx and Croton Rivers. On the far side of the Bronx River was an isolated outpost on Chatterton’s Hill held by regiments under Colonel Spencer, Colonel McDougall, and two New England militia regiments under Colonel Rufus Putnam — about 4,000 in all. Continental forces drove back several uncoordinated British skirmishing efforts against their fortifications as Howe arrayed his army in columns. The British commander, General William Howe, then spotted Chatterton Hill and realized taking it would prove the key to success. He dispatched General Alexander Leslie, supported by Hessians under Colonel Johann Rall — some 3,000. MacDougal and company fought fiercely. Rall’s Hessian force finally got around the hill — turning the American right flank. Washington withdrew from the field and moved his main army to New Jersey, hoping to support his garrisons at Forts Lee on the Jersey side and Fort Washington on upper Manhattan. Approximate Losses at Chatterton Hill: around 300 were killed, wounded, or captured on each side.
    • 29 Oct 1776 Ft Lee, NJ Gen Nathanael Greene, commander of Forts Lee & Washington, pens letter to Gen Washington listing supplies needed & costs & suggesting places between Fort Lee & Philadelphia to store them.
    • 31 Oct 1776, London. In his first speech before Parliament, since the leaders of the #RevWar came together to sign the Declaration of Independence, King George III acknowledged that all was not going well for Britain in the war with the United States.
    • 1 Nov 1776 Capt. John Paul Jones begins his cruise on the 24-gun sloop Alfred, which will yield nine captured vessels, including HMS Active.
    • 2 Nov 1776 Island of New York An American officer deserts to the British under Gen Hugh Percy, bringing with him detailed plans for the defense of Ft. Washington.
    • 28 Oct 1777 York, PA. James Wilkinson, an aide to Gen Horatio Gates, arrives at the temporary American capital with news of the resounding American victory at Saratoga. Wilkinson would later become one of America’s most notorious scoundrels.
    • 30 Oct 1781 Col Marinus Willet, commanding 400 NY militia & 60 Oneida warriors, catches a group of Loyalists & Indians at West Canada Creek, NY. Willet’s men smash the Loyalist rear guard, wounding 7 and killing Maj Walter Butler.
    • 3 Nov 1783 On this day, George Washington bids farewell to the soldiers of the disbanded Continental Army. “The unparalleled perseverance of the army through almost every possible suffering and discouragement for the space of eight long years was little short of a standing miracle.”
    • 3 Nov 1783 After 8 years of struggle, privation, and service, the Continental Army was officially disbanded by order of Congress.
    • 31 Oct 1781 – quote of the day — “determined to burn Gen. Arnold in effigy,…one of the company observed that one of Arnold’s legs was wounded when he was fighting bravely for America, that this leg ought not to be burnt, but amputated.” —William Heath
    • 3 Nov 1801 Patriot William Shippen, of the powerful Shippen family of Phila, dies at his home in Germantown, PA. He was the uncle of Peggy Shippen, wife of Benedict Arnold
  • Clothing and Related:
    • Lady’s Riding Jacket, 1740s. Worsted wool, trimmed with brocaded silk and silk satin.
    • Linen colours from plants that I’ve dyed over the last few months
    • The 17th and 18th-century Quaker needlework suite that is at the centre of this year’s annual exhibition includes many examples of circa 1740 baby linens. These pieces, like this bib, feature very fine hollie point. This baby’s bib has its original decorative iron marks.
    • Dress historian & @ThinkUHI MLitt student Joanne Watson was busy last summer as she took on the challenge of sewing the Betty Burke disguise worn by Bonnie Prince Charlie after defeat at the Battle of Culloden.
  • Miscellaneous

Last Post: REMPEL UE, Dianne Bernice
With profound sadness, we announce the passing of Dianne Bernice Rempel, a beloved mother, grandmother, friend, and pillar of her community, who departed this life peacefully on October 7, 2023, at the age of 74.
Dianne was born on April 13, 1949, a spring child who blossomed into a woman of strength, kindness, and unwavering faith. Her journey through life was marked by her dedication to her family, her deep spiritual convictions, and her gentle, nurturing spirit.
Dianne’s memory will be lovingly cherished by her children: Keith Rempel, Marlene Rempel, Dawn Blankenstyn (née Rempel), Phillip Rempel, her grandchildren, and brother, Douglas Forsyth.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Allan Jack Rempel, and her siblings Judy Forsyth, Gordon Forsyth, and Kenneth Forsyth.
Dianne’s life was a testament to her faith and the love she had for those around her. Her nurturing nature found a special place in the Emmanuel Baptist Church community, where she poured her heart into the Pioneer Girls program, and later he Kid’s Scripture Memory Program.
A Celebration of Life for Dianne will be held on November 10. More details at Morris Funeral Home, Morris MB.
Diane was a member of both the Manitoba & Assiniboine Branches UELAC and had proven her UE status many years ago to David Walker Sr UEL Her father Ivan Chester Forsyth UE and Mother Amy were as well long time members of both Branches.
Barb Andrew UE, Assiniboine Branch

Last Post: THOMPSON UE (nee Lott), Doreen M.
Doreen, Bay of Quinte, passed away peacefully at St Patrick’s Home of Ottawa on Nov 3, 2023, after living with dementia and Parkinson’s.
She will be missed by her daughters Anne Redish (Adair) and Karen Little (Randy), grandchildren, Patrick, Robert, Tristan, and Kayleigh.
Doreen was always busy with activities, 4H, Junior Farmers, music lessons, school and of course chores on the Lott family farm with her dear parents Ross and Florence and siblings Allan (Phyllis) and Joyce Foster (Lawrence) as well as with her Uncle Grant Lott. Doreen was a proud member of the United Empire Loyalists Association (UELAC) and served as President of Kawartha Branch. More recently she was a member of Bay of Quinte Branch.
She was also a member of Beta Sigma Phi, and United Church Women.
Internment to be held at Victoria Cemetery Bronk Road, Thurlow Twp. at a date yet to be determined.
Doreen’s Loyalist ancestors include Capt. John Ernst Dafoe UEL, Michaeel Dafoe Sr UEL, Johann George Finkle Sr UEL, Daniel Fraser Sr UEL, Michael Grass UEL, Joseph Lockwood UEL, Johannes Lott Sr UEL, Jacob George Smith UEL, Peter Wartman UEL. Obituary and Guestbook.
Doreen became deeply involved in researching family history starting in the 1970’s and became the keeper of the stories told about our Loyalist connections. Doreen loved to share stories of her childhood and wrote down several over the years to preserve them for future generations. She was the family historian and could be found at any of the family picnics sharing information or gathering the names of new family additions for the family tree. Read more at Facebook… …daughter Anne Redish

Kawartha Branch:
Doreen was our Kawartha Branch President from 2011 to 2013. I recall, when I was Dominion President, that we went to Ottawa in 2012 and met with the Governor General, David Johnston, and Doreen came with us, pointing out her homestead on our way back home.
During her presidency, she revived the Branch newsletter, contributed recipes to our first Kawartha Branch Cookbook, arranged special events such as banquets and visits to heritage sites where we set up our display booth. For parades, she created black and white sashes with our Branch name on them that we continue to proudly wear to this day.
Doreen also initiated a President’s Manual for Kawartha Branch to assist later Branch Presidents. She encouraged us to have and wear Loyalist costumes. A beautiful seamstress, Doreen made costumes for others and encouraged the men to wear their Tricorn hats. We will continue to miss her.
Bob and Grietje McBride, Joan Lucas.

Published by the UELAC
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