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Scholarship Challenge 2025: Update for 20 July
A number of people have made donations now – will you add your name to the list?
Donations are now at $1,540, so we have a great start, but there is a gap to fill to get to our objective, and beyond.
A matching donor:
Great news! A benefactor with a passion for education and scholarship has agreed to match Scholarship Challenge donations, but there is a caveat.

The matching only begins when donations received reach $3,500, but the matching increases beyond $4,500 and again beyond $6,000.

Please help us put at least a wee hole in our matching donor’s bank account.

Note 1: Two branches – Assiniboine and Gov. Simcoe – have made branch donations, and some of their members have as well.

Note 2: three ways you can donate: credit card, interac etransfer and by cheque

Wish to donate but remain anonymous – just indicate on your donation. Your donation counts, but you will be listed as  anonymous.

Check out the current details at Scholarship Challenge 2025, and make your donation today:

Black Pioneers, White Officers: Part Two of Three
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
When the first company of Black Pioneers was formed in North Carolina in 1776, each man and woman joining the unit had to swear an oath.
It read as follows:  “I … do swear that I enter freely and voluntarily into His Majesty’s Service, and I do enlist myself without the least compulsion or persuasion into the Negro Company commanded by Capt. MARTIN, and that I will demean myself orderly and faithfully, and will cheerfully obey all such directions as I may receive from my said Captain, or the Officers under his Command, and that I will continue to serve His Majesty in all such Services as I may be employed in during the present Rebellion in America. So help me God.”
Straightforward as this seems, those once considered property by their Patriot enslavers were – in making this oath– recognized by the British as having a free will (by the act of making promises) and a spiritual nature (by making an appeal to a divine being). The Blacks who swore this oath were taking the first significant steps to being seen as  free, fellow human beings.
The Black Guides and Pioneers who were formed under Captain George Martin had only white men as “officers under his command“. The free Blacks in the company could rise through the ranks from private as far as sergeant, but no further. Although they were limited within the Black Pioneer Company, ironically, posterity has been left with more data concerning the men of African descent than that of their white officers.
After Martin’s turn as captain of the Black Pioneers, Captain Allan Stewart, a North Carolina Loyalist, was next to assume the command — a position he held until 1783. (He may have settled in New Brunswick after the revolution.) Lieutenants in the Black Pioneers were Robert Campbell, Thomas Oldfield (last known to be a prisoner of the rebels in 1781), Charles Plundell, and John Stevenson.  The latter was still with the Black Pioneers in later October of 1783 when he wrote to Sir Guy Carleton asking for permission to stay in New York until the following May. His family was “ill with fever and terrified at the sea“.
Ensign Edward Stevenson entered the corps in 1781 and served until the end of the war. A record of the company’s pay that was disbursed between February and April of 1783 lists 3 white officers, 3 sergeants, 3 corporals, and 38 privates – making a total of 42 Black men in the corps.
There is a significant reference to the Black Pioneers in the correspondence of Sir Guy Carleton, the commander in chief of British forces in North America at the end of the revolution. Carleton was a great champion of the Black Loyalists. In a letter he wrote to Brigadier General Henry Fox, the commander of British forces in Nova Scotia, on October 21, 1783, he shared his hopes for the members of the Black Pioneers. “I recommend them to your protection and beg you will apply to Governor Parr, that in case they settle near any of the towns they may have a town lot as at Shelburne, and about twenty acres in the vicinage granted them and if as farmers and at a distance, their grant may be extended to one hundred acres.”
With such an official endorsement, the future looked promising for these Black veterans. Members of the original Black Pioneers as well as three other such companies left New York City between April and November of 1783 to settle in Annapolis Royal, Digby, Shelburne, and present day New Brunswick.
Because their names are recorded in the Book of Negroes, we know the names of 48 members (and their 19 dependents) who settled in Annapolis Royal. But getting to Nova Scotia was fraught with danger, as passengers on board the Joseph discovered when they sailed north along the Atlantic Coast in early November. Had someone forgotten to tell the captains of the evacuation fleet that the fall was hurricane season?
Initially, it was clear sailing for the William, the Henry, and the Joseph. The three evacuation vessels made it as far as the Bay of Fundy, but then fierce hurricane winds drove them all the way south to Bermuda. The loyalist passengers were forced to stay on the tiny islands, for five months while their ships were being repaired. They finally arrived at Annapolis Royal in April of 1784.
Among the 18 adult Black Loyalists who disembarked at Annapolis Royal that April was Sergeant Thomas Peters – the most significant of all Black Pioneer veterans.  In summing up Peters’ life, the historian James W. St. G. Walker said that he was “the courageous opponent of injustice and discrimination and … a primary inspiration for Black self-expression and self-determination in both North America and West Africa.”
Angered by how unfairly his people were treated at Annapolis Royal, Peters led a group of Black Loyalists across the Bay of Fundy to seek better conditions. Frustrated by negative responses to his five petitions to the New Brunswick government over many years, Peters decided to seek justice by sailing for England.
After meeting with government officials and abolition societies, Peters came back to New Brunswick with an exciting offer. All Black Loyalists who so desired would be transported to West Africa to establish a colony of free Black men and women.  Thomas Peters, a sergeant in the Black Pioneers, did something none of his white superior officers would ever do – initiate the founding of a colony in West Africa, which would one day become the nation of Sierra Leone.
Another significant member of the Black Pioneers who was a passenger on board the Joseph was Murphy Steele. In 1781, Steele arranged a meeting with Sir Henry Clinton to tell him of a reoccurring vision he that had had in which God said that General Washington must surrender. If he refused, then Clinton should raise “all the Blacks in America to fight against him.”  Both Murphy and his wife Mary disappear from historical records after their arrival in Nova Scotia.
The 8 men, 10 women, and 5 children who were passengers on the Joseph had once been enslaved in Virginia, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and the West Indies. Despite the diversity of their backgrounds, their time together in the Black Pioneers and their enforced 5-month stay on Bermuda must have served to build a strong sense of community – a bond that would stand them in good stead during the difficulties they would face over the next 7 years.
Although the previously enslaved members of the Black Pioneers were given a refuge in what is now Atlantic Canada, it seems that the white Loyalists who had been their commanders did not establish themselves in either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. Only Captain Richard Robert Crowe is known to have settled in Nova Scotia. His story will be told in the final chapter of this series on the Black Pioneers and their white officers.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.


