In this issue:

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UELAC Conference 2025 – Welcome to the Conference
On Thursday evening 10 July at 6:30, the reception will formally open the conference. The program will feature Wade Wells, the first guest speaker.
Wade is the Historic Site Manager of Johnson Hall State Historic Site situated in the Mohawk Valley, New York. It was the 1763 home of Sir William Johnson and Molly Brant. Wade has served in several interpretive, operational and managerial positions at Johnson Hall and the Saratoga Region during his thirty-four-year career with New York State Parks.
His presentation “Developments at Johnson Hall” will focus on recently completed restoration projects at Johnson Hall, a New York State Historic Site, and discuss new research and programming initiatives along with the importance of Johnson Hall in telling the Loyalist story during the 250th anniversary commemorations.
Learn more about the 2025 UELAC Conference July 10-13, 2025 at Saint John, New Brunswick. Registration and accommodation bookings are ready for you.

Johnny Burgoyne and the Loyalists, Part Four of Six: Lady Harriet Acland
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Her full name was Christian Henrietta Caroline Acland. Born into the aristocratic family of the first Earl of Ilchester, Harriet became the wife of Major John Dyke Acland, a wealthy landowner with estates in Somerset and Devonshire. Her name would have been completely lost to history if she had not made the decision to accompany her husband to Canada in 1776 where he served as a commanding officer in General John Burgoyne’s campaign to subdue Patriot forces in New York.
Between 1848 and 1903, Harriet Acland’s name appeared in no less than six books that dealt with the women of the American Revolution. In 2003 –a century later– the historian Kathleen Wilson wrote about Harriet as an “example of the complex interrelations of women, war and identity.”
The first person to recount Lady Acland’s adventures during the revolution was John Burgoyne when he stood before a parliamentary inquest into the circumstances around his surrender to rebel troops. Among other questions, he had to answer the charge that two thousand (!) female camp followers accompanied his army. It was a ridiculous assertion, and he deflected it by spotlighting the behavior of one camp follower — Lady Acland– rather than taking time to lend any credence to baseless accusations.
Harriet’s behavior, he contended, was an example of “patience, suffering, and fortitude” with which no one could find fault. What he had to say captured the imagination of the British public and was one of the few positive stories to emerge from Burgoyne’s devastating defeat.
Although Harriet accompanied her husband to Montreal in the early months of 1776, Major Acland would not permit her to follow him into New York. However, when Acland was wounded during the siege of Fort Ticonderoga, Harriet and her maid Hannah Degraw, sailed south over Lake Champlain to rejoin her husband. When Acland recovered, Harriet remained with him, and was part of rest of Burgoyne’s ill-fated campaign. (The fact that she was six month pregnant may have been a factor in her decision to stay close to her husband.) She followed the troops in a tumbril, a two-wheel cart that was normally used to carry tools or ammunition for the army.
The life of a camp follower was not an easy one. One night, the tent in which the Aclands slept caught fire. The major was rescued by one of his men; Harriet, meanwhile, had crept under the back wall of the tent. Thinking his wife was still in their tent, Acland rushed back into the flames and was severely burned in his face and other parts of his body. All that the aristocratic couple had brought with them was lost in the fire. But Harriet’s remained committed to staying with her husband.
Major Acland commanded the British grenadiers, a role which constantly put him at the forefront of any combat. As Burgoyne’s troops entered a particularly dangerous area on October 7, 1777, Acland told Harriet to stay with the wagons that carried artillery and baggage. When the Battle of Bemis Heights began, Harriet took refuge in an abandoned hut. However, the violence of the combat led the British surgeons to commandeer the hut as a first aid centre.
The battle raged for four hours. Harriet was subjected to the constant noise of cannons and musketry, but at least she had the company of other officers’ wives — the Baroness of Reidesel and the spouses of Major Harnage and Lieutenant Reynell. Severely wounded in the battle, Major Harnage was brought to the surgeons. News later came that Reynell had been killed on the battlefield.
In the end, the British troops were defeated and the Patriots took Harriet’s wounded husband as their prisoner. Shot in both of his legs, Acland was among the more than 600 British troops killed, wounded or captured; the Patriots had 150 men killed or wounded.
Harriet then wrote a note to Burgoyne asking for a pass that would allow her to go to the Patriot camp to tend to her husband – if this would not interfere with the general’s ongoing strategy. Burgoyne was “astonished at this proposal”, later commenting that “After so long an agitation of the spirits, exhausted not only for want of rest, but absolutely want of food, drenched in rains for twelve hours together, that a woman should be capable of such an undertaking as delivering herself to the enemy, probably in the night, and uncertain of what hands she might first fall into, appeared an effort above human nature.”
Burgoyne admitted that all he had to offer her was “an open boat and a few lines, written upon dirty wet paper, to General Gates {the Patriot commander} recommending her to his protection.”
Harriet was desperate to go to her husband and although it was a stormy night, she set off for the enemy encampment with only Acland’s valet, her maid, and the Rev. Edward Brudenell, chaplain for the British forces, as her companions. A fifth member of the party was George Williams, a 12 year old from Newfoundland, who was said to have carried the flag of truce. Rowing down the Hudson River was difficult enough on a rainy night; Acland’s valet would have been further hampered in his efforts by the fact that he had a musket ball in his shoulder that he received while searching the battlefield for his missing master.
Although Brudenell explained Harriet’s mission to the sentry on guard at the Patriots’ outpost, the soldier threatened to shoot into the boat and would not allow the party to come ashore before daylight. Harriet’s and her companions had to sit in the boat for seven or eight cold hours. No doubt she wondered how she would be treated once she went ashore.
The historian Edward St. Germain recounts that an American officer of the guard “invited Lady Acland to his guard-house, offered her a cup of tea, and every accommodation in his power, and gave her the welcome intelligence of her husband’s safety.” Then, with a “suitable escort” she was taken to Major Acland, and remained with him until he was taken to Albany. “Her resolution, and devotion to him, touched the feelings of the Americans, and won the admiration of all who heard her story.”
General Horatio Gates was just one of those impressed by the major’s wife. The American commander wrote to his wife a few days after meeting Harriet, saying, “Lady Acland is the most amiable, delicate piece of quality you ever beheld. Her husband is one of the prettiest fellows I have seen — learned, sensible, and an Englishman to all intents and purposes…”
John Acland was later released in a prisoner exchange that saw Burgoyne return the hero of Vermont, Ethan Allen, who had been captured during the Battle of Bemis Heights.
Harriet and John returned to England in early 1778. They lived at Pixton Park, Dulverton, near Exmoor. Numerous histories claim that John died on October 31, 1778 in a duel defending the bravery of the British soldiers who had fought in the rebellious colonies. Harriet died at age 65 in 1815, a woman remembered for her devotion and courage in the midst of Burgoyne’s ill-fated campaign to conquer the American rebels.
 To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Scott’s Levies: The Virginia Detachments, 1779-1780
by John Settle 3 Feb 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
The Virginia Continental Line had suffered with recruitment since the spring of 1777. Desertion, battlefield casualties, and competition with other state units prevented enough men being recruited to replenish the ranks of Virginia’s fifteen regiments. A new recruiting act, including a limited military draft, had produced fewer than 800 recruits for the Virginia Continental Line by the spring of 1778, and most of these new recruits were only enlisted for one year. A new recruiting law and the appointment of a veteran officer to oversee the recruiting service provided hope for the regiments. The shift of British strategy to the South altered the destination of the recruits and the focus of Virginia’s military efforts.
Gen. George Washington had hounded Virginia Gov. Patrick Henry to encourage a new recruiting law from the General Assembly. In October 1778, the General Assembly passed a new law entitled “An act for speedily recruiting the Virginia regiments on continental establishment.” It authorized the raising of 2,216 men for continental service. Washington’s complaints about the short one-year enlistments weren’t entirely ignored, as the shortest enlistment allowed was for eighteen months. A bounty of $300 was offered for those who enlisted for eighteen months, while those who enlisted for three years or duration of the war were offered $400, in addition to any continental cash and land bounties. Another fear for prospective recruits was the lack of supplies in the Continental Army and being marched out of Virginia without proper clothing or equipment. Under the new act, the recruit was to be furnished with a coat, waistcoat, beeches, two shirts, one hat, two pairs of stockings, one pair of shoes, and a blanket, to be delivered to the men when gathered to go join their regiments. Until the recruit received these articles, he was not required to march out of Virginia. Any men who were disabled in service were entitled to receive full pay for life, while whose who died in service had the same provision passed on to their wives and children. Washington was impressed by the new terms, believing that if men couldn’t be induced to enlist with these liberal offers, then nothing more could encourage it.
Each county was required to furnish one-twenty-fifth of their county militia for continental service by May 1, 1779. Read more…

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: Prisoner of War – A Soldier’s Life October 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 (Yorktown)
  • October 1781: to Williamsburg

October, 1781: Prisoner of War. (page 113)

