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Another 250th Anniversary: Boston’s Evacuation Day. Part Two of Six
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Early in April of 1776, the people of Halifax were witnesses to the arrival of 120 ships that made up the evacuation fleet of British troops and loyal Americans who had fled Boston for the safety of Nova Scotia. Crammed into a variety of naval vessels were 1,100 Loyalists who would have the unfortunate distinction of being part of the first mass exodus of refugees of the American Revolution.
Halifax, Britain’s primary naval outpost and dockyard, was not ready for their arrival. In 1776, Halifax was a town with a population of only 2,000. Suddenly half as many loyalists and five times as many troops were in need of housing and food.  Some found shelter in overflowing barracks; others in tents on the windy slopes of Citadel Hill.
The arrival of 1,100 refugees in Halifax 250 years ago marks the occasion of the first mass exodus of loyalists from the rebellious thirteen colonies. However, this would not be the last fleet of refugees that the port would receive over the next seven years. The greatest number of loyalists would arrive from the southern colonies in late 1782 and from New York City between April and December of 1783.
The Boston refugees and soldiers brought smallpox to Halifax. Dr. John Jefferies, a member of the March evacuation fleet, oversaw the garrison’s first mass inoculation against the disease. Not one of the soldiers stationed in Halifax lost his life to smallpox.
There were other ways to die. Halifax was a very unsanitary town. People threw sewage into the streets; disease-carrying fleas and lice abounded. Halifax’s winters were more severe than those of Boston.
It wasn’t too long before the wealthier Americans had set sail for England in what Samuel Curwen, a displaced Massachusetts refugee, described as “six vessels laden with refugees“.  Thanks to the research of the 19th century historian Lorenzo Sabine, we know the stories of some of those who fled Boston 250 years ago and then found sanctuary in England.
Benjamin Hallowell was “extremely obnoxious” to the Patriots of Boston in the years leading up to his sudden departure in March of 1776. Two years earlier, while riding in his carriage to Boston, he was pursued by about one hundred and sixty men on horseback, at full gallop. Fortunately for Hallowell, his horse was faster than his attackers. The former commissioner of customs fled Boston with his wife and four children on the Hellespont, a British supply ship. After reaching Halifax, Hallowell wrote. “If I can be of the least service to either army or navy, I will stay in America until this Rebellion is subdued.” In July 1776, he sailed for England in the ship Aston Hall.
There, they lived “in handsome style, but not as splendidly as when in Boston“. In the autumn of 1796, Hallowell returned to Boston. He was accompanied by his daughter Mary and by her husband, John Elmsley, who had just been appointed Chief Justice of Upper Canada. During his stay, the “odium which attached to his official relations to the Crown” seemed to have been forgotten, as he was received with “the greatest kindness and hospitality” by his old acquaintances. Hallowell died at York, Upper Canada, in 1799, aged seventy-five.
Another Loyalist to sail for England on the Aston Hall was Samuel Waterhouse, described as both a secretary and an officer in Boston’s customs office. Patriots considered him “the most notorious scribbler, satirist, and libeller in the service of the conspirators against the liberties of America.” Before becoming a refugee, he had authored a satirical political song titled Jemmibullero, which rebels dismissed as “silly and abusive“. Waterhouse arrived in England with his wife and five children, but vanishes from the historic record after submitted an “address” to King George III.
A third Bostonian Loyalist who sailed from Halifax on the Aston Hall was the auctioneer, Arthur Savage. Three years after arriving in London, Savage gave the visiting rector of Boston’s Christ Church, Boston, a leaden ball.
Savage told the clergyman that: “On the morning of the 18th of June, 1775, I, with a number of other Royalists and British officers, among whom was General Burgoyne, went over from Boston to Charlestown to view the battlefield. Among the fallen, we found the body of Dr. Joseph Warren, with whom I had been personally acquainted. When he fell, he fell across a rail. This ball I took from his body; and as I never shall visit Boston again, I will give it to you to take to America, where it will be valuable as a relic of your Revolution.” The ball is preserved in the Library of the New England Genealogical and Historical Society. Savage died in England, in 1801, at the age of seventy.
As one would expect, Robert Hallowell –a comptroller of customs in Boston— had been extremely unpopular. As early as 1765, a mob surrounded his elegant home, tore down his fences, broke his windows, and, –forcing the doors at last– destroyed furniture, stole money, scattered books and papers, and got drunk on the contents of his wine cellar. Hallowell received “wounds and bruises that seemed mortal” in 1768, after ordering John Hancock’s vessel, the Liberty, seized for smuggling wine and removed to a place covered by the guns of a British frigate. Eight years later, Hallowell, his wife and their 4 children fled Boston, and settled in Bristol, England. By 1792, he considered that he could safely return to the United States. He eventually settled in Gardiner, Maine where he died in April of 1818 at the age of 78.
More stories of those who were members of the first loyalist evacuation fleet will be told in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

