Customer Reviews

The Loyalists: Revolution, Exile, Settlement

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When I was a school boy on summer vacation I casually chatted with my stepgrandfather about the things I had learned over the year about the American revolution. And then I said I wondered if I had any ancestors who had participated in the conflict.

He looked me right in the eye and told me his family secret. His ancestors had participated. They had been Loyalists. Their home had been New York but like the overwhelming majority of Loyalists, they chose to Stay in the US after the war.

They may have been loyal to Britain simply because they had always seen themselves as part of Britain, but after the war they were hardly a King and Country lot. Most simply wanted to be left alone and live out their lives in peace.

This book, which I acquired soon after it was published is the story of this peticular group, seen through the eyes of select individuals, who were between fifteen and twenty percenty of the American population in the thirteen colonies. It tries to give insight into what was their mindset as well as give the reader their history. It certainly gives that for all their loyalty, Britain was hardly a caring or sharing host.

I cetainly disagree with the author's attempted portrayal of Thomas Hutchinson as an Imperial Statesman who was a participatting member of the British Empire. Thomas Hutchinson was a local politician who saw himself in Massachusetts in positions of authority in Massachussetts. He looked to Parliment for patronage to gain local power. In many ways he and men like him are no different from the Nabobs of India who went to men like Clive and made the deal that for British backing they would go forth to tax the locals dry and share the loot. Men like Ben Franklin, the 'Rebels', also looked to Parliment but for seats. Beyond this little disagreement I have with the author, this is a great book to read.

As a proud UEL member and student of the American Revolution, especially loyalists, this is my my favorite book to date.

I strongly recommend anyone that is not familiar with loyalists to read this book. It gives rich and detailed specific accounts of real people that are documented.

This book will go a long way in helping you understand Loyalists, what they were and what happened to them. It may even open your eyes to the plight of these heroic people who have been so lost to propoganda that it is sad.

We the People*

*the rights we want are only for those that think exactly like we do or you are exempt.

Now that I know I have many branches of my family tree that opted for Canada on account of their Loyalist views I can now find sympathy with them after reading this book. It is a clear delineation of the times and the choices people were faced with under the siege of war.

"Tories" and "loyalists" have always been in the background of our independence story but largely nameless, faceless and forgotten. Flesh them out and "The Revolution" is a layered conflict where "Civil War" is difficult to square with the mythology it has become. Not all Americans were enamored with the break and many took up arms against their neighbors to prevent it. Why they did it, where they came from, how their story unfolded and the diaspora that followed are all facinating aspects of a journey most Americans simply know nothing about. This is well written, both statistical without being dry and anecdotal without a loss of perspective. This should be required reading for anyone with more than a passing interest of the Revolutionary era.

Moore's work does something extremely important for the student of early American history. He de-mythologizes the beginnings of the American Revolution, and sheds new light on the people that most Americans were taught to view as villains, those who remained loyal to King George III.

Moore not only describes the revolution from the perspective of those those that remained loyal to their King and country, he also details some of the less than democratic ways our forebears treated them.

I highly recommend this book to all who are interested in a more even handed study of the period than the highly propagandized version we usually get here.