Continuation of Occurences in North America During the Fifth Year, 1781

IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER [1781]
page 113
20 October, still within our lines in order to recover somewhat from our many exertions
and sleepless nights that occurred during the siege. The French officers and sailors today
visited the captured English ships, raised the French flags and pennants on them, and tore down the English ones. The Americans also raised a large flag on the water battery at Yorktown. It had thirteen stripes, which represented the thirteen provinces of the United North American Free States. Also today, some of the French and Americans marched away from here, toward Williamsburg.
21 October. This was the nineteenth Sunday after Trinity and the day we left Yorktown and began the march into captivity. We broke camp at three o’clock in the afternoon. The Virginia militia, under command of General [Robert] Lawson, escorted us.
The officers received horses to ride; and the regiment, two wagons for the officers’ baggage, wives, and artillerymen. All of the sick and wounded remained behind in Gloucester with one of our medics. According to the capitulation articles, the Americans were responsible for providing medicine, care, and attendants. All of us walked with canes, and with knapsacks, camp kettles, and canteens hanging on us. Our first march was five or six Virginia miles, of which one makes one German hour. We camped overnight under the open sky in a meadow and had very little food to divide and eat.
22 October. We resumed our march and arrived at Williamsburg. We marched through the city and one English mile beyond. We camped on a height under open skies. We made large fires from the fences, which were plentiful and not protected from us. We also had much freedom, which allowed us to go into the city for food and water. Here, for the first time, we received American rations. These consisted of the following: one pound of meal from Indian corn, as well as one Scille, or one-eighth, of salt, for six men. Instead of flour, we received Indian bread here for the first time, which was very unfamiliar to us. For good hard cash, which we had, and which was rare here, we could get all kinds of foodstuffs, but everything was rather high-priced. A short report concerning Williamsburg.
This city consists of about three hundred houses and in length is about one mile long. It has strong forts and well-developed defenses. It has a university, which was established already in the year 1693 and was also provided with a library, a book bindery, and a lecture staff. However, in 1708 a fire laid most of this in ashes. The city lies on a pleasant;. open plain. Although it is not very big, it is considered one of the most beautiful cities in America. Of the honor of having formerly been Virginia’s capital and seat of government, only the title still remains. The city has several beautiful churches and steeples, hung with bells, and also some other buildings worth seeing. The straight and wide main street of the city is almost one mile long. There is also a beautiful, large statehouse, where the general court sits and in which a Latin school is to be established in the future. Presently, at the university, there are seven professors and fifty students.
In the middle there is also an arsenal surrounded with a wall, and opposite these stands the courthouse–city hall, from which the entire city can be seen. The city lies between the James and York rivers, seven miles from one and twelve miles from the other. There were also many hospitals here for the French and Americans, who had all their sick and wounded here. Also a strong command of about one thousand French and Americans was located in the city. There was food enough to be had in Williamsburg, and at a low price. One pound of beef cost two pence; one pound of pork, three pence; a wild drake duck, two and one-half shillings; a wild hen duck, two shillings; a dozen young chickens, six shillings. Near Williamsburg, I saw many trees on which carob grew, which were as large and as high as the maple and elm trees are at home, and the pods thereon were abundant and the length of a hand.
23 October. We moved out from here and marched several miles through heavy forests.
(to be continued)

Advertised on 5 February 1775: “BUTTONS. MADE and sold”
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago this week?

5 February 1775

“BUTTONS. MADE and sold … at the Manufactory-house, Boston.”

John Clarke’s advertisement for buttons that he “MADE and sold … at the Manufactory-house” in Boston was one of several in the February 2, 1775, edition of the Massachusetts Spy that hawked goods produced in the colonies. He advertised at a time that the harbor had been closed and blockaded for more than eight months because of the Boston Port Act, one of several measures that Parliament enacted in response to the Boston Tea Party. The other Coercive Acts included the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act. In turn, the colonies refused to import British goods, having previously pursued that strategy in response to the Stamp Act in 1765 and the duties imposed on certain goods in the Townshend Acts in the late 1760s. The Continental Association, devised by the First Continental Congress, went into effect on December 1, 1774. In addition to prohibiting imports, it called on colonizers to encourage “domestic manufactures” or goods produced in the colonies. Read more…


The 2024 JAR Book-of-the-Year Award! “Serpent in Eden:”
Editors 6 Feb 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
Since 2014, the Journal of the American Revolution has recognized the new adult nonfiction volume that best mirrors the mission of the journal with its national Book-of-the-Year Award.
ward Winner

Serpent in Eden: Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison’s America by Tyson Reeder. Oxford University Press.