The Loyal- List: Celebrating World Poetry Day
By Mike Woodcock UE, Victoria Branch
World Poetry Day, observed every March 21 and proclaimed by UNESCO in 1999 to reinvigorate the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry worldwide, offers an apt moment to reflect on Canada’s literary roots. Among those roots are the descendants of the United Empire Loyalists (UEL), whose families have produced poets who helped shape national identity, regional voices, and the development of Canadian poetic movements. This article introduces several notable UEL-descended poets, tracing how their work and communities contributed to the evolution of Canadian poetry from the nineteenth century to the modern era.

Notable United Empire Loyalists Descendants

Adam Hood Burwell (1790-1849) was an early Upper Canadian poet who wrote “Talbot Road: a poem” in 1818, considered one of the first long poems of pioneer life in Upper Canada by a native-born author. Raised on the family farm and influenced by local settlement history, he combined elevated diction with regional detail in his verse.
Martin Butler (1857–1915) was a self-taught Canadian poet who grew up in rural New Brunswick and began publishing verse in local papers in the 1870s. His 1889 collection Maple Leaves and Hemlock Branches depicted the social and natural landscape of the New Brunswick–Maine borderlands.
Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts (1860–1943) was an internationally known Canadian poet and prose writer often called the “Father of Canadian Poetry.” Along with Bliss Carman, Archibald Lampman, and Duncan Campbell Scott, he inspired a generation of national poets and remained a prominent man of letters until his death.
Bliss Carman (1861–1929) was a prominent poet, essayist, journalist, and editor associated with the Confederation poets. His pre- and post–World War I work combined nationalism with spiritual and esoteric influences and gained recognition both in Canada and abroad.
E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) (1861–1913) was a widely published poet, performer, and writer whose work appeared in Canada, the U.S., and Great Britain. Celebrated for poems, stories, and stage performances blending Indigenous and English influences, her major collections include The White Wampum, Canadian Born, and Legends of Vancouver; a collected poems volume was published in 2002.
Elizabeth Roberts (MacDonald) (1864–1922) was a Canadian writer of poetry, children’s literature, essays, and short stories and an activist in the women’s suffrage movement. She co-authored Northland Lyrics (1899) with her brothers and published Dream Verses and Others (1906).
Sophie Margaretta Almon (Hensley) (1866–1946) was a Canadian writer and educator who published poetry under several pseudonyms. Her works include A Woman’s Love Letters (1895), other poetry collections, a novelette, a musical play co-written with her husband, and the feminist essay Love and the Woman of Tomorrow (1913).
George Edwards Theodore Goodridge Roberts (1877–1953) was a Canadian novelist and poet who authored thirty-four novels and over one hundred stories and poems. His 1926 collection The Lost Shipmate contains poems praised for vivid, realist imagery, and he is also remembered for his Arthurian collection The Merriest Knight.
Wilson Pugsley MacDonald (1880–1967) was a popular Canadian poet famed for his public readings, which allowed him to earn a living from poetry through reading fees and book sales. Born in Cheapside, Ontario, he published Song of the Prairie Land (1918) and self-published religious verse such as The Miracle Songs of Jesus (1921).
Kenneth Leslie (1892–1974) was a Canadian poet, songwriter, and political activist who founded and edited The Protestant Digest. A Christian socialist nicknamed “God’s Red Poet,” he won the 1938 Governor General’s Award for By Stubborn Stars and wrote lyrics recorded by several Celtic artists.
Arthur Stanley Bourinot (1893–1969) was a Canadian lawyer, scholar, and poet whose historical and biographical studies of Canadian poets made valuable contributions to literary criticism. His work documented figures such as Duncan Campbell Scott and Archibald Lampman.
Watson Kirkconnell (1895–1977) was a Canadian literary scholar, poet, playwright, linguist, satirist, and prolific translator. He is internationally known for translating national poetry from many countries and for original verse, dramas, and satirical parodies that engaged both Canadian and global literary traditions.
Charles Tory Bruce (1906–1971) was a Canadian poet, journalist, and fiction writer who rose through the Canadian Press to become general superintendent. He published multiple poetry collections and won the 1951 Governor General’s Award for The Mulgrave Road.
Fred Cogswell (1917–2014) was a prolific Canadian poet, translator, editor, and scholar who authored 33 books of poetry, translated nine, and published over 300 books of poetry. Celebrated as “A Friend of Poets,” his editorial and creative work sustained Canadian poetry and reached international readers.
Alfred Wellington Purdy (1918–2000) was a Canadian free-verse poet whose career spanned 56 years and included thirty-nine books of poetry, a novel, memoirs, and correspondence volumes. He has been described as an unofficial national poet of English Canada.
John Sutherland (1919–1956) was a Canadian poet, critic, and magazine editor best known for founding First Statement and Northern Review. He published the anthology Other Canadians and helped launch Irving Layton’s career through the First Statement Press before dying of cancer.
Douglas Grant Lochhead (1922–2011) was a Canadian poet, academic librarian, bibliographer and professor who published more than 30 poetry collections between 1959 and 2009. He helped found the League of Canadian Poets, served as its first secretary in 1968, led the Bibliographical Society of Canada (1974–76), and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1976.
Elizabeth Winifred Brewster (1922–2012) was a Canadian poet, author, and academic who published over twenty poetry collections, fiction, and memoirs. Born in Chipman, New Brunswick, she earned degrees from UNB, Radcliffe, King’s College London, and Indiana University, taught at the University of Saskatchewan, and received many honors including the Order of Canada.
Kenneth George Mills (1923–2004) was a Canadian metaphysical and philosophical speaker known for spontaneous lectures and poetry over 37 years. He was also a musician and conductor of The Star-Scape Singers and was active as a composer, painter, and designer.
Alden Nowlan (1933–1983) rose from rural poverty in Nova Scotia to become a celebrated Canadian poet; after surviving throat cancer in 1966 he wrote about facing death. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1967, won the Governor General’s Award for Bread, Wine and Salt, and served as Writer-in-Residence at the University of New Brunswick until his death.

