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Archiver > UNITED-EMPIRE-LOYALIST > 2003-01 > 1042647775


From: "djf" <>
Subject: RE: [UEL] General Question
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2003 11:23:19 -0800
In-Reply-To: <ca.1698d868.2b55a266@aol.com>


Hello John;

Yes, he could and may have been a Lieutenant by the age of 19. He was
not "deported", he was a soldier and a refugee who had sworn allegiance
to his King, George III.

Perhaps you are aware of that period in history but from the wording of
your enquiry, I would guess that you are not fully aware of the period
or circumstances and will attempt to brief you.

The 13 Colonies in America in 1775 were a British possession, ruled and
governed by a British administration with a British Army made up of men
born in England, Ireland, Scotland and America.

In 1776, when the American Revolution became a battle between the
"Rebels"; those that decided to fight the English to gain their
independence as colonies and the "Loyalists"; those who remained loyal
to their King.

In 1776, your relative or ancestor would have been about 12 years old.
Not too young to take become a water boy, bugler, and/or flag bearer for
his Loyalist militia. By the time he was 16/17 he would have been given
arms as a Private and began to fight the Rebels; by 19, he was a
seasoned veteran of many battles and no doubt earned his stripes to make
it to a first Lieutenant in the NJ Volunteers.

Those thousands of Loyalists left New York in 1783, arriving in NS and
other parts. The crown land they received was in lieu of the losses of
their homes and land confiscated by the Land Commissions in the Colonies
and for their allegiance to their King. They settled in Nova Scotia, and
in 1784, many of them chose to move to the new provinces of New
Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Their contribution helped to develop
and create a new and vibrant country called Canada.

In fact, when the Peace Treaty was signed in Paris, the agreement was
that full compensation would be paid by the Americans to all the
Loyalists for their confiscated property, but that never happened.

Since you did not provide a surname, I cannot tell you about his history
in Canada, but whoever your Loyalist relative or ancestor was, he was a
noble man, who made it into the history books of Canada and the USA. No
doubt he has countless descendants both in Canada and America who owe
their existence to a noble man who fought and lived by his principles.

If you go to the official site of the United Empire Loyalists, you will
find a great deal of information of the organization and our guiding
principles.

http://www.uelac.org/

Good luck in your search.

Donald J. Flowers, U.E.,
Genealogist

-----Original Message-----
From: [mailto:]
Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 9:27 AM
To:
Subject: [UEL] General Question

This question is directed at anyone who has an understanding of how the
Loyalist army operated with regard to men within that army. I have a
relative
whose record shows that he was a Lt. in the NJ Volunteers and was then
deported in the Spring Fleet to Nova Scotia, now New Brunswick.
Here's my question. At the time of his deportation in 1783 he was only
19
years old. Does this not seem to be too young for a Lt.? Were positions
of
rank being given to Loyalists right till the end? Were they being given
to
Loyalist families at the end in order to secure land? Would be very
interested in hearing for someone who may have knowledge of this topic.
Thank You,
John DeCoste


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