In this issue:
- Memo from UELAC President Carl Stymiest UE
- Nathan Hubbill: A Connecticut Yankee Loyalist – Part Three, by Stephen Davidson UE
- Choosing a Side During the American Revolution: The Remarkable Story of the Presumed Loyalists, William and Sarah Zimmer, of Breakabeen, NY
- The Boston Tea Party: Whitehall’s Response
- George Washington Confronts Charles Lee: Fresh Insights into the Mammoth Moment at Monmouth
- Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: Chesapeake Bay. – A Soldier’s Life July 1781
- Advertised on 18 October 1774: “In Consequence of the Boston Port-Bill”
- Book Review: Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
- The tragic life of a clandestine marriage minister – Alexander Keith
- UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions
- Announcement: New Chairperson of the Scholarship Committee – Jayne Leake UE
- Status of the Fall 2024 Loyalist Gazette
- In the News
- Events Upcoming
- New Brunswick Branch: “DeLancey’s Brigade and the provincial forces in the American Revolution” by Steve Fowler Wed 23 Oct 2:00 AT
- American Revolutionary Institute: A Promised Land: Jewish Patriots, the American Revolution, and the Birth of Religious Freedom Wed 23 Oct 6:30
- Colonel John Butler (Niagara) Branch, “Loyalist Collection at Brock U” Lunch mtg Sat 2 Nov @11:45
- From the Social Media and Beyond
Twitter: http:// twitter.com/uelac
Facebook: https:// www.facebook.com/groups/2303178326/?ref=share
Memo from UELAC President Carl Stymiest UE
As we approach the October halfway mark for the City of Hamilton’s Monument and Landmarks survey, I want to reaffirm our support for the UELAC Hamilton Branch and the Association as a whole in addressing this ongoing matter.
Please ensure you complete Survey #2 before the end of October. The Hamilton Branch and the Association remain actively engaged in negotiations to preserve and protect the heritage and history of our Loyalist ancestors.
The United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada (UELAC) remains committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive dialogue that acknowledges the history and legacy of the Indigenous peoples on whose lands we gather.
We are aware of the deep and long-standing history between First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples and their traditional territories, and we recognize the importance of Land Acknowledgements as part of a broader commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.
In line with this commitment, UELAC encourages all of its branches and the Association to incorporate Indigenous Acknowledgements in all forms of meetings—whether in-person, hybrid, or virtual. This practice aligns with our dedication to recognizing the unique relationships that Indigenous Peoples have with their lands and to fostering an ongoing process of education, respect, and reconciliation within our organization.
The United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada strives to respect and honour the voices and experiences of Indigenous Peoples in all aspects of our activities. We believe that acknowledging the traditional lands upon which we meet is an essential step towards recognizing and addressing the historical and ongoing impact of colonization. We also encourage our members to engage in self-reflection and promote cultural competency as part of our collective commitment to reconciliation.
As we continue to reflect on our shared history, UELAC remains dedicated to advancing these principles in all our future engagements and initiatives.
Regards, Carl
Nathan Hubbill: A Connecticut Yankee Loyalist – Part Three of Four
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Many Loyalists had hoped that they would be able to return to their hometowns following the hostilities of the American Revolution, but the treatment that Stamford’s Patriots dealt Nathan Hubbill and his friends was a sobering reality check. It was clear that Patriots were not about to forgive their Loyalist neighbours.
Sir Guy Carleton, the British commander in chief, was concerned about the persecution of Loyalists in the months leading up to the British withdrawal from the colonies. He sent Stephen Jarvis and Nathan Hubbill out to determine how Loyalists were being treated in Connecticut.
Jarvis wrote a letter to Carleton on June 15, 1783. He reported that when he visited Danbury, Connecticut –his hometown— a mob wanted to arrest him and treat him as it had some earlier loyalist visitors. Those poor men had “been punished very severely, carried on a rail and then mounted on horseback without a saddle with their face to the horse’s tail; their coat turned, and a wooden sword by their side; then drove back and forth, to the great joy and satisfaction of the spectators.”