The Monmouth Campaign by the Numbers
by Gary Ecelbarger 17 July 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
A British cannonball decapitated James McNair, a Continental artillerist, at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778. Thomas Bliss, another American cannoneer, was captured that day. Col. John Durkee, commanding Varnum’s brigade, escaped death that Sunday but his right hand was permanently disabled from a wound received in the morning. Col. Henry Livingston, commanding a battalion of picked forces, took a bullet in the thigh during the afternoon action. Col. Walter Stewart was wounded by a musket ball in the Point of Woods; fellow battalion commander in this sector, Lt. Col. Nathaniel Ramsey, was only slightly wounded but captured. Sgt. Stephen White collapsed from fatigue on a near hundred-degree day and died that night. Nearly all of these men were part of Maj. Gen. Charles Lee’s advanced corps on the battlefield.
What else do all of these American battle casualties have in common? The answer is remarkable and nonsensical at the same time. Based on the convention by contemporaries and the tradition of subsequent historians, numerical strength in campaigns and battles was determined solely by the numbers of “rank and file”––infantry privates and corporals––on the contested field. Thus, every commander in the eighteenth century and most campaign authors from the nineteenth century to the present who reported casualties of the Battle of Monmouth included these seven soldiers in their totals tallied for American losses but disregarded including these same soldiers in the totals for troops who participated in the battle.
How can a soldier be tallied as a casualty if he was not a participant? He cannot, of course. He must be included as present on that battlefield. Read more…

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: Marching out of Captivity. May 1783
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
  • January 1782: to Frederick MD (about 40 km west of Baltimore)
  • May 1783: departed Frederick MD

1783: Continuation of the Notable Occurences in the North American Field Campaign; Marching out of Captivity from Frederick, In Maryland, in the Seventh and Last Year, Page 137

15 May. We broke camp early. We arrived at “The Callisters-Town,” a small city of about two hundred houses. It lies six miles from Peterlittletown, was settled about thirty years ago, and  is  populated  mostly  by Germans. We waded  across  a  river  called  Pipe  Creek  and  from there  proceeded to Yorktown  in  Pennsylvania.  It  is  a  uniformly  laid-out  city  of  about  three hundred houses and five different buildings for religious services.
The city plan was made only forty years ago, and the courthouse was placed in the middle of the intersection of the main cross streets. The Codorus, a small river that is not navigable, runs through the city. The inhabitants are mostly Germans.
There are many artisans and handworkers here in this city, and many wall and grandfather clocks and pocket watches are manufactured here. In the surrounding forests, especially in the Pidgeon  Hills,  a  high  mountain  range  that  belongs  to  the  Blue  Ridge,  there  are  still  many bears and wolves, which often make unpleasant visits to the plantations in the valleys.
York, in Pennsylvania, lies twelve miles from the Susquehanna River. The road from York to Lancaster is mostly over rolling limestone hills. A half mile beyond York, we camped, after having completed a twenty-five-mile march.

