loyalists

Joseph II's Pages for American Loyalists

The loyalists were the forgotten men and women of the American Revolution. Harassed and persecuted before the war, they fought for King and country against those in rebellion and were condemned as "traitors" by their fellow Americans for their loyalty. There were many famous loyalist units in the war, all in all, about 50,000 American loyalists fought in the King's service my favorite of course being the Royal Catholic Volunteers (see bottom of page). Many of the most respected Americans were loyalists, such as Sir John Johnson, Beverly Robinson, Thomas Hutchinson, William Franklin and others. When Britain recognized the independence of the United States, the loyalists had no choice but to leave their homes and take refuge elsewhere. The largest number, from 40 to 50,000, moved to Canada, forming the basis of the English-speaking population of that country, where their descendants still live today.

King's Royal Catholick Volunteers

Colonial Loyalist Alliance of Massachusetts (CLAM)

The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies

Index of Loyalist Regiments

North Carolina Loyalists

Ye Loyal Americans

The Queen's Rangers (recreated loyalist regiment)

South Carolina Tories biographies

The United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada

Joseph Brant's Volunteers (recreated Indian unit)

Butler's Rangers (recreated regiment)

First Battalion New Jersey Volunteers (recreated regiment)

King's Royal Regiment of New York (recreated regiment) US/Canada

King's Own Patriots (North Carolina Loyalists/Whigs -recreated double unit)

My Page on Some of the Famous Loyal Americans

Considering that Catholics were such a small minority in colonial America, it says alot that there were sufficient willing men loyal to King George III to warrant the formation of the Royal Catholic Volunteers regiment. It should not, however, be considered surprising. Puritan New England was out-raged by the King granting religious toleration to the Catholics of Canada in 1774 and many of the American Catholics likely feared that they would be a persecuted group in an independent America. So, in 1777 Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Clifton formed the King's Royal Catholic Volunteers in the city of Philadelphia during the British occupation. Only Catholics were accepted, based on the idea that they would be more comfortable in a unit of their own, among fellow Catholics and led by Catholic officers.
However, the Roman Catholic Volunteers seemed to have been quite a rambunctious group, and court martials were rather frequent. While not exactly a good thing, the record of these trials does illustrate the lie that British and particularly loyalist troops were allowed to run amok. One officer was dismissed for stealing a horse, cow and for kicking a fellow officer. One only wishes that American units had such high standards during, say, Sherman's "March to the Sea" in the War Between the States. In any event, after about a year the regiment was forced to disband and the remaining troops were transferred to the British Legion (a loyalist unit) and the Volunteers of Ireland, which was also an entirely Catholic unit.