Four days later, Carleton received a letter from Hubbill, recounting the treatment his picnic group had been received after their visit to Stamford, Connecticut. He reported that he and his fellow Loyalists were “set upon by a party of men and beaten with split hoop poles, the reason assigned for the abuse being solely that they were refugees and had fought for the King.”
Carleton realized that he needed to delay the departure of his troops to give enough time for persecuted Loyalists to make their way to evacuation ships in New York City’s harbour. In one letter, he said that it was “utterly impossible to leave exposed to the rage and violence of these people {the patriots} men of character whose only offence has been their attachment to the King’s service“. In another letter, the commander in chief described how the leaders in the new American states were “elated and intoxicated” by the peace, and that they had “cast off all desire to be reconciled to the loyalists“.
A fleet had carried refugees away to safety on June 16th; the next would see ships set sail for the mouth of the St. John River and settlements in Nova Scotia on July 8th, while at least 8 vessels headed for Quebec City. This was followed by a fleet of vessels that delivered Loyalists to the same places of refuge in mid-August.
A fall fleet departed New York City in early September for several destinations in British North America. On the 21st to 22nd October the evacuation of New York by the British troops began in earnest, having only been delayed, as Sir Guy pointed out to the Americans, by the necessity of first seeing the loyalists in safety.
Carleton finally gave notice that New York City would be turned over to the Patriots at noon on November 25th. When that that day dawned, the British commander in chief and his troops boarded ships that took them across the Hudson River to Staten Island.
From there, the last ships bearing Loyalist refugees sailed for Nova Scotia on November 30th. Most of the passengers aboard the 11 vessels were the white and Black Loyalist members of the Wagon Master General Department, the Royal Artillery Department, the Black Brigade, commissary staff personnel, the British general hospital staff members, and veterans of the British Legion -– all of which would have had responsibilities right up to the moment of the army’s departure from its former headquarters. Carleton left America on December 5th.
Nathan Hubbill was one of the passengers aboard the brig Concord that set sail for Port Mouton, Nova Scotia on November 30th. Still a bachelor, the 28 year-old Loyalist had one last responsibility to fulfill for his commander in chief. As noted in the Book of Negroes, Hubbill was the designated escort for 5 Black Loyalists.
Dorcas, a woman Nathan’s age, had been born free on Long Island and had been certified as such by David Matthews, the last loyalist mayor of New York City. 26 year-old Polly Groves had been born free in Barbados and carried a General Birch certificate to verify her status. Thomas Ormond had escaped from his master in Nansemond, Virginia in 1776 when he was 18 years old, and was one of the earliest Blacks to respond to Lord Dunmore’s offer of freedom.
Two of the Hubbill’s fellow travellers were Black men who had once lived in Fairfield, Connecticut. Prince Perry escaped from Colonel Perry when he was 38 years old in 1776, and carried a Birch certificate to prove his emancipation. The other Black Loyalist from Fairfield was an old acquaintance of Hubbill’s. Toney Bartram, the young father who rescued his daughter from re-enslavement in the spring of the year, was the fifth of Hubbill’s charges. For reasons not given, neither Nancy nor Flora were travelling with their 25 year-old father. If Hubbill had many conversations with the 28 Black Loyalists on board the Concord, he might have got more than a chuckle from talking with Daniel Payne of Virginia. The young man had escaped from his master in Virginia when he was eighteen. (You might have heard of his enslaver: George Washington.)
These Black and white loyalists settled in Port Mouton, Nova Scotia, a community they quickly renamed Guysborough in honour of Sir Guy Carleton, their commander in New York City. Guysborough had, at first, a larger population than Halifax, the colony’s capital. However, there were no resources at hand to build a thriving community. To add insult to injury, a fire ripped through the settlement just six months after its founding, destroying homes, furniture, livestock, and clothing.