Invitation to Contribute
Help grow The Loyal-List! Know other United Empire Loyalists and descendants who should be recognized on World Poetry Day? Please contribute information about Loyalists or their descendants, suggest edits to existing profiles, or provide feedback via email at membership.vic.uelac@gmail.com or on the UELAC homepage.
The Loyal-List is a project of the United Empire Loyalists (UEL) Association of Canada, compiled from reputable sources, including the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Wikipedia, and various published works. Learn more about this inspiring project on the national UELAC website.

Blog: About UE Loyalist History by Brian McConnell UE at UE Loyalist History

The Certificate of Loyalist Descent
Some people will describe how while doing family research they learned of an ancestor who was a United Empire Loyalist.  They then decided to obtain a Certificate of Loyalist Descent, also known as a UE Certificate, from the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada (UELAC) to confirm this ancestry.  That wasn’t my experience. I found out about Loyalist ancestry from a parent, my mother, which was the way likely many did in the early years of the UELAC.
By a UELAC certificate issued on 14 September 1934 Francis Bond Head Wilson was proposed for, balloted and elected a  member of this Association.  Read more…

250 Years Ago: The American Invasion of Canada for the week around 22 March 1776
The stalemate in Quebec City continued with the British under Sir Guy Carleton safely inside the walls of Quebec City. Benedict Arnold worked to maintain a siege but with difficulty due to illness (smallpox was a major disease), departing soldiers whose term had expired, and supply issues due to the weather and distance.

The British 
On March 14, Jean-Baptiste Chasseur, a local miller, reached the city and informed Carleton that the Americans were contriucting a battery at Pointe-Lévis and that a force of 150 – 200 French-Canadian loyalists was assembled on the south side of the St. Lawrence, ready to act against the American besiegers. A force of approximately 150 Loyalist militia gathered at the village of Saint-Pierre to support the British.
Battle of Saint-Pierre (March 25, 1776): Near the village of Saint-Pierre, south of Quebec City, a force of approximately 80 Americans and 150 Canadian sympathizers attacked a Loyalist militia gathering to support the British. The Patriot forces routed the Loyalists, killing several and capturing over 30 prisoners.
Naval Scouting: British scouts continued to monitor the ice-choked St. Lawrence River for signs of the Royal Navy. Carleton was aware that his survival depended on holding out until the spring thaw allowed British reinforcements to reach the city.
The plan to relieve Quebec City: 
HMS Isis (50 guns): Under the command of Captain Charles Douglas, the Isis departed from Portland, England, on March 11, 1776. It carried the grenadier company of the 29th Regiment of Infantry.
HMS Surprise (28 guns) and HMS Martin: These ships, commanded by Captain Robert Linzee and Captain Henry Harvey respectively, departed from Plymouth on March 20, 1776.