16 May. We arrived  at  the  Susquehanna  and  were  carried  across  in  boats.  In  places  this river  is  one,  two,  or  even  three  miles  wide  and  is  only  navigable  for  small  boats  in  a  few places.  From  there  we  went  to  Lancaster,  where  we  took  up  quarters  near  the  city  on  a pleasant, charming, and level site. From Frederick to this place, the distance is reckoned to be eighty English miles, and from here to Philadelphia, seventy-three miles.
Lancaster is one of the most beautiful and important cities in America. There are more than nine hundred houses, although barely eighty years have passed since it was founded.
The city  is  laid out on regular  lines. Here also the courthouse stands  in the  middle where the  two  main  streets  cross.  There  is  a  beautiful  Lutheran  church,  an  academy,  and  a  Latin school here. Supposedly, there are not more than fifty English families  here, all others being German.
Lancaster  also  has  a  secure  prison,  and  the  barracks,  where  the  English  troops  captured with Cornwallis’s army lay, is well protected and surrounded by a high, strong wall.
Fifteen  miles  from  here  lies  Ephrata,  or  Dunkardtown,  a  small  but  charming  place established  about  forty  years  ago.  There  and  in  the  surrounding  area  live  many Dunkers,  or Newly Converted. In summer the men as well as the women wear white linen and, in winter, white woolen clothing.
All  areas  about  Lancaster  are  well  populated  and  developed,  since  Lancaster  County  is considered  one  of  the  most  fertile  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  fields  produce  twenty  to  thirty times the amount sown.
A strong  corps  of  American  army  regulars  was  stationed  here,  also  in  the  new  barracks.
Among  them  were  many  men  of  our  regiments  who  had  taken  service,  and  some  of  them visited us.

17 May. We had a day of rest at Lancaster, and each man received one  Spanish  dollar  in pay.
During the evening the Hereditary Prince and Bose regiments arrived also, having departed Frederick one day later than we had. The hautboists still with them provided beautiful music during their arrival at Lancaster, and the soldiers all wore field and peace decorations on their hats.
18 May. We broke camp at Lancaster  in the morning and resumed our march. Two miles from there we crossed the Conestoga River on foot.
19 May. We crossed  the Brandywine River  and  arrived  not  far  from  the  site  of  the 1777 Brandywine  Hills  battle  between  Generals  Howe  and  Washington.  From  there  we  went  to Sheeriztown, which is a small place with few houses. Today we covered twenty-two miles.
20 May. We made a march of twenty English miles.

21 May. We marched across the Schuylkill River and arrived at Philadelphia. Here our two regiments were quartered in the new jail, or prison, and were locked in, which rather annoyed us. This was done by our officers, who had taken this measure of confining us so that no one would desert in this familiar area.
We received provisions of  bread and salted  beef  for  four days. Most of the  meat was left lying in the jail and was not accepted by either regiment.

22 May. In the morning each private received one Spanish dollar  in pay. At eight o’clock in  the  morning  we  marched  out  of  Philadelphia. When we  marched  out,  Private  [Christian] Hartung II of Quesnoy’s Company remained in Philadelphia.
Our march from Philadelphia led to Frankford, along a level road, through light and sandy soil.
Frankford  is  a  pleasant  place  and  a  completely  newly  built  city,  five  or  six  miles  from Philadelphia. It has many brick kilns, glassworks, and mills.
Five miles from Philadelphia we came to a tavern, or inn, standing beside the road, called the  General  Washington.  His  picture  hung  on  a  sign,  and  the  building  was  pleasantly  and comfortably furnished for travelers.
From  there  we  came  to  a  river  called  Chamany,  across  which  we  were  carried  in  small boats. Then we continued on to Bristol, where we camped, after having covered twenty miles today.  Today,  while  on  the  march,  two  privates,  Schindler  I  and  [Johann  Georg]  Adam  of Quesnoy’s Company, dropped out not far  from  Washington’s Tavern. They took  Lieutenant von Ciriacy’s new uniforms and baggage and equipment belonging to Quartermaster Sergeant Knoll and their comrades, which was in a wagon that they were responsible for watching.
Bristol is a nice little city on the banks of the Delaware River. It has 163 houses and three churches, as well as a Pietist house, and is well situated.
(to be continued)