Driven to the shoreline by the flames, the Loyalists would have died of exposure had a ship from Halifax not miraculously sailed into Guysborough’s harbour. This fire’s legacy was the scattering of its Loyalists to other settlements in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. No one had any interest in trying to rebuild Guysborough.
This series on Nathan Hubbill, the Connecticut Yankee Loyalist, concludes in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.
Choosing a Side During the American Revolution: The Remarkable Story of the Presumed Loyalists, William and Sarah Zimmer, of Breakabeen, NY
By Mark Stolzenburg
Schoharie Committee of Safety member, William Zimmer has long been accused by historians of being a Tory and a spy. The evidence for his identity as a Tory, at that time, was essentially the fact that he left Breakabeen August 13, 1777, with the Tories as they retreated from the Battle of the Flockey to Canada.
What if he didn’t join the Tories voluntarily?
Presented here is evidence, to my knowledge not previously acknowledged or accounted for, that may change your view of the role that Zimmer, the presumed Tory, played in the Revolution. Included is a newly discovered (or rediscovered) firsthand account from the camp of the Tory leaders, John McDonell and Adam Crysler, as they occupied the upper Schoharie Valley prior to their retreat from the Battle of the Flockey and from the Valley.
The Breakabeen Tories
The American Revolutionary War, as it was fought on the frontier of New York State, was a civil war between Patriots, Loyalists, and Native Americans whose allegiances grew out of circumstances that were as much local and personal as they were political. In one community on New York’s Schoharie Valley frontier, support for the British Crown was fervent. This place was Breakabeen, just a few miles south of the present-day Village of Middleburgh, in one of the rich farming regions of the Schoharie Valley. The Breakabeen neighborhood had more than its share of Tories, including, at least by initial appearances, one William Zimmer. Read more… (Editor note: trigger event was Battle of the Flockey, Aug 1777. Article is well-written, includes footnotes with sources)
The Boston Tea Party: Whitehall’s Response
by Bob Ruppert 17 Oct 2024 Joarnal of the American Revolution
On December 22, 1773, the Hayley, a merchant ship owned by John Hancock, departed Boston Harbor; on January 19, 1774, the ship arrived at Dover, England. She was carrying news about the destruction of tea in Boston harbor on December 16. By nightfall the news had reached King George III in London. At first it did not seem to be an issue for him; he wrote, “I am much hurt that the instigation of bad men hath again drawn the people of Boston to take such unjustifiable steps; but I trust by degrees tea will find its way there.”
Lord Dartmouth, the Secretary-of-State for the Colonies, was the most-informed, high-ranking officer in the Prime Minister’s Cabinet. On January 8, 1774, he received four letters from Thomas Hutchinson, the governor of Massachusetts. They were dated November 3, November 4, November 6 and November 15, 1773. In the letters, Hutchinson informed Dartmouth that the consignees—agents who represented the owners of the tea contracts—were being strong-armed by some colonists to resign their positions and that the governor’s council believed the best thing which could be done to quiet the people would “be the refusal of the Gentlemen to whom the Teas are consigned.” Hutchison made it clear that “Every thing that has been in my power . . . I have done & continue to do for the preservation of the peace & good order of the Town.” Dartmouth had the letters laid before King George III.
On February 5, Lord Dartmouth received four more letters from Hutchinson. They were dated December 2, December 15, December 17 and December 19. The first three were direct letters to Dartmouth; the fourth was a copy of the letter sent by Hutchison to the directors of the East India Company…. Read more…
George Washington Confronts Charles Lee: Fresh Insights into the Mammoth Moment at Monmouth
by Gary Ecelbarger 15 Oct. 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
George Washington’s confrontation with Maj. Gen. Charles Lee on a near hundred-degree afternoon, two miles west of Monmouth Courthouse on Sunday, June 28, 1778, ranks as one of the most iconic moments in battle during the Revolutionary War. It has been depicted in numerous paintings and sketches beginning in the 1800s, frequented Revolutionary War and George Washington literature throughout the 1900s, and within the past eight years alone it has been featured in four books and in a TV series (TURN: Washington’s Spies). No doubt it will be a highlight of the upcoming books and films.