The Americans
Throughout March, the Continental Army received roughly 2,500 reinforcements, bringing the total force outside Quebec to nearly 3,000 men. However, about one-quarter of these troops were unfit for duty due to a severe smallpox outbreak.
Arnold continued to move his few remaining cannons around the city’s outskirts to create the illusion of a much larger artillery presence. 
    On March 20, Brigadier General David Wooster left his post in Montreal to take command of the forces at Quebec City, replacing Benedict Arnold, who was later ordered to Montreal.

Thomas and Peter Costner at Ramour’s Mill: Fact or Fiction? 
by Justin Stacy 17 March 2026 Journal of the American Revolution
As anyone who studies history will know, history is seldom a linear account of one fact after another. It’s a series of stories that reveal how we see ourselves. Sometimes, intentionally or no, the telling of those stories blurs the lines between truth and fiction. In my region of North Carolina, there is a story surrounding the nearby Battle of Ramsour’s Mill that falls into that category. It’s a story of two brothers who fought on opposite sides with one purported to have slain the other in battle and buried his sibling by his own hand rather than see the body interred in a mass grave.
True or not, the story has become so embedded in the historical account of the battle that many popular sources (the Wikipedia entry for the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill, for example) simply assume that the story is true.
It was on researching the history of my seventh great grandfather, Jacob Costner, that I came across the story of his two younger brothers, Peter and Thomas. Read more…

The Revolutionary War Letter You Were Never Supposed To See
by Katie Turner Getty 16 March 2026 Journal of the American Revolutionary
In May 1775, a letter was sent to British General Thomas Gage in Boston the likes of which had never been received before. The letter certainly looked harmless enough. It was very short, and it didn’t say anything important at all—it simply requested the delivery of some papers. But this mysterious letter contained far more than meets the eye.
Barely ten days later, twenty-two-year-old Benjamin Thompson, a young, burgeoning physicist, was arrested in Woburn, Massachusetts, on suspicion of being inimical to America. Thompson had arrived in Woburn after fleeing from Concord, New Hampshire, where had also been suspected of disloyalty.
Thompson was no stranger to Woburn. He had been born and raised in the bucolic farm village twelve miles north of Boston. In fact, one of his closest childhood companions was Loammi Baldwin. On April 19, 1775, thirty-year-old Baldwin, a major in the Massachusetts militia, served as commanding officer of the Woburn companies as they responded to the Lexington alarm and participated in some of the heaviest fighting of the day.
As the noose of suspicion grew tighter and tighter around Thompson, and accusations of treachery more and more strident, Baldwin staunchly supported his lifelong friend. Read more and watch video (19:30 min)


Coup D’oeil: William Washington at the Battle of Cowpens 
by Dr. Lee F. McGee 19 March 2026 Journal of the American Revolution
The actions of the cavalry at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781 have been particularly difficult to understand. Previous researchers have struggled to explain the actions of the cavalry under Lt. Col. William Washington while accounting for his seeming to be in multiple places on the battlefield at different times.
During research for his historical novel, Nor the Battle to the Strong, Charles F. Price and this author attempted to find documentation of what tactics Lt. Col. Washington and the Continental Cavalry may have used in the South in 1781. There simply was no contemporary American cavalry manual. Our conclusion was that the only way to understand Washington’s tactics was to plainly describe what he did. Further research showed that accurate descriptions of William Washington’s tactics during the major 1781 battles of Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Hobkirk’s Hill, and Eutaw Springs reveal a striking similarity to tactics described as state of the art for the Prussian cavalry of the preceding thirty years.  Read more… 

Advertised on 18 Mar.  “The Deceiver unmasked …”

“The Deceiver unmasked … In answer to a Pamphlet, entitled, COMMON SENSE.”