Just as the snake in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament used duplicity and cunning to entrap Adam and Eve, foreign agents did their best to try to ruin any chances of success for the infant American nation. The United States was as defenseless and weak as a new-born babe, and France, Great Britain, Spain and various indigenous nations played a dangerous game of politics in the hopes that the young republic would topple over before it could take its first step.
The book is an exciting and illuminating story of how close the United States came to failing due to the undercover actions of foreign powers. The book begins with the embarrassing story of British spy John Henry, who convinced the Madison administration to give him fifty thousand dollars for useless information that was supposed to embarrass Federalists. His situation demonstrates how open the United States was to being taken advantage of by determined foreign nations. Washington’s presidency was almost torn apart because of events taking place in revolutionary France, which led to the formation of opposing political parties. Reeder provides an insightful look at how vulnerable the nation was as a result of party strife and foreign meddling. Great Britain sought vengeance, France sought a military alliance, Spain wanted to protect its possessions in the west, and Native American nations were hoping to survive. Read more…

Podcast: From Crisis to Peace: Re-Evaluating the Presidency of John Adams
by Lindsay M. Chervinsky January 2025 at Ben Franklin’s World
Did you know that John Adams, not George Washington, solidified the precedents of the executive branch and the presidency?
During our investigation of John Adams’s presidency, Lindsay reveals precedents that George Washington set for the presidency that John Adams solidified for the future. The political and international crises John Adams inherited, including tensions with Great Britain and France and vicious political discord between the Federalist and Democratic-Republic parties. And, how John Adams navigated these crises to secure peace with France and the peaceful transition of power between political parties in the United States. Listen in…

Dispatches to Simulcast on the NEW Journal of the American Revolution YouTube Channel
By Editors of Journal of the American Revolution 5 Feb 2025
The Journal of the American Revolution now will make its popular Dispatches program hosted by historian Brady Crytzer part of our new YouTube channel. The audio version of Brady’s interviews will still be available to listeners on various platforms, but now you can enjoy watching Brady and his guests. Over time we plan to add additional historical content. The mission of our new channel is the same as this flagship website: passionate, creative, and fresh content intended to make Revolutionary and Founding Era history more accessible while upholding the rigors of sound research. Read more and subscribe…

Gilbert White and his Network: Natural History and Textiles
– An 18th Century Case Study of Natural History and Textiles
by Viveka Hansen, 1 Feb 2024 at ikfoundation
As expected in The Natural History of Selborne, the naturalist Gilbert White (1720-1793) reveals little about his life, clothing, fabric purchases, or traditional textile craft. However, to know more about such matters, various correspondence, receipts, and other traces from his lifetime add further thoughts. This essay will look closer into this relatively unknown part of White’s observations and experiences, together with his connections to the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) and a few of his former students. It is to be illustrated with artworks, correspondence, and original handwritten pages of White’s work, aiming to increase knowledge of his domestic sphere intertwined with learned natural knowledge seen from the perspective of a restricted geographical area in southernmost England.
Overall, Gilbert White has been much written about in all sorts of research over the years, and general events of his life will not be repeated here but instead be randomly glanced at from several periods of his life. First and foremost, his only book, The Natural History of Selborne, which describes the local nature over almost twenty years, was written in two series of letters (some never posted) in the 1770s and 1780s addressed to the naturalist Thomas Pennant (1726-1798) and the lawyer-cum-naturalist Daines Barrington (1727-1800) together with other of White’s notes. The book has been published in many editions since the first edition in 1789, and his close methods of observing nature later influenced Charles Darwin (1809-1882), among many others.
The family house, named ‘The Wakes’ in Selborne, England – where Gilbert White lived during parts of his childhood. A property to which White moved back after his father’s death in 1758 and lived for the rest of his life until he died in 1793. The house is kept as a museum today, and it has been restored and furnished with contemporary furniture from White’s lifetime, among many objects, including embroidered bed hangings made up for him by his four aunts. (This later engraving was originally published in the magazine ‘Once a Week’, vol. 8, p. 26, on 27 December 1862).
Another detail of textile material culture can be gleaned from an Account Book, dated 1752-53, kept during Gilbert White’s time in Oxford. This manuscript has been studied by White’s biographer Richard Mabey, who found out that at the end of the year 1752, it was summed up that White paid for purchased fabrics in Mrs Croke’s haberdashery for £36.15s or almost a third of his proctorial earnings. These fabric qualities included: ‘official velvet sleeves and silk trimmings, for suits and waistcoats’ and ’20 yards of blue check’d linen for curtains.’ This seems to be a rare insight into his purchases of textile materials for clothing and household furnishing. Read more…