Despite the recent attention devoted to the confrontation, the five “W’s” (Who, What, When, Where, and Why) of this battlefield moment requires new attention because the primary sources describing this meeting are at odds with the traditional interpretation of it as well as the location in the Monmouth Battlefield State Park. The first-hand accounts also add meat to all of the recent books and filmography.
The following first-hand accounts are almost exclusively from the sworn testimonies of participants and witnesses in the court martial of Lee which began just six days after the battle and concluded a month later. These accounts are organized by each of the “W” questions. Read more…
Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: New York – A Soldier’s Life July 1781
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
- May 1781: to Chesapeake Bay.
July, 1781: At Chesapeake Bay. (page 97)
Continuation of Occurences in North America During the Fifth Year, 1781
IN THE MONTH OF JULY [1781]
2 July. We were relieved during the morning by a command of Hessians.
6 July. During the evening Private [Johann] Br, of Quesnoy’s Company, deserted from the camp without his uniform, dressed only in his linen blouse.
7 July. On today’s date the besieged city of Ninety-Six in South Carolina, and the important pass between Cambridge and Charleston, was relieved by the English troops under Colonel Tarleton, and the Americans were driven back so that they had to abandon the siege. [The siege was lifted on 19 June 1781.]
8 July. During the afternoon the deserter Br was returned to the regiment by the so-called Royal Refugees. They had captured him twenty miles from here.
10 July. The English fleet, which consisted primarily of transport and provisions ships, and had two warships and three frigates for an escort, was attacked by the French Admiral La Motte as the English were coming from Saint Eustatius in the West Indies en route back to England. One warship of seventy-four guns and two frigates (one of forty and one of thirty-six guns), and thirteen transport ships, carrying more than twenty-one hundred men, were captured. The rest were routed and, after a three-hour resistance, fled.
11 July. Punishment was carried out by the regiment. The deserter Br, of Quesnoy’s Company, today ran a gauntlet of three hundred men with switches, twelve times. At noon today the command [sent] to Greenbridge returned. They brought many cattle with them. These were slaughtered and divided among the regiments. Two men of the Ansbachers and two from our regiment, namely, Private [Johann Paul] Whrl and Private Dressel, of Eyb’s Company, were missing from this command.
12 July. Br again had to run the gauntlet twelve times.
13 July. We had no shortage of provisions here at New Portsmouth because the inhabitants brought them, mostly fresh and plentiful, into the camp. All the foodstuffs were cheap except that a quart of rum cost about half a Spanish dollar, or in German money, one Franconian gulden.
Here, surprisingly, crabs are caught on dry land and hay grows on the trees. For this reason: here many small crabs are found that are called sand crabs. These hide in the sandy soil, in which there are many small holes, and as soon as it rains a little, these crabs come out in numbers from these holes, so that the ground is covered with them. We have gathered and cooked an entire kettle full of them. They are a kind of water crab, but somewhat smaller, and they turn red when cooked and taste like ours. Concerning the hay that grows on trees, the following must be understood. There is this moss, long and soft, which frequently hangs down from the limbs, more than an ell in length, and which grows abundantly on the trees. This is gathered like fodder by the inhabitants and stacked for feeding the cattle during the winter. In Virginia there is also much clipped money because of a shortage of small change. One Spanish dollar is divided into eight parts; the piaster, however, is divided into two or four parts. The inhabitants of Virginia are built tall and strong and appear rather pallid due to the great heat. Toward us they were rather complaisant and showed more respect than in other provinces. Especially, the Virginia females showed great affection for the Germans.