As Robert Bell advertised Plain Truth, a response to Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, in Philadelphia in March 1776, Samuel Loudon, a printer and bookseller in New York, prepared to publish and sell “The Deceiver unmasked, or Loyalty and Interest united; in answer to a Pamphlet, entitled COMMON SENSE.”  On Monday, March 18, he announced that two days later he would make available a new pamphlet “Wherein is proved that the Scheme of INDEPENDENCE is ruinous and delusive, and that in our Union with Great-Britain on liberal principles consists our greatest glory and happiness.”  By the time Loudon placed this advertisement, he may have seen an advertisement for Plain Truth in a newspaper printed in Philadelphia, borrowing the words “ruinous” and “delusive” for his own advertisement.
At first glance, this advertisement seems to contradict Thomas R. Adams’s assertion that only two pamphlets directly responding Common Sense appeared in the colonies in the six months between its publication in January and the Continental Congress declaring independence in July.  Read more…

Bobbin Laces from Southernmost Sweden
By Viveka Hansen 1 March 2024 at IK Foundation
Lacemaking and whitework embroideries demonstrated an extraordinarily fine quality in the southeastern part of the province Skåne prior to industrialisation around 1850. Laces of various designs and complexity decorated bedlinen, long shirts, and other linen garments often intertwined in domestic economies and associated with preparation for marriage via the young woman’s dowry in the well-to-do farming communities. This essay aims to briefly introduce these particular lacemaking traditions, together with the reproduction of such laces. Even if my attempts to make laces from the province of Skåne in southernmost Sweden – more than forty years ago – were on an elementary level, the practical experience gave me a valuable understanding of historical lacework, which was helpful on several occasions in later archival and museum studies.  Read more…


A look back at the birth of Bytown – Its Bicentennial
“It made the Wild West look tame:”
By Sarah Brown 16 Narch 2026 Canadian Geographic
The year was 1826 and the birth of Bytown was a young colony’s OG expression of “elbows up.” The War of 1812 had ended in 1815, but the British military were leery of this fragile peace with the United States. During the hostilities, moving troops and supplies along the St. Lawrence River was costly, difficult and dangerous. All that stood between the two sides was a shaky network of outposts along the Niagara, Detroit and St. Lawrence rivers. So British military leaders lobbied hard for a safe alternate water route between Kingston and Montreal.
Enter Lt.- Col. John By of the Royal Engineers, who was put in charge of what would become the 202-kilometre Rideau Canal. By established his headquarters at the confluence of the Ottawa and Rideau rivers so he could oversee every aspect of this important — and technically difficult — section of the canal. Bytown was born.
The ramshackle new settlement was originally known as Colonel By’s Town, a name “probably first used in jest” according to a Historical Society of Ottawa pamphlet.  Read more…

Proud to be a Member of UELAC? A New Way to Show it.
See the new colourful UELAC Bumper sticker and order today.

UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions
Entries which have been added, or revised, this week – much appreciation to those contributing:

From Kevin Wisener:

  • Pvt. William Mitchell B. 1733 most likely in New Jersey where his first regiment was raised., enlisted 1777 2nd Battalion, Oliver DeLancey’s Brigade (Delancey’s Provincials); then New York Volunteers. Resettled near Pinette River, Lot 58, Queens Co., PEI. Married Unknown, but 300-acre land grant indicates married with children, as single soldiers received only 100 acres, two probable children.

