Classic study including extensive appendix of forfeited estates. Topics include the rise of the Loyalist Party, final organization, war against the loyalists, county inquisitorial organizations, activities of loyalists after issuance of the Declaration of Independence, activities of the commissioners on loyalists (1776-81), confiscation and sale of the property of loyalists, emigration of loyalists to Great Britain, Canada and Nova Scotia, and treatment of loyalists by Great Britain. Alexander Clarence Flick was Sometime University Fellow in History at Columbia University and Professor of European History at Syracuse University.
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In the 1986 first edition, Ranlet argued that loyalty to the British crown was much weaker in New York State on the eve of independence than historians have believed. Here he appends a note on subsequent studies that buttress his argument. He examines details of specific events such as the Burgoyne Disaster, dimensions such as the military aspect, specific individuals, and organizations such as the Committees of New York City. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.
Essays presented at a conference held at Tarrytown, N.Y., Nov. 2-3, 1973, and sponsored by Sleepy Hollow Restorations and the New York State American Revolution Bicentennial Commission. Bibliography: p. 163. Includes index.
In July 1776, the final group of more than 130 ships of the Royal Navy sailed into the waters surrounding New York City, marking the start of seven years of British occupation that spanned the American Revolution. What military and political leaders characterized as an impenetrable "Fortress Britannia"—a bastion of solid opposition to the American cause—was actually very different. As Judith L. Van Buskirk reveals, the military standoff produced civilian communities that were forced to operate in close, sustained proximity, each testing the limits of political and military authority. Conflicting loyalties blurred relationships between the two sides: John Jay, a delegate to the Continental Congresses, had a brother whose political loyalties leaned toward the Crown, while one of the daughters of Continental Army general William Alexander lived in occupied New York City with her husband, a prominent Loyalist. Indeed, the texture of everyday life during the Revolution was much more complex than historians have recognized. Generous Enemies challenges many long-held assumptions about wartime experience during the American Revolution by demonstrating that communities conventionally depicted as hostile opponents were, in fact, in frequent contact. Living in two clearly delineated zones of military occupation—the British occupying the islands of New York Bay and the Americans in the surrounding countryside—the people of the New York City region often reached across military lines to help friends and family members, pay social calls, conduct business, or pursue a better life. Examining the movement of Loyalist and rebel families, British and American soldiers, free blacks, slaves, and businessmen, Van Buskirk shows how personal concerns often triumphed over political ideology. Making use of family letters, diaries, memoirs, soldier pensions, Loyalist claims, committee and church records, and newspapers, this compelling social history tells the story of the American Revolution with a richness of human detail.
Thousands of British American mainland colonists rejected the War for American Independence. Shunning rebel violence as unnecessary, unlawful, and unnatural, they emphasized the natural ties of blood, kinship, language, and religion that united the colonies to Britain. They hoped that British military strength would crush the minority rebellion and free the colonies to renegotiate their return to the empire. Of course the loyalists were too American to be of one mind. This is a story of how a cross-section of colonists flocked to the British headquarters of New York City to support their ideal of reunion. Despised by the rebels as enemies or as British appendages, New York’s refugees hoped to partner with the British to restore peaceful government in the colonies. The British confounded their expectations by instituting martial law in the city and marginalizing loyalist leaders. Still, the loyal Americans did not surrender their vision but creatively adapted their rhetoric and accommodated military governance to protect their long-standing bond with the mother country. They never imagined that allegiance to Britain would mean a permanent exile from their homes.
Patriots, Loyalists, and Revolution in New York City, 1775–1776 draws students into the chaos of a revolutionary New York City, where Patriot and Loyalist forces fight for advantage among a divided populace. Confronted with issues like bribery, the loss of privacy, and collapsing economic opportunity, along with ideological concerns like natural rights, the philosophical foundations of government, and differing definitions of tyranny, students witness how discontent can lead to outright revolt.