(to be continued)
Advertised on 18 October 1774: “In Consequence of the Boston Port-Bill”
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
October 18
In October 1774, Nathan Frazier did what he could to continue selling “an Assortment of Goods, suitable for the Season,” when the Boston Port Act closed the harbor in retaliation for colonizers destroying shipments of tea the previous December. He opted to open a second location, renting a shop in Salem. In the October 18 edition of the Essex Gazette, published in that town, he informed readers that “in Consequence of the Boston Port-Bill, and with a View of accommodating those of his Customers to whom it may be most convenient to have their Supplies conveyed by Water,” he now did business in Salem as well as in Boston. The circumstances had not caused him to close his original store; he “still continues his Business at his Store in Boston as usual.” Accordingly, his customers “may be supplied at either of said Stores,” though Frazier, “for the present, give[s] his personal Attendance at his Salem Store.”
In addition to inserting this notice in the Essex Gazette, the merchant also placed it in the Boston Evening-Post and the Boston-Gazette on October 17, increasing the chances that readers in Boston, Salem, and other towns would see it. In the Boston Evening-Post, Frazier’s advertisement happened to appear immediately below William Blair Townsend’s notice that he sold goods “imported before the oppressive Acts on this Town and Province were laid” and, accordingly, could be bought and sold “without any Breach on the solemn League and Covenant” that called for ceasing trade with Britain until Parliament repealed the Coercive Acts. Read more…
Book Review: Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
Review by by Gene Procknow 14 Oct. 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: Faith & Liberty in Fredericksburg
Author: Michael Aubrecht (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2024.)
While there are numerous scholarly assessments of Thomas Jefferson’s religious beliefs, few books have been devoted to his Virginia “Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom,” and none describe the drafting process and setting where he composed the ground-breaking religious freedom statute. A historian, technical writer, and media producer, Michael Aubrecht fills this gap with a focused, new monograph. The author is a long-time Fredericksburg resident passionate about writing books describing the city’s religiosity and eighteenth and nineteenth-century history.
The author captivates readers’ interest by starting with Jefferson’s self-written gravestone epitaph. Penning the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was one of the three accomplishments Jefferson had inscribed on his tombstone for posterity. Jefferson believed his advocacy for religious freedom was on par with the other two accomplishments: his authorship of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the University of Virginia. Read more…
The tragic life of a clandestine marriage minister – Alexander Keith
By Sarah Murden 14 Oct 2024 in All Things Georgian
Most people will have heard of clandestine marriages, so today we are going to take a look at one of the key ministers responsible for carrying out the majority of these, at least in his name, if not in person, for reasons which will become clear – Rev Mr Alexander Keith.
A limited amount is known about his younger life as yet, but on 23 July 1729, a Sophia Keith applied for a marriage licence for her and Alexander Keith. Sharing such an unusual surname seems rather curious with no explanation as yet. Later the same day the couple were married at St Dunstan in the East, London and their married life began.
Just 6 months later they presented their son, William, for baptism at St Clement Danes church, so it has to be assumed that Sophia was pregnant before they married. The baptism register also confirms that Keith was Rev. Mr Keith, which is curious, as it would be a further 18 months before he became a deacon according to the Clergy Database of the Church of England (CCEd), having achieved a Master of Arts. Read more…
UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions
Entries which have been added, or revised, this week, with thanks:
- To Kevin Wisener for for additional information about:
- Stephen McConnell possibly from New England, served in Captain James Curgenven’s Independant Company and the Royal Nova Scotia Volunteers and settled at Elliott River, Lot 65, Queens County, PEI.
- Charles McConnell Resided at Newport, Rhode Island until 1778, then fled to the Army at New York and in 1782 resided at Lloyd’s Neck, Long Island, New York. He received a land grant at Grand Lake, New Brunswick – Northern Side. River St. John.