From Lynton “Bill” Stewart, a number of entries

  • Dr. John William Gamble  From before the war in New York, NY, he resettled Initially Saint John, New Brunswick; then Kingston, Ontario where he died 2 Sep 1811. Served in the Queen’s Rangers.  With Isabella Elizabeth Clark (1767-1859), married 18 May 1784 in Maugerville, Sunbury County, NB, they had thirteen children.
  • Dr. Peter Huggeford  B. 1725 England to Westchester County, New York, enlisted in 1777 in the Loyal American Regiment. He resettled Originally Cape St. Mary’s, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Then Saint John, New Brunswick. Finally, by 1793, he was residing in New York, near Cortlandt Manor where he died in 1799. With Elizabeth Gedney (1750-1792) they had seven children. One daughter Jane (b. 1750, d. 1803 or d. aft. May 1814?), m. Maj. Tertullus Dickinson UE (1743-1801), married 1775 in Cortlandt, Westchester Co., NY.
  • Surgeon General William Paine, MD  b. 5 June 1750 – Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts Bay, he enlisted in the Loyal American Regiment, he resettled Initially Halifax, Nova Scotia. Then L’Etete (Letete), Passamaquoddy Bay (Charlotte Co.), New Brunswick. Then Saint John, NB. He returned to Worcester County, Massachusetts in 1797 where he later died after 1812. With Lois Orne (1756-1822), married 23 September 1773, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts they had six children.  William Paine graduated from Harvard College in 1768 and then studied Medicine under Dr. Augustus Holyoke of Salem. He opened his practice in 1771. He sailed for England in 1774. He received an MD from Marischal College in Aberdeen, Scotland in November of 1775. Upon his return to New York, he was appointed “Surgeon of the Army” by Sir Guy Carleton.
  • Pvt. Jacob Hemeon Sr.   b. ca.1715 in Germany, immigrated to Mahawa, Bergen County, New Jersey, served in the 3rd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers,  resettled at Saint John, New Brunswick where he died 17 Mar 1783. With Sophia Van Immen they had nine children
  • Pvt. Jacob Hemeon  Born ca. 1738 in Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, lived in Mahwah, Bergen, NJ, enlisted Nov. 1776 in the 3rd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers, resettled at Shelburne, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia. Sophia Glashan (1750-1795), married 1766 in Mahwah NJ.

From certificate applications:

  • John Brown b. 1739 Ballymacaramary, County Down, Ireland d. 1795 Brown’s Bridge, Pelham, Welland County, Upper Canada. Served in the 62nd and 60th Regiment of Foot Resettled at Pelham, Lincoln County Upper Canada; then in 1788, Thorold, Welland County, Upper Canada.  With Agnes Glass/Gless b. 1740, d. 1819 at Brown’s Bridge, Pelham, Welland County, Upper Canada they had six children.
  • Peter William Sparling  b. 1732 in Limerick, IRELAND, immigrated to Campden, New York Province in 1760 on ship Pery  resettled at Shelburne in 1782, Cape Breton 1784, d. 4 Feb 1821 at Sydney, Cape Breton, NS. Married 1754 to Margaret FISSELl, b. 1754 in Killiheen, Ireland, d. 15 Feb 1820 at North West Arm, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. They had nine children.
  • Robert Braeson Carr b. 1756 Scotland – d. 21 January 1823 – Guysborough, Nova Scotia  close to where he had resetled at Country Harbour E. Married to Mary Rhodes, b. 1759 Rhode Island, d. 10 March 1840

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

Events Upcoming

Toronto Branch: Wikitree with Loyalist Focus Wed. 25 March 7:30

Have you heard of Wikitree and wondered what it’s all about? On Wednesday, March 25th @ 7:30 pm via zoom, Rev. Dr. Jonathan Mills UE will speak about Wonderful Wikitree! and why this free genealogical website is uniquely useful for collaboration with a particular emphasis on Loyalist research. The presentation will include a brief overview of Wikitree followed by resources and projects specifically created by and for Loyalist researchers. Non-Toronto Branch members can register with torontouel@gmail.com

Col. John Butler Branch:  A Question of Loyalty by David Moore.  Sat 4 April 11:45

Why did our Loyalist ancestors decide to remain loyal to the King rather than join the rebellion 250 years ago?  This is the question David Moore will examine.  He will consider 9 key factors that influenced the decision to remain loyal.
David Moore, a lecturer on Canadian history, commands the King’s Royal Yorkers, a re-enactment group dedicated to the history of the King’s Royal Regiment of New York.
The Colonel John Butler (Niagara) Branch meets at Betty’s Restaurant, 8921 Sodom Road, Chippawa (Niagara Falls), at 11:45 for a lunch meeting.  This meeting will be both in person and by ZOOM.
For those attending in person, the cost of the lunch is $35 for UELAC members and $40 for guests.  Cash only, payable at the meeting.    No credit cards.
If you plan to attend either in person or by ZOOM, please let us know in advance. RSVP to 283corvette@gmail.com

Fort Plain: American Revolutionary War Conference 250 28-31 May 2026

This annual conference will be held in Johnstown NY from  noon Friday until 1:00 pm Sunday
It is preceded by a bus tour on Thurs 28 May “A Day on the Lines: The 250th Anniversary of the Continental Army’s Siege of Boston – Led by Alexander Cain” visiting visit sites such as Prospect Hill, Washington’s Headquarters, Bunker Hill, and Fort Washington and more
Registration to open in early March. See Conference details for presentations, speakers, accommodations etc at
Tickets are now available