The Phillipps Family of Vauxhall and its contribution to late Georgian horticulture – Part 1
by R M Healey 20 Jan 2025 a guest post in ALl Things Georgian
In the May 11, 1818 issue of The Farmer’s Journal and Agricultural Advertizer appeared the following intriguing advertisement:

The exhibition at L. Phillipps jun.’s Establishment in the Portsmouth –road near Vauxhall, adjoining the Two-mile stone from Westminster-Bridge, is open to show the immense number and variety of Fruit Trees in bloom, which cover many acres. It is open each day from Six in the Morning till Dusk; and on Sundays, except during service time from eleven to one; admittance One Shilling. The Society of London for the Encourage of Arts & etc gave L. Phillipps jun. two Gold Medals for the merit he has shown at his Establishment .

Immediately below appeared the following:

MOST SUPERIOR POTATOE

This most valuable variety, grown by acres, has produced above thirty tons of Ware Potatoes per acre; it is the best flavoured and most mealy of any, consequently the best for the table, as well as cattle- feeding. Although it keeps the longest, it is mealy when quite young, therefore also the best early variety. Seed potatoes of this variety, for planting, to be had at L. Phillipps, jn.’s Experimental Agricultural Grounds, Portsmouth Road, near Vauxhall, at10s.per bushel.

In Bells Messenger Phillips went one further and announced that after raising many varieties of new potatoes over the years he had decided that with the so-called Phillipps potatoes, he was to experiment no longer. All the experts agreed with him that this particular variety could not be improved upon. Read more…

The Phillipps Family of Vauxhall and its contribution to late Georgian horticulture. Part 2
By R.M. Healey 27 Jan 2025 at All Things Georgian
Today, I welcome back R.M. Healey for the second part of the story about Leonard Phillips, which ultimately led to the former home of the famous socialite, Mrs Piozzi, Hester Thrale.
Leonard Phillipps junior also seems to have been an innovator in horticultural nomenclature. In his Catalogue of Fruit Trees for Sale (1814) he shows his disdain for the simple-minded rusticity of the common names given to fruit.
Instead, he announced that his new varieties were named after famous people (mainly dead) from around the world. Thus apples, pears, plums, cherries, gooseberries and redcurrants are assigned the names of artists, scientists, politicians, medical men, writers, explorers, musicians, theologians, topographers, poets, historians, naval heroes and even publishers.
The assigning of names seems to be purely arbitrary. For instance, there is no sense in which the apples named after the rival Tudor theologians Edmund Bonner and Thomas Cranmer are very different in character or flavour, or that ‘Lord Nelson’ has a particularly bold and adventurous flavour, or that the taste of ‘William Purcell’ was music to the taste buds. Read more…

Events Upcoming

American Revolution Institute: From Trenton to Yorktown Tues 11 Feb @6:30

Author’s Talk—From Trenton to Yorktown: Turning Points of the Revolutionary War
For eight grueling years, American and British military forces struggled in a bloody war over colonial independence. This conflict also ensnared Native American warriors and the armies and navies of France, Spain, the Dutch Republic and several German principalities. From frozen Canada to tropical Florida and as far west as the Mississippi River, the Revolutionary War included hundreds of campaigns, battles and skirmishes on land and sea in which soldiers and sailors fought and died for causes, crowns and comrades. Historian John Maass, Ph.D., identifies and highlights six key turning points that were crucial to subsequent American victory. Registration…

American Revolution Institute: The Orderly Book of Edmund Bancroft Fri 21 Feb 12:30

The Orderly Book of Edmund Bancroft from September-December 1775
The Institute’s library director, Thomas Lannon, discusses the orderly book of Edmund Bancroft—the first orderly book acquired by the Institute for its library collections. Initially a non-commissioned officer in Col. William Prescott’s Regiment from May-December 1775, Edmund Bancroft was likely a participant at the Battle of Bunker Hill before becoming an ensign in the Seventh Continental Infantry in 1776, and eventually became a first lieutenant in the Fifteenth Massachusetts Regiment before he died in service. Notable items include the siege of Boston; and the surrender of Montreal to the Americans on November 13, 1775 Details..

Kingston Branch: The Wreck of HMS Speedy: The Tragedy That Shook Upper Canada Sat 22 Feb,1:00

Kingston and District Branch, United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada (UELAC) will meet on Saturday, February 22 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Anglican Church Hall, 137 Queen Street (doors open at noon); or if you prefer on Zoom (starting 12:30 p.m.). Author Dan Buchanan will speak on his book The Wreck of HMS Speedy: The Tragedy That Shook Upper Canada. Murder, tensions between cultures, Kingston connections, and the repercussions and remaining mysteries of a tragic outcome are all part of Dan “the History Guy’s” explorations around the ship’s final voyage. For the Zoom link, visit www.uelac.org/ Kingston-Branch. All are welcome!