- Pvt. David Hoar may have been born in Nova Scotia. He served in the Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment and was listed on the Muster Roll taken at Charlottetown, St John’s Island (PEI), dated June 12, 1784.
- Pvt. James Doherty from New Jersey, served in the Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment, the Jersey Volunteers, 2nd Battalion and the Quartermaster General’s Department 1781. He settled in Queens County PEI.
- Pvt. Morris Doherty possibly from New York, served in the Kings Rangers. He received a 100 acre land grant at Lot 47, Kings County, Prince Edward Island.
If you are willing to submit some information, send a note to loyalist.trails@uelac.org All help is appreciated. …doug
Announcement: New Chairperson of the Scholarship Committee – Jayne Leake UE
A few weeks ago I formally resigned from the role of Scholarship Committee chair effective in October 2024 after working on the committee since 2018. Recently I learned that a valued committee member, Jayne Leake UE had accepted the National Executive’s request to be appointed to this role. I want to take this opportunity to thank Doug Grant for his encouragement and reminders that Loyalist Trails provides an optimal way for readers to learn about the work of our Scholars, the fundraising needed and the role Loyalist Trails readers have in spreading the word to possible Masters or PhD students who might apply for funding – see Scholars Wanted.
Also to those who continue to keep current the Scholarship pages on uelac.ca.
It is only fitting that I thank Bonnie Schepers UE for her gentle encouragement to join the committee in early 2018. Thank you to current and previous committee members for their active participation while I was the chair of this important work.
It is my pleasure to welcome Jayne to this new responsibility.
Christine E. Manzer
Status of the Fall 2024 Loyalist Gazette
As previously noted, last year’s Fall 2023 issue is now available to all.
As for this next Fall 2024 issue, the layout and design development is completed. It has been submitted to the printer and some final wrinkles are being resolved. The paper copies will be printed and then mailed, probably in early November. In the meantime, the digital copy will be posted and a note emailed to those current members who have provided their email address that they can log in and retrieve it. Once available, it will also be noted here in Loyalist Trails as well.
In the News
Piecing together history — retired lawyer unveils Loyalist history in the Maritimes
When Brian McConnell retired from his career as a lawyer three years ago, he didn’t have to worry about finding a project for his downtime — he already had one. For the last ten years, he’s been a student of history, contributing to the research of Loyalists in the Maritimes.
“It’s not particularly Loyalists that interest me,” he said. “It’s more the story [of] the individual and the life experience of them.”
These are the stories of people who had resided in old American colonies and provided a service of loyalty to the British Crown and then settled in Canada after the revolution. Read more…
Events Upcoming
New Brunswick Branch: “DeLancey’s Brigade and the provincial forces in the American Revolution” by Steve Fowler Wed 23 Oct 2:00 AT
In the mid 1770s tens of thousands of colonists resisted the rising rebellion, instead casting their lot with the King, to take up arms and fight alongside the British troops and their allies.
Steve Fowler will discuss the formation and function of provincial or Loyalist regiments with a focus on one of the largest and best known, Brigadier General Oliver DeLancey’s Brigade. DeLancey’s was raised in New York in 1776 and saw action both in the New York area and in the southern campaign. Explore the evolution of the unit, it’s leadership, noteworthy actions in the war, and it’s eventual disbanding and settlement in what is now New Brunswick.