The Battle of Grenada – 6 July 1779
by Richard Hiscocks 9 Nov 2016 at More Than Nelson, | 1779, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
On 6 January 1779 Vice-Admiral Hon. John Byron’s battered fleet of ten sail of the line, a frigate, and a sloop, arrived in the Leeward Islands from North America in pursuit of the dozen ships of the Toulon fleet under the command of Vice-Admiral Charles Henri Jean-Baptiste, Comte d’Estaing. After joining Vice-Admiral Hon. Samuel Barrington at St. Lucia, Byron assumed the chief command of the station, and shortly afterwards, on 12 February, he was further reinforced with the arrival of Commodore Joshua Rowley and seven sail of the line in convoy. Concurrently a French reinforcement of some four or five sail of the line with attendant frigates and store-ships joined d’Estaing at Martinique.
Over the next five months the two enemy fleets monitored each other over the thirty mile channel between St Lucia and Martinique. Occasionally d’Estaing put to sea to threaten a British convoy or squadron, but he always hastened back to port upon the appearance of Byron. The first of these occurrences came on 12 January when the French admiral contemplated a surprise attack on what he assumed to be the disabled British fleet at St. Lucia, but instead he found himself surprised and sent scurrying back to port when Byron s ships proved to be perfectly seaworthy. Another occurrence on 18 March saw a squadron under the command of Captain Walter Griffith of the Nonsuch 64 carried to the leeward of Martinique by the current, but when d Estaing put to sea in the hope of an easy capture Byron was able to slip his cable and rush out, whereupon the French turned tail. Clearly d Estaing’s intention was only to attack commerce and the British islands, and he had no wish to become embroiled in a fleet action. Read more…

Advertised on 17 July 1775: ‘I have not at any time….with General Gage’

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago this week?

“I have not at any time, directly or indirectly, held any correspondence with General Gage.”

Stephen Case of New Marlborough, Massachusetts, needed to set the record straight.  To do so, he placed a notice “To the PUBLIC” in the July 17, 1775, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  The stakes were too high to let unsubstantiated rumors go unanswered.
“As no person can secure himself from the slander of malicious tongues, and as inasmuch I am not without my enemies, who have spread a number of falsehoods in order to injure me in my character, and property,” Case asserted, “I have therefore thought it expedient, with the advice of good friends, to undeceive the public.”      Even readers who had never heard of case likely found this introduction intriguing and wanted to learn more.  “It has been reported as a truth,” Case continued, “that I have refused to sign the General Association,” the nonimportation agreement devised by the First Continental Congress in response to the Coercive Acts.  Even worse, gossip spread that Case “held secret correspondence with General Gage, in order to supply the army with flour.”  Gage simultaneously served as governor of Massachusetts and commander of the British regulars involved in the battles at Lexington and Concord, the siege of Boston, and the Battle of Bunker Hill.  Such allegations against Case made him an enemy to the American cause and no doubt unpopular among many of his neighbors and associates. Read more…


The Founding of Fort Severn
Defying blackflies and permafrost, Cree hunters and English fur traders established Ontario’s northernmost community.
by Jean-Luc Pilon and Chris Koostachin 28 May 2025 at Canada’s History
In the subarctic tundra six kilometres from the shores of Hudson Bay stands the Mushkego Cree village of Fort Severn, Ontario’s most northern community and one of its oldest continuously occupied settlements. Established before the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which transferred the French colony of New France to the British Crown, it is one of only a small handful of such early communities that remain in Ontario. The others include Kingston, established in 1673 as the French Fort Cataraqui; Moose Factory and Fort Albany, established as Hudson’s Bay Company posts in 1673 and 1679 respectively; and Windsor, which began as a French farming community in 1749 at Pointe de Montréal.
Today the vibrant community of Fort Severn Washaho First Nation has a population of some four hundred people with an elementary school and an online high school; a permanently staffed nursing station; an all-weather airport with scheduled air service five days a week; satellite phone and Internet access; and electricity, water, and sanitary services in each home (household comforts that were not widespread in many northern communities as recently as the 1980s). Its single retail outlet, the Northern Store, has been present in the community since its establishment as a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post in 1759. The store’s name only changed in the late 1980s when the HBC’s Northern Stores Division was sold to the North West Company.
Fort Severn — or Washaho in the Mushkego Cree language — has been known by a variety of names throughout its history. The HBC originally intended to call it Fort James, but that was quickly changed to Severn House, and through the years the place was often simply referred to as Severn. At some point in the mid-nineteenth century, for reasons that are still not clear, mapmakers began giving it the name Fort Severn, while official HBC correspondence continued to use Severn House for decades afterwards. Read more…