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • Food and Related: Townsends
  • Apparel
    • This sampler in our collection dates to 1776
    • [For spring] A hopeful ensemble then, of fresh green & lily of the valley embroidered on a 1780s gown
  • This week in History
    • 18 March 1766, London. Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham, convened Parliament to reaffirm authority over the colonies through the Declaratory Act. The British Parliament—having seen the House of Commons vote for repeal earlier that month—secured unanimous House of Lords approval and royal assent to rescind the Stamp Act. Read more…
    • 19 March 1771, New Bern, North Carolina. Royal Governor William Tryon issued orders from Tryon Palace to mobilize county militia volunteers to protect judicial proceedings in Hillsborough from disruption by angry backcountry “Regulators,” who protested corrupt officials, high fees, and taxes. Tryon’s tough suppression of the Regulator Movement, culminating in the May 16 Battle of Alamance, alienated many. Read more…
    • 18 March 1774, London. Prime Minister Lord North introduced the Boston Port Bill in the House of Commons. This proposed law ordered the closure of Boston Harbor to all trade, starting June 1, 1774, until full payment was made to the East India Company for the tea destroyed during the Boston Tea Party (December 1773) and to the Crown for lost customs duties. Read more…
    • 14 March 1776. City of New York. The New York Provincial Congress appointed 21-year-old Alexander Hamilton as captain of the New York Provincial Company of Artillery, giving him authority to raise and lead the unit for defending New York City. With limited prior experience but strong self-education in gunnery, he recruited and trained about 60 to 68 men. His company, later part of the Continental Army under Henry Knox’s regiment, distinguished itself in the 1776 New York Campaign, including key battles at Harlem Heights and White Plains during the British invasion and American retreat. Hamilton’s expert leadership in these battles around NYC earned him recognition, leading to his appointment as aide-de-camp to General Washington in 1777. image
    • 15 March 1776, Charleston. South Carolina became the first American colony to boldly declare independence from Great Britain. Its Provincial Congress adopted a new constitution, establishing a self-governing state. This courageous step, months ahead of the full Declaration of Independence, ignited growing revolutionary momentum in the South and hastened the colonies’ march toward separation. image
    • 16 March 1776, Philadelphia. The Second Continental Congress decided to declare May 17 as a national day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer. Facing increasing tensions with Britain, the delegates looked to divine guidance and strength. This solemn act highlighted the revolutionary leaders’ strong reliance on moral and spiritual unity as the colonies moved closer to proclaiming independence. image
    • 17 March 1776, Boston. The 11-month Siege of Boston concluded when British General William Howe evacuated roughly 9,000 to 11,000 troops along with about 1,000 Loyalists (civilians escaping Patriot control) on approximately 120 to 170 ships heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Read more…
      17 March  1776.  Boston, Massachusetts. As British troops evacuated after the 11-month siege, General Artemas Ward led an initial American force—first smallpox-exposed men, then the main body—to reoccupy the city successfully with drums and flags. Read more…
    • 19 March, 1776.  Philadelphia. The Second Continental Congress considered a motion by Maryland delegate Samuel Chase—an early supporter of bold maritime actions—to explicitly authorize the small Continental Navy to attack British merchant ships.   Read more…
    • 20 March 1776. Philadelphia. The Continental Congress sent Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and notable Catholic Charles Carroll of Carrollton—accompanied unofficially by his cousin, Jesuit priest Father John Carroll—on a diplomatic mission to Canada. Their goal was to persuade Quebec’s French Catholic residents to join the rebellion as the fourteenth colony, promising full religious freedom and respect for Catholic rights. Despite their efforts, the mission failed due to deep suspicion and loyalty to Britain. image
    • March 1778. Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a Prussian officer, selected about 100–120 model soldiers (often sergeants or select men) as a cadre. He personally drilled them daily in Prussian-style close-order precision, bayonet techniques, and discipline, using translators and demonstrations. These trained men then instructed their regiments, standardizing tactics across the army and laying the foundation for the “Blue Book” manual. This transformed the ragged Continental Army into a more professional, cohesive fighting force, as evidenced by the Battle of Monmouth in June.  image