A Saint John native, Fowler has spent more than 30 years as an historical reenactor, exploring and recreating the life of a soldier in DeLancey’s
Zoom https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82834277627? pwd=cjcwNg9pYDvLsngGgoZYjQsS7hnYmF.1
Meeting ID: 828 3427 7627 Passcode: 436219
American Revolutionary Institute: A Promised Land: Jewish Patriots, the American Revolution, and the Birth of Religious Freedom Wed 23 Oct 6:30
Jews played a critical role both in winning the American Revolution—fighting for the patriot cause from Bunker Hill to Yorktown—and in defining the republic that was created from it. As the most visible non-Christian religion, Judaism was central to the debate over religious freedom in America at a critical juncture. Except for Philadelphia, every city with a synagogue fell to the British during the war. Jewish patriots throughout the colonies flocked to Philadelphia, where they re-founded the local synagogue as a distinctively American organization. Speaker Adam Jortner is the Goodwin-Philpott Eminent Professor of Religion in the Department of History at Auburn University. He specializes in the history of religion in the American Revolution and the early nation. He is the author of a book by the same name. More and registration…
Colonel John Butler (Niagara) Branch, “Loyalist Collection at Brock U” Lunch meeting Sat 2 Nov @11:45
David Sharron will discuss “The Loyalist Collection at Brock University: Its past, Present, and Future“. This presentation will highlight the notable efforts to establish a United Empire Loyalist themed collection within the Brock University Archives, its extent and diversity, and how people can access these materials.
David Sharron is the head of the Archives and Special Collections department at Brock University.
At Betty’s Restaurant, 8921 Sodom Road, Niagara Falls at 11:45 am. Cost of the lunch is $30 (members), $35 (non-members) in cash at the meeting. Please RSVP to 283corvette@gmail.com
From the Social Media and Beyond
- How easily we Canadians forget Sir Guy Carleton’s legacy. Yet it is fundamental to our nationhood and constitutional inheritance and we used to celebrate it. Dorchester was the great lawgiver, the man who godfathered the Quebec Act, defeated the first American invasion, stood up to General Washington, and brought the Loyalists from New York to safety in Nova Scotia and Quebec. […] Dorchester Conservatism can be understood as consisting of four pillars.
- It is oldest original church building in Digby. Constructed before confederation of Canada by Methodists. They received land as gift from Ray family who came from New York in 1783 as Loyalists. Here is video of church highlighting colorful stained glass windows.
George Henderson, born in County Fermanagh, N. Ireland was a strong supporter. He is the subject of my next book now in preparation. One of colourful windows is the Henderson Memorial installed in 1897. - It’s “National No Beard Day,” you say? No problem!
Being clean shaven was to be expected amongst the troops of not just the Continental Army, but the British Army as well. For the most part, facial hair was not fashionable in 18th century English and Colonial American culture.
Generally, most men in all levels of society were clean shaven. For soldiers a little stubble may have been permissible; however, officers were tasked with ensuring all cleanliness regulations were being followed including: “Beards close shaved; their Hands and Faces washed.” - During the American Revolution, free and enslaved women followed the British, German, and American armies as camp followers. Many woman accompanied their husbands because they needed his income for survival.
However, the army required women to work and support the soldiers through domestic tasks. Many women served as washerwoman for enlisted men and officers to earn money. This was an essential duty to maintain hygiene and prevent the spread of disease in the encampment. - Townsends, and “anything food”
- Cooking Marathon! 18th Century Feasts (2 hr, 40 min)
- This week in History
- 12 October 1774, the London engraver Francis Edward Adams published “A New Method of Macarony Making as Practised at Boston,” inspired by the tarring and feathering of John Malcom in January. image
- 16 Oct 1774 Philadelphia, Pa. Pennsylvania forms a Committee of Correspondence & a large meeting declares tea importers enemies to their country & compels local tea agents to resign. image