Podcast: Lineage: Genealogy in Early America
With Karin Wulf, 15 July 2025 at Ben Franklin’s World
Genealogy isn’t just a modern-day hobby. In early America, genealogy was a deeply consequential practice with social, political, and legal implications.
Whether it’s tracing a family tree back generations or holding on to stories told around the dinner table, genealogy offers a powerful sense of connection—a connection that can shape identities, claims of property, and even arguments for freedom.
During our exploration, Karin reveals how early Americans understood and practiced genealogy, including vernacular genealogy and oral traditions. The role genealogy played in shaping early American ideas about family, freedom, and authority. And, why genealogy mattered across lines of race, class, and gender in a society that was increasingly organized around patriarchal and legal structures.
Karin Wulf is a Professor of History and the Eighth Director and Librarian of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. She’s a co-founder of Clio Digital Media, the nonprofit organization where we produce Ben Franklin’s World. Her research expertise is in how gender and family intersect with political ideas, practices, and structures in early British America. She authored the book  Lineage: Genealogy and the Power of Connection in Early America.  Listen in…

Review of Exhibit: Philadelphia, The Revolutionary City
at the American Philosophical Society
Review by Nichole Louise 14 July 2025  Journal of the American Revolutionary
This exhibit at the American Philosophical Society (founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743) positions the historic city as the most consistently politically engaged throughout the war. While New York was occupied by the British for a large portion of the war and Boston saw action at the onset and beginning of the war, Philadelphia often found itself in the middle of the action. While most know the city as home of the Continental Congress and Benjamin Franklin, the APS exhibit showcases the ordinary citizens, merchants, and Quakers who navigated day-to-day life both in support of, and in opposition to, the American Revolution. As described in the APS catalog, “the exhibition is at once a testament to Philadelphia’s central place in the struggle for independence and a testament to the enduring collaborative spirit of Philadelphians” (page 6). Collaboration among the those in power, ordinary citizens, and marginalized peoples exemplifies the early role and importance of diversity in the city’s political engagement and growth. Read more…

18th Century Silk Dyers in London
by Viveka Hansen 11 July 2016 at IKF Foundation.org
A selection of 68 trade cards and bill-heads from 1703 to 1818 demonstrate some fascinating facts about the dyers and cleaners of London. To regard oneself as silk dyer dominated, whilst secondary titles were scarlet dyer, scourer or cleaner of various garments, dyer of cotton/calico or woollen fabrics. These randomly preserved trade cards and receipts also give some idea of preferred colours by the customers and all other services that were available in such establishments. Additionally, this case study will include some information about the most used and desired natural dyes – in a time when neither synthetic dyes nor dry-cleaning with non-water-based methods were invented.
A search for “trade card dyer” in the British Museum’s collection online returned 68 results, and all of these traders worked in London. Even if 50 establishments, or 75%, were named “Silk dyer”, – these professionals often took care of other materials like cotton, wool and linen garments or interior textiles. For example, William Marsh, who was a Silk-dyer at the Rainbow & Bush in Brook Street Holborn London, stated in 1802: ‘Dyes all Sorts of Silks, Silks; Worsted and Cotton Furniture, Blankets and Quilts’. Additionally, ‘Mens Cloaths Scower’d [scoured] Wet or Dry’. That is to say that clothes were scrubbed clean before the invention of non-water-based cleaning processes in the 19th century.  Read more…
NOTE: Were there silk dyers in America in the 1770’s
There were silk dyers in America during the time of the American Revolution, though they were not as prominent or industrialized as they would become later. The colonists primarily dyed textiles using natural dyes derived from plants and other local resources. While silk was imported, it was not yet a major locally produced fabric, and thus, specialized silk dyers were not as prevalent as wool dyers.
The primary method of dyeing fabrics in colonial America involved using plants, roots, berries, and other natural sources available in the region.
Wool was a common textile, and there were individuals who specialized in dyeing wool for clothing and other purposes.
Silk was imported from Europe and Asia, and while it was used by some, it was not a major part of the colonial economy.
The large-scale production of silk in America, including dyeing, developed later, particularly with the rise of industrial centers like Paterson, New Jersey.

Borealia: A Decade of Conversation
by Keith Grant, Denis McKim, and Laura Smith  6 July 2025 at Borealia
It has now been a decade since Borealia was launched, in 2015, with the intention of amplifying scholarship on northern North America before the twentieth century. We hoped it would be a forum where historians of different sub-fields of “early Canadian history” could make connections, and to bring this great work to educators, non-specialists, and an interested general readership. Here’s part of what we have been telling potential contributors:

    Audience: Borealia is designed to be a conversation among academic historians and an interested general audience. Complexity and nuance communicated in clear, energetic, jargon-free language—that’s what we’re aiming for.
Attitude: We intend the tone of the blog to be positive, focused on content and ideas, respectful and civil in conversation, and professional. If the blog were a restaurant, it would be “casual fine dining.”