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • Records show James Umphrey & his sons Samuel & James served with the Grenville Militia during War of 1812. James Sr. was also a United Empire Loyalist who fought in Jessup’s Rangers during the American Revolution. He was my 5th great maternal grandfather & Samuel my 4th. Brian McConnell UE @brianm564
  • JYF Museums: 17th-century ships depended on three things: wood to make the vessel, linen to make the sails and rope for the sail rigging and countless other things used to sail the ship. Hemp was ideal for rope making in the 17th century – being an exceptionally strong, durable and salt-water resistant fiber that works well for maritime service. The Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery were all rigged with rope made of hemp. The modern re-creations at Jamestown Settlement are rigged with synthetic rope. They are made accurately to historic measurements, and, collectively, the three ships carry approximately 10 miles of just sail line.
  • Food and Related
  • Event/Resource/Quote of the Day – Revolution 250
    • 2 Feb 1775 February 2, 1775, the British Parliament declared the colony of Massachusetts Bay to be in rebellion, encouraged by illegal combinations in other (unspecified) colonies. This authorized royal officials to use the military against opponents.
    • 3 Feb 1775 “The die is cast. Yesterday brought us such a Speach from the Throne as will stain with everlasting infamy the reign of Gorge the 3…the most wicked and hostile measures will be persued against us.” —Abigail Adams
    • 5 Feb 1775 “A Motion made by Lord Chatham, to withdraw the Troops from Boston, as the first Step towards a conciliating Plan, was rejected; and the Ministry have…the Determination to inforce Obedience to all the late Laws.” —Benjamin Franklin
    • 6 Feb 1775 – Rev250 quote of the day — “Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud … When the people give way, their deceivers, betrayers and destroyers press upon them so fast that there is no resisting afterwards.” —John Adams as “Novanglus”
    • 7 Feb 1775, LONDON: The House of Lords votes to approve the Commons’ motion that Massachusetts is in a state of rebellion. “The supremacy of the British legislature must be compleat, entire, & unconditional, or on the other hand, the colonies must be free and independent.” The remark is made by Lord Mansfield during the debate. Mansfield’s opinion is not just a political one; as the lord chief justice of England and Wales, he’s generally considered the most thoughtful and insightful constitutional expert in the country. https:// x.com/RevWar250/status/1887853074187764021
  • This week in History
    • 8 Feb 1693 Williamsburg VA. The College of William and Mary was granted a charter by King William III & Queen Mary II. 2nd oldest university in America educated Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe & 16 signers of the Declaration. image
    • 7 Feb 1770 NYC The Crown’s authorities went to printer James Parker & forced him to reveal the author of newspaper articles hostile to the colonial assembly. They arrest Alexander McDougall, leader of Sons of Liberty, and hold him with a £1000 bail set. image
    • 6 Feb 1775 John Adams publishes “The Rule of Law and the Rule of Men” in the Massachusetts Gazette, arguing for the authority of provincial legislatures over Parliament. image
    • 4 Feb 1776 New York City A patriot force under Gen Charles Lee enters the city the same day British Gen Henry Clinton’s expedition to SC drops anchor in NY harbor. Clinton claimed he was visiting Loyalist NY Gov Tryon. He eventually sails south to SC. image
    • 5 February 1776, King George III of England and Friedrich II (Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel) signed an agreement providing the British with German forces, all broadly called “Hessians” by the Americans. This was the first of many “contracts” that would eventually reach 30,000 soldiers. The German troops were regular conscripts and volunteers in regiments leased by their various German princes (Brunswick, Anhalt, etc.), essentially as auxiliaries. So technically, they were not mercenaries as we understand the term today, although their princes were. These were genuinely professional, well-trained, and equipped soldiers, providing an invaluable boost to the British cause. They were no more brutal than the British regulars, Loyalists, or American regiments. However, their “foreign” nature made them easy targets for American propaganda. image image 2
    • 6 Feb 1776 Norfolk, VA American (NC) Col Robert Howe burns the surviving structures in the city and abandons it. The once thriving commercial port is now charred and desolate. image
    • 2 Fen 1777 Lt Col Lewis Fuser‘s Loyalists invest in Fort McIntosh, a small fortified post in Georgia near the border with Florida. image
    • 4 Feb 1777 Ft McIntosh, GA Capt Richard Winn surrenders the garrison to Loyalist forces before reinforcements led by Lt Col Francis Marion can get there. Winn loses 4 killed, 3 wounded & 68 taken prisoner. image
    • 7 February 1777 London. Parliament authorizes privateering against American ships & begins issuing letters of marque & reprisal. The Americans were already at it, wreaking havoc on British merchant shipping and helping distract the Royal Navy from other missions necessary to wage a war of power projection across an ocean. European governments regularly issued documents known as Letters of Marque and Reprisal to legitimize privately outfitted men of war. In a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, these documents authorized private parties to attack enemy vessels under highly regulated conditions. Although only a few shades different from Piracy, Privateering would play a pivotal role in the conflict but hurt British merchant shipping more than Americans. image