- 13 October 1775 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Continental Congress passed a resolution establishing the Continental Navy and naming Commodore Esek Hopkins as its first commander. It also authorized the purchase of two merchant vessels to be armed for a cruise against British merchant ships – named the Andrew Doria and the Cabot. Interestingly, they were named after two Italian seafarers, the great naval commander Andrea Doria and the explorer of North America, John Cabot. image
- 18 Oct 1775 Falmouth, MA. (today Portland, ME) British ships bombarded, torched & destroyed most of the town when residents refused to take the oath of allegiance to George III & surrender firearms & powder as demanded. image
- 17 Oct 1775 Quebec. Col. James Livingston & Timothy Bedel led a force of Canadian recruits down the St Lawrence River and besieged Ft Chambly. image
- 14 Oct 1776 Gen Benedict Arnold & Col Thom Hartley abandon Crown Point, NY for Ft Ticonderoga. British Gem (Gov) Guy Carleton calls off the advance on Ticonderoga due to the approach of winter. This strategic blunder saved upper NY from British conquest. image
- 17 Oct 1776 Gen Hugh Mercer leads a raid on British-controlled Staten Island, seizing supplies and taking prisoners. image
- 18 Oct 1776 Gen Howe’s forces land at Pell’s Point to cut Gen Washington off at Kings Bridge. But Col John Glover’s 700 MA Continentals use terrain to pour murderous fire on advancing redcoats.. A day-long delaying action that would thwart Howe’s plans. image
- 15 Oct 1777 British batteries & a pair of warships pound the walls of Ft Mifflin on the Chesapeake R. The fort’s commander, Col Samuel Smith & his men can only seek shelter behind the mud walls and wait out the onslaught of fire & iron. image
- 17 October 1777, Saratoga, New York. Columns of dejected soldiers in red and blue grounded arms and marched off to captivity under the terms of a “Convention” signed by British General John Burgoyne and American General Horatio Gates. A campaign that began with great promise ended in abject failure as extended supply lines, stubborn American resistance, and the loss of Indian allies were followed by two pitched battles that sapped British strength and morale. The convention provided for the return of the soldiers to Britain, but that would not happen except for Burgoyne’s officers. This turn of events helped Benjamin Franklin nudge the French into a formal and open alliance and formal recognition of the United States as a nation. image
- 19 Oct 1777 Gen William Howe begins to concentrate his dispersed force around Philadelphia to make ready for another offensive against Gen Washington’s reeling Continental Army. image
- 15 Oct 1778 Chestnut Neck, NJ British destroyed the town & attacked an outpost of Gen Casimir Pulaski’s 350-strong camp near Tuckerton. but men counterattack & drive back the raiders. Pulaski’s actions saved the Batsto Iron Works from destruction. image
- 13 October 1780 Hillsboro, NC Famed leader of riflemen Daniel Morgan is promoted to Brig Gen and assumes command of the light infantry. image
- 12 Oct 1781 Yorktown, VA The second parallel is threatened by British fire from Redoubts 9 & 10. The allies began preparations to reduce these troublesome strong points. image
- 14 Oct 1781 Yorktown, VA. Lt Col Alexander Hamilton’s light infantry stormed Redoubt 10 while Col Guillaume de Deux-Ponts French attacked Redoubt 9. Both are taken, thus advancing Allied lines, closing the ring on Gen Cornwallis’s forces. image
- 16 Oct 1781 Yorktown, VA. Battle of the Hook. Gen Cornwallis launches a sortie of 350 men under Lt Col Robert Abercrombie, who overrun a French battery but are driven back. A night attempt to slip across the York R. to Gloucester is foiled by the weather. image
- Clothing and Related:
- It resembles a piece of armour, this mid 18th century bodice, a self supporting structure made to hold and protect the soft body within. Perhaps that is exactly what it did, allowing the wearer to present a solid if silken front to the world
- Miscellaneous
- One tends to think of Cliveden as the height of elegance. But in 1779, Queen Charlotte was unimpressed, telling Prince William (William IV) that she found it: “everything it should not be, unfurnished, unfinished, dirty and uncomfortable”
- A masterpiece from 1780!
This stunning automaton box, crafted by M & P, showcases the exceptional intricacy of 18th-century craftsmanship. An identical replica resides in the Gilbert Collection at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). (vide0, 1:21 min) - In October 1784 the press reported expected religious toleration in Brussels and how ‘crowds of English nobility, nabobs, and rich families’ all intended to take advantage of the freedoms and make the city their winter quarters.
Published by the UELAC
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