Much has changed in the landscape of digital scholarship and social media since 2015, yet we remain convinced of the ongoing value of an online forum of the sort Borealia aspired to be.
But ten years is a long time, and for a variety of entirely normal professional and personal reasons, we need a break. We have decided to wind down Borealia as an active project. The site will remain accessible for at least a couple more years, but after our upcoming final series, we will not be posting new material….
…Working on Borealia has certainly confirmed our original conviction of the sometimes-unheralded strength and variety of scholarship on early Canadian history. It has also, just as importantly, given us a deep sense of gratitude for the community–for the friends, mentors, and conversation partners we have met in the course of this project.  Read more…
In gratitude and hope,
…. Keith Grant, Denis McKim, and Laura Smith

Teaching About the Black Experience through Chains and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing
by Linda J. Rice 15 July 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
Introduction
It is estimated that over 25,000 Blacks served in the American Revolutionary War. Of these, 20,000, many who had escaped enslavement, served on the British side, largely due to Dunmore’s Proclamation that promised emancipation for “Negroes” who “joined his Majesty’s troops.” An estimated 5,000 to 8,000 served on the American side, some as fighters, some in support roles and some in the navy. On the American side, some Blacks served because they were enlisted by their enslavers while others, who were free, believed in the cause of liberty and states’ independence from British rule. Blacks represented 4 percent of those who served in support of the effort to gain independence, as gunners, sailors, privateers, waggoners, cooks, artisans, waiters, and even, in the case of James Armistead Lafayette, spies.
While the recorded history of the Black experience and contributions to the war is limited, it is important to have an awareness of the role that African Americans, both enslaved and free, played on both sides. One way to gain such knowledge and insight is through literature, such as two novels written particularly for young adult readers: Chains, the first book of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Seeds of America triology, and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume 1 – The Pox Party, book one of a duology by M. T. Anderson. This article provides an overview of the novels and Reader Response Questions to help students delve deeper into the texts, and presents three additional teaching strategies supported by examples of each that teachers can use directly or adapt to their own teaching context. Read more…

Flour Sack Dress
by Jessica Knapp 15 October 2015 at Canada’s History
With a few threads and an eye for detail, the unappealing pantry bag became a Depression-era fashion item for working-class women in rural Canada.
Dressing during the Great Depression pushed women to the seams of their creativity. When searching for materials, they often opted for the raw cotton or burlap sacks in which kitchen flour or animal feed was delivered.
With a few threads and an eye for detail, the unappealing pantry bag became a Depression-era fashion item for working-class women in rural Canada. Read more… (very short)

Resource Books: Global Genealogy: United Empire Loyalists
Britain mobilized to put down a rebellion in its American colonies in 1775.  Rebels formed militias to take on the British and to harass neighbors who remained loyal to the crown. The rebels prevailed, resulting in the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.  An exodus of Loyalists followed with the majority resettling in Canada.
Check out the revised website by Global Genealogy, especially their United Empire Loyalist Collection.

Loyalist Certificates Issued
The publicly available list of certificates issued since 2012 is now updated to end of June 30, 2025.
When a certificate is added there, it is also recorded in the record for the Loyalist Ancestor in the Loyalist Directory.

UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions

    Entries which have been added, or revised, this week.

Thanks to Lynton “Bill” Stewart who contributed information about Jesse Lear from Virginia before the war, in New York during. He settled in Shelbourne NS where he was a merchant who owned 2 ships. Those ships were captured by the French.

Events in July to Celebrate the Loyalists
Several provinces have noted our Loyalist Heritage with designated days or events. Here are some planned events, most organized by UELAC Branches.

Sun 20 July. Chilliwack and Vancouver Branches Celebrate BC Loyalist Day in New Westminster
The tradition to celebration BC Loyalist Day (officially on July 22nd) continues, but this year it is a reunion picnic with former members invited to join in and renew friendships and hear the latest UELAC news.
Location is Picnic Shelter #2 in Queen’s Park, New Westminster.  Fun begins just before noon.  Bring your own chairs and picnic lunch.  Christine Manzer and Marlene Dance
For more about BC Loyalist Day, see Calendar of provincial Loyalist Days and annual observances, under July 22

More special events are welcome – send to editor.

Events Upcoming
     See above “Events in July to Celebrate the Loyalists”

Old Holy Trinity Church Concert, Middleton NS: Bach to The Beatles Sun 27 July @7:00 AT

Who: Trio KLM – 2  cellos + bass
When: Sunday 27 Jul 2025    7:00pm
Where: Old Holy Trinity Church
49 Main Street, Lower Middleton
Tickets: $25.00 at the door
For more on the Trio KLM
Posted by Brian McConnell UE

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • Deed in 1790 from Loyalist James Moody & wife Jane  ” in consideration of my good will towards the Inhabitants of Sissiboo River, Nova Scotia and to promote as far in me lies the establishment of the Church of England in said place…”    Brian McConnell UE
  • Food and Related : Townsends