    • 6 February 1778, Paris. Treaties of Amity, Commerce, and Alliance were signed between the United States and the Kingdom of France. American independence was recognized in a double treaty-signing ceremony in the Hôtel de Coislin. For at least two years prior, the French gave secret assistance to the American cause, providing weapons and other supplies critical to continued resistance to Britain. However, the Americans long sought an open alliance as they realized they needed a significant power’s naval strength to take on the Royal Navy if they were to succeed. According to this first military treaty of the new nation, the United States agreed to provide a defensive alliance to aid France should England attack. France also recognized the independence of the United States as dependent upon a military victory. The two sides also agreed that neither France nor the United States would make peace with England until the independence of the United States was recognized. American diplomats Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee negotiated in France on behalf of the American Colonies. The treaty was written in both English and French. One month later, the war between Britain and France began when a British squadron fired on two French ships. image
    • 2 Feb 1779 Gen Washington’s meeting with Continental Congress and rides back to Continental Army Headquarters at the Middlebrook, NJ cantonment. image
    • 3 Feb 1779 Joseph Reed, president of Pennsylvania’s General Council, brings charges of abuse & mismanagement against Gen Benedict Arnold. An angry Arnold demands an investigation to clear his name. This becomes a core grievance of the disgruntled general. image
    • 3 Feb 1779 Port Royal SC Gen William Moultrie defends the town with militia, continentals & some guns covering the road from Beaufort. They repulse a British thrust by 2 companies under Maj William Gardiner, who suffered 50 casualties to 30 for Moultrie. image
    • 5 Feb 1779 Kaskaskia IL Col George Rogers Clark leads 127 men on a a 180-mile march to try to retake Ft Vincennes from the British & sends an armed galley down Mississippi to intercept British vessels. image
    • 1 Feb 1781 Mecklenburg Co, NC Battle of Cowan’s Ford on Catawba R. Americans attempt to slow British crossing. Militia, under William Davidson, sprayed the British with musket fire, but the militia retreated as more British crossed. image
    • 2 February 1781 Salisbury, North Carolina. At Steele’s Tavern. Mrs. Elizabeth Maxwell Steele overhears General Nathanael Greene telling Army surgeon Joseph Read he was “‘Wretched beyond measure, fatigued, hungry, alone, penniless and without a friend.” General Charles Cornwallis’s forces had dispersed militia in Greene’s Southern Department on 1 February. Greene had ridden alone to Salisbury in a state of despair. The tavern owner, Mrs. Steele, provided him with a meal. She then took out her savings – two bags of coins and gave them to help bolster the general. She allegedly said, “Take these, for you will need them, and I can do without them.” The coins were many years of savings for the backcountry tavern keeper. Allegedly, Green was so touched by her gesture that he snatched a picture of King George III from the wall and carefully wrote on the back, “O, George, hide thy face and mourn.” He then put the painting back in its place. image
    • 3 February 1781, General Nathanael Greene’s troops crossed the Yadkin River and evaded General Charles Cornwallis’s British “Flying Column.” The successful crossing followed American losses in skirmishes at the Catawba River and at Tarrant’s Tavern. Both sides suffered as well as from heavy rains and roiling rivers. With the American army in retreat to the Dan River, General Daniel Morgan’s arthritis forces him to leave the army and return home to Winchester, Virginia. Col Ortho Williams replaces Morgan as commander of the Light troops. Morgan’s departure deprived the Southern Department of a great battlefield commander, but Greene’s army would live to fight again and, despite Morgan’s loss, would manage to take the field in a renewed offensive into the Carolinas. image
    • 3 Feb 1781 St Eustatius, West Indies Adm George Rodney & Gen John Vaughan capture the island, a base of supply for the Americans. They seize 150 vessels & imprison 2K Americans. Rodney also plunders British merchants he suspects of trading with the enemy, image
    • 5 Feb 1781 Franco-Spanish fleet seized Minorca from the British and massed 30K troops for the Duc de Crillon’s planned attack on the fortress of Gibraltar. image
    • 7 Feb 1781 Shallow Ford NC Capt. Joseph Graham’s company of 20 NC militia cavalry captures 6 Loyalists straggling behind the British column & cut down a Hessian straggler who leveled his musket at them. image
    • 4 Feb 1783 London. King George III declares a permanent ceasefire in America. Following Yorktown, the House of Commons first voted to end the war on 27 Feb 1782 & in Mar, Prime Minister North resigned. image
    • 6 Feb 1783 Gibraltar, Spain. A well-orchestrated British defense on land and sea repulses the Franco-Spanish armada. Although the British suffered 350 killed & 1,000 wounded, they inflicted twice that on the Allies. image
  • Clothing and Related:
    • A stunning view for #SackBackSaturday from @HistDeerfield —check out the pattern matching across the deep pleats, floss fringe & sumptuous brocaded silk; textile c. 1730-40; garment made, 1760-70. Maker and wearer unknown.
  • Miscellaneous