    • 16 March 1778, London. The British Parliament approved the royal instructions authorizing Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle, to lead the Carlisle Peace Commission to Philadelphia. Granted broad powers to negotiate reconciliation, the commissioners could concede to most American demands—including self-governance and repeal of taxes—but were explicitly barred from granting independence, a fatal limitation amid the escalating war and impending Franco-American alliance.  image
    • 17 March 1778. British Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood led a mixed force of around 1,200 troops—including British regulars from regiments like the 17th, 27th, and 46th—Loyalist units such as the Queen’s Rangers under Major John Graves Simcoe, and some local volunteers from the Philadelphia garrison. They crossed the Delaware River by boat and landed at Salem, New Jersey, to scout the area, gather supplies… Read more…
    • 21 March 1778. Hancock’s Bridge, New Jersey. major (later Lt. Col.) John Graves Simcoe led the Queen’s Rangers in a predawn bayonet attack on Hancock House, where about 30 sleeping Salem County militia were quartered. The surprise assault killed at least 20 militiamen—some reportedly while attempting to surrender—with orders to give no quarter. Tragically, the Loyalist proprietor, Judge William Hancock (a Quaker and crown supporter), and his brother were also bayoneted and killed in the chaos, despite their non-combatant status. This event, known as the Hancock House Massacre, occurred amid British foraging operations in Salem County following clashes at Quinton’s Bridge.  image
    • 21 March 1778. London. Lord George Germain directed General Sir Henry Clinton to send 5,000 troops and ships to seize French-held St. Lucia in the West Indies, along with 3,000 to bolster Pensacola and St. Augustine in Florida. This signified a strategic shift after France’s alliance with America, emphasizing Caribbean defense, southern territorial security, and naval supremacy over aggressive northern campaigns during the Revolutionary War.  image
    • 14 March 1780.  Mobile, British West Florida now Alabama). British Lt. Gov. Elias Durnford surrendered Fort Charlotte and its roughly 300-man garrison to Spanish forces after a brief yet intense siege. Read more…
    • 16 March 1780, Morristown, New Jersey. General George Washington, from his winter headquarters, issued General Orders praising the Irish Parliament and people for successfully easing Britain’s harsh trade restrictions and regaining vital rights. Showing solidarity, he canceled all fatigue duties for St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 Read more…
    • 18 March 1780, at the Salkehatchie River in South Carolina. A skirmish occurred during the British advance toward Charleston. Patriot militia, about 80 men under Lt. Col. James Ladson, destroyed the bridge and positioned themselves on the east bank, including in a tavern, to harass and delay Brig. Gen. James Paterson’s column. British forces, led by Capt. Abraham DePeyster (likely of the New York Volunteers or a Loyalist unit) forded the river downstream, outflanked the Patriots, and attacked from the rear. Read more…
    • 19 March 1781. Following his pyrrhic victory at Guilford Courthouse on March 15, British General Charles Cornwallis—after suffering devastating losses (nearly 25% casualties) against the resilient General Nathanael Greene—strategically decided to abandon his inland North Carolina campaign. Read more…
    • 20 March 1780, in Charleston, South Carolina.  As British Vice Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot’s formidable fleet neared the harbor, Commodore Abraham Whipple—commanding a small Continental and allied flotilla—retreated his vessels up the Cooper River. Recognizing that defense was hopeless against such overwhelming odds, he scuttled several ships Read more…
    • 22 March  1781.  Brest, France. Rear Admiral François-Joseph-Paul, comte de Grasse, departed with 20 ships of the line, 3 frigates, and about 150 transports carrying roughly 5,000 troops and vital supplies. This powerful convoy reinforced French interests in the West Indies, enabled operations such as the capture of Tobago, and—crucially—positioned de Grasse to later sail north, blockade Chesapeake Bay, and secure victory at Yorktown.  image
    • 20 March 1782. London. Lord Frederick North resigned as Prime Minister after 12 years in office, expecting defeat in a vote of no confidence amid parliamentary pressure to end the American war following Yorktown’s surrender. Despite his efforts to keep imperial control, his administration’s policies—taxation, coercion, and prolonged conflict—directly caused Britain to lose the Thirteen Colonies.  image
    • 15 March 1783. Newburgh, New York. At the Continental Army headquarters, General George Washington surprised officers by walking into their meeting unannounced and delivering his famous Newburgh Address. With tensions high over unpaid wages, pensions, and Congress’s inaction, anonymous letters had stirred threats of mutiny Read more…

 

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