  • This week in History
    • 18 July 1774. The Fairfax Resolves (mostly written by George Mason) were adopted by Fairfax County, VA., rejecting Britain’s supreme authority, defining constitutional rights. Served as instructions for the Virginia delegation to 1st Continental Congress. image
    • 11 July 1775 Photo of a document highlighting the return of British casualties at Bunker Hill, July 11, 1775, at the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C., May 12, 2025. While American militia lost the Battle of Bunker Hill, colonists gained confidence in their ability to withstand the might of the British military. They also didn’t give up after the British gained control of Bunker Hill. Colonial forces continued to keep the British army contained in Boston. When George Washington arrived in Cambridge, Mass., to take command two weeks after the battle, the New England militiamen who remained outside of Boston became the core of the new Continental Army. image
    • 13 July 1775, Roxbury, Boston: British forces under Gen. Henry Clinton probe American defenses, dispersing them, but lacking sufficient forces, Clinton could not exploit the situation. image  
    • 14 July 1775, in London, King George III received a petition from John Wilkes, the Lord Mayor of London, asking the king to cease military activities against the Americans and pursue a policy of reconciliation. image  
    • 16 Jul 1775 Machias, MA (today ME) Lt Jeremiah O’Brien convinces officers of 2 British schooners, HMS Diligent & HMS Tatamagauche, to come ashore where they are seized and their vessels taken.  image
    • 17 July 1775 Richmond, VA. The 3rd Virginia Convention met in St. Johns Church after Royal Gov Lord Dunmore fled, becoming the governing power in VA. Representatives denounced Lord Dunmore’s actions, enacted laws & established a Committee of Safety.  image
    • 18 July 1775, Philadelphia, PA: The Continental Congress recommends that the colonies establish common standards for military equipment and organizations in the militias and also provide armed vessels for the defense of harbors and ports. image
    • 14 Jul 1776 NYC. The Howe brothers (Adm Richard & Gen William) attempt to negotiate with George Washington. Washington, however, will not receive their letter because it is not addressed properly to “General.” But to “George Washington, Esq.” image  
    • 15 Jul 1776 Philadelphia, PA Initially abstaining from the vote for independence, New York’s delegation to the Continental Congress thoughtfully introduces a resolution from its state convention that now supports the Declaration of Independence. image
    • 15 Jul 1776 Lindley’s Fort, SC. Maj. John Down’s garrison at Rayborn Creek fends off marauding Cherokee and Loyalists, scattering the attackers and capturing nine. image  
    • 16 Jul 1776 St George’s Island, MD. Royal GOV of VA Lord Dunmore lands to stage a raid on Mt Vernon & kidnap Marth Washington, but the local militia drives off his ships. image 
    • 17 Jul 1776 Philadelphia, PA. The Continental Congress learns of and approves of Gen. Washington’s refusal to accept a dispatch from British Gen. William Howe and his brother, Adm. Richard Viscount Howe, due to their refusal to address him as General. image
    • 19 July, 1776, Philadelphia, PA: The Continental Congress votes to have the Declaration of Independence signed unanimously by all 55 delegates. image
    • 16 Jul 1777, Dunkirk, FR, Capt. Gustavus Conyngham sails off on his 14-gun sloop, Revenge. His cruise through British waters yields him 20 British prizes. image
    • 14 July 1778, Colonel George Rogers Clark sought assistance from Father Pierre Gibault to secure the peaceful surrender of Fort Vincennes in the Indiana Territory. Gibault then sets off for the fort with letters addressed to the French inhabitants. Image
    • 18 Jul 1778 Andrustown, NY Chief Joseph Brant’s Mohawks attack and burn the settlement, resulting in the massacre of several inhabitants. image 
    • 15-16 July 1779 Stony Point, New York. The British stronghold, known as Little Gibraltar, fell when the Continental Army’s Light Infantry Corps, led by General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, launched a bold bayonet attack. Wounded in the initial assault, Wayne is carried into the defensive works. The British suffered over 130 casualties and 500 captured, compared to fewer than 100 casualties on the American side. Although the fort was later abandoned during the war, the crucial North (Hudson) River crossing point would be used by the Continental Army in their Hudson campaign against General Henry Clinton’s British forces based in New York City. image
    • 17 Jul 1779 Stony Point, NY Gen George Washington inspects the fort and decides it is impractical to defend, ordering it to be stripped and abandoned. At the same time, British Gen Henry Clinton prepares a force to sail north and take the fort. image   
    • 19 July 1779, Boston. Massachusetts launches a naval expedition led by Commodore Dudley Saltonstall, comprising nineteen warships, twenty-four transport ships, and over 1,000 militia under Brigadier General Solomon Lovell. Paul Revere acts as deputy commander. Their goal is to capture a 750-man British garrison at Castine on the Penobscot Peninsula, which would later become part of the state of Maine. The attack takes place without coordination with Continental forces or Congress. image
    • 13 Jul 1780 American militia under Col. Elijah Clarke and John Thomas eliminate a Loyalist band near Cedar Springs, NC. Approximately 35 Loyalists are KIA, 4 Patriots are KIA, and 23 WIA. image
    • 13 Jul 1780 A British squadron under Adm. Thomas Graves arrives off Sandy Hook, NJ, to reinforce the fleet of Adm. Marriot Arbuthnot. Graves was sent from England to counter a French fleet under Adm. de Ternay. image  
    • 16 Jul 1780 Bedford Co, PA. A detachment of British & Iroquois raiders launches a surprise attack on Capt William Phillips’s ranger company defending Fischer Summit. image  
    • 18 Jul 1792, the Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones died in his Paris apartment, where he was still awaiting a commission as the United States consul to Algiers. image
  • Clothing and Related:
    • Couples fashioning together in matchy matchy harmony, coordinating beautifully for a 1770s occasion. The embroidered stomacher finds its echo in the cream embellished waistcoat of her partner, a feature of an exhibition charting the history of the colour pink
    • Great Britain: Riding Coat, 1750-1759. Styled after a man’s coat, it  has been modified with a dart or ‘fish’ and a waist seam to fit over  stays and a wide petticoat.  Worsted (wool), lined with sarsenet (silk), linen; hand-woven, hand-sewn.
    • This pair of brocaded silk shoes, made ca. 1760 by Thomas Ridout, betrays not only signs of wear (in eg the heel soles) but the kind of deterioration that occurs with metal-weighted silks over time as they simply shatter. Prior to the late 18th century, shoemakers and vendors seldom marked the shoes they sold. It is fortunate then, to find this pair of latchet shoes from the third quarter of the 18th century which retains the adhered paper label of it London maker. The pointed tongue was fashionable from the 1770s; in this pair of shoes the original square tongue has been folded and stitched into a point in order to update the style.
    • Fashion tips from 18thC France: don’t let being ‘in mourning’ dampen your sense of style. This ensemble was worn by a lady of rank during the mourning period for Empress Maria Teresa of Austria, mother of Marie Antoinette
  • Miscellaneous
    • This is an early giardinetti bracelet c. 1730-60. The asymmetrical openwork bracelet is set with rubies, emerald, sapphires, and diamonds in the form of a flower spray.
      I struggle with the asymmetric style of these giardinetti style pieces. What about you?
    • Georgian Jewelry c1760-80 Giardinetti brooch with rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and pearls.  These “little garden” pieces describe jewelry of this era that feature an open floral motif, resembling an arrangement of flowers, sometimes in a vase or basket like this one. 