Last Post: KELDERMN UE, Patricia Elizabeth (nee Young) July 15, 1946 – January 17, 2025
Our beloved Patricia passed away peacefully on January 17, 2025, in Vernon B.C. after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Daughter of Lola (Norsworthy) Timson (deceased), loving wife of Robert Kelderman and cherished mother of Tammy (Peter) Kelderman, Wendi (James) Buckmaster, and Ed (Betty) Lehming, predeceased by daughter, Carrie Abbott, loving sister to Beverley Balch, Jane Pettigrew, and Ken Young, predeceased by brothers, David Young and Frank Young. She will be greatly missed by her Aunt, Barb Lalonde. She leaves behind many grandchildren and great-grandchildren whom she adored. Patricia will be lovingly remembered by her many friends and relatives in the Caledonia area and in British Columbia where she lived.
Pat (Tricia) was born in Caledonia, Ontario and moved to British Columbia in her early twenties. Her life in B.C. was filled with her nursing career and her family. It was at this time that Pat began her research into her family history; researching the Young, Sharp, Edy, and Secord families from their time of migration from Europe, to their eventual settlement as United Empire Loyalists in Ontario. By proving her Loyalist ancestry, she earned her Loyalist certificates and the right to use UE after her name. Her curiosity and love of history has been a gift to our family and others as well.
She spent her winters after retirement in the Baja of Mexico as a result of tracing some of the Young line through her genealogical research. She will be dearly missed by her extended Mexican family and friends.
A celebration of life will be held on April 19, at 2:00 p.m. at the Legion Hall in Caledonia.
More and photo…
Pat was a member of the Thompson-Okanagan Branch UELAC in Vernon BC. She proved her descent from Adam Young UEL in 1998, Daniel Secord UEL in 2000, Daniel Edy UEL in 2002 and Peter Wintermute UEL in 2004,