Last Post:  DAVY UE: Carol Joan
Carol Joan Davy passed away peacefully on July 11, 2025. Carol was 91 years young. Carol is survived by her dear husband, Peter Davy; her daughter Carolynne Davy (m. to Eugene Daniel); her son Christopher Davy; grandchildren Simon Davy, Maya Davy, Jonathin Godin, David Godin and eleven wonderful great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her adoptive parents, Bernice and Harry Robbs.
Carol was from Watertown, New York and met Peter at Queen’s on a blind date October 13, 1951, and it worked! They were happily married for over 71 years.
Details and condolences to be sent to the family via James Reid Funeral Home

We are all grateful for the decades that Carol and her husband Peter gave of themselves as extremely dedicated and involved members. By 1997, Carol was the Branch President and raised the Loyalist flag at 8:15 am on June 12, in Kingston. They continued their devoted activities during the years around the National Conference held in Kingston in 1998. They were very busy in the planning for that. They left numerous photo albums of that and other events. As a couple, they regularly attended conferences across the country.  Later, Carol was the Newsletter and Programming Chairperson, creating many interesting newsletters without all the current ‘fancy’ tools. In 2001, Peter Davy became President. In 2013, she and Peter were awarded Certificates for their 20 years of membership. By 2017, the role of publishing the newsletter was passed to Nancy Cutway, another long time, and valued member.
A branch history write-up, researched for the 2014 UELAC anniversary book ‘Loyally Yours’, shows her in a photo and comments on the contributions that she and Peter made. It is available on our Branch website.
She and Peter are also mentioned in UELAC Branching Out, Kingston Branch.
Carol received her Loyalist Certificate as a descendant of Loyalist James Jackson in 1993
On behalf of all branch members we send our condolences to Peter and their family
Anne Redish UE, President, Kingston and District Branch, UELAC

 

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