Last Post: SABAPATHY, Tyler George
With deep sadness, we share the passing of Tyler Sabapathy. Tyler had a tragic accident in Philadelphia and passed away January 28th at the age of 18. He was a freshman at Temple University in Philadelphia where he was majoring in Exercise and Sport Science, while competing on the men’s gymnastics team, where they will retire his jersey #22.
Tyler had wide-ranging passions, from creating art to skateboarding, volunteering, and fashion modeling, but a principal passion was gymnastics. Tyler started recreational gymnastics at age 2 and moved to competitive gymnastics at age 8, training 20-plus hours per week from age 10. He was an exceptionally talented gymnast, receiving over 130 medals in provincial, national, and international competitions. He was also a highly regarded children’s gymnastics coach in Canada and the USA.
Tyler’s organs and tissues were donated to provide the gift of life to others, and so far seven critically ill people received his major organs to save their lives.
Tyler is survived by his parents, Norm and Susie Sabapathy (Stewart); brother, Dylan; sister, Paige; grandparents, Jim and Judy Stewart (Barrager).
Although Tyler’s time with us was cut short, and it is tragic that we will not be able to see what further positive impact he would have on the world, Tyler’s legacy will live on in the hearts of the many lives he touched. Tyler will be missed but never forgotten!
For additional details, visit Humphrey Funeral Home A.W. Miles
Grandfather Jim Stewart UE (ancestor Catherine Munro Leech UEL) and Grandmother Judy Stewart UE (ancestor Gershom Wing UEL) are members of London and Western Ontario Branch, UELAC
Noted by Carol Childs UE, President, London Branch

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