Tories, or loyalists.
There was a great diversity of sentiment in the
English-American colonies during the disputes with the mother-country before war commenced in 1775 and during its progress.
Probably every American citizen desired the freedom which the most zealous patriot sought; they differed only in their opinions as to the best method to be employed for obtaining it. The Whigs, or the popular party, were radicals; the
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Tories, or the adherents of the crown and Parliament, were conservatives.
The latter defended or condoned the oppressive measures of Parliament; the former denounced them as absolutely tyrannical and not to be endured.
The question, Which party is right?
was a vital one.
The imperial government settled it in favor of the
Whigs by rescinding their oppressive measures one after another; and this decision has been ratified by the judgment of posterity on both sides of the
Atlantic.
The
Declaration of Independence compelled men of opposite opinions to avow them publicly.
Then the important question arose concerning the policy of tolerating the Tories, or loyalists —their acts must be restrained as a prudential measure against injury to the patriot cause.
Having the power, and believing themselves to be in the right, the
Whigs took decisive measures to that end. Imprisonment or other odious restraint at home, or banishment, was the alternative presented.
To a large proportion of the loyalists the latter horn of the dilemma appeared the least affliction, and many hundreds abandoned their country and fled to
Nova Scotia or to
England; while a considerable number, especially of the young men, were embodied in military corps, and took up arms against their Whig countrymen.
This embodiment was undertaken by the deposed
Governor Tryon, of New York.
He was ably seconded by
Oliver De Lancey, brother of a lieutenant-governor of the province of New York, and
Courtlandt Skinner, of
New Jersey.
But these loyalist corps numbered far less, for a long time, than the ministry or their partisans in
America anticipated.
The greatest exertions of the three leaders above named had not caused an enrolment of over 1.200 of them as late as the spring of 1777.
Afterwards the number greatly increased, though there were not a great many in the field at one time.
Sabine estimates the whole number enrolled during the
Revolutionary War at 20, 000.
The first organization was under Lord Dunmore in
Virginia and
Martin in
North Carolina, in 1775.
Later there were loyalists under
Sir John Johnson and
Colonel Butler in New York; also under
Tryon and
De Lancey in the same State, and
Skinner, of
New Jersey.
Later still the loyalists of the Carolinas, who were numerous in the western districts, were embodied under
Maj. Patrick Ferguson, killed at
King's Mountain in 1781.
Altogether, there were twenty-nine or thirty regiments, regularly officered and enrolled.
The most noted loyalist corps in the war was that of the
Queen's Rangers, led by
Major Simcoe, afterwards governor of
Canada.
The loyalists were of two kinds.
Some were honorable, conscientious men, governed by principle, and friends of the
British government by conviction; others were selfish and unscrupulous, siding with the supposed stronger side for purposes of gain, spite, or opportunities for plunder and rapine under legal sanction.
The majority of the latter class filled the military ranks, and their oppressions and cruelties excited the fiercest animosities of the
Whigs, who suffered dreadfully.
They were made to hate the name of Tory, and in many instances the aversion was felt for at least two generations in Whig families towards the descendants of Tories.
Banishments and confiscations by the
Whig authorities were popular; but when peace came and animosities subsided, mercy and justice combined to do right.
In the negotiation of the treaty of peace (1782), the
British commissioners claimed indemnity for the losses of the loyalists.
It was denied on the ground that the
Whigs during the war had really suffered greater losses through the acts of the Tories, and the claim was not allowed.
At the close of the war the military organizations of the loyalists were disbanded, and some of the officers were transferred to the royal army and continued in service for life.
Others, less fortunate, went with a host of civil and military companions into exile, the northern ones chiefly to
Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick.
and
Canada, and the southern ones to the Bahamas, Florida, and the
British West Indies.
Many also went to
England, and for years were importunate petitioners for relief from the
British government.
The officers generally received half pay. Towards the close of 1782 the British Parliament appointed a committee to attend to the claims of the loyalists.
By their decision (June, 1783) the sum of $216,000
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was to be distributed annually among 687 loyalist pensioners.
The claimants finally became so numerous that a permanent board of commissioners was appointed, which continued about seven years. On March 25, 1784, the number of claimants was 2,063, and the aggregate amount of property claimed to have been destroyed or confiscated, besides debts which they had lost, was about $35,000,000. In 1790 the Parliament settled the whole matter by enactment.
Altogether, nearly $15,000,000 were distributed among the
American loyalists by the
British government.
It was regarded as a most generous act in a nation which had expended nearly $100,000,000 in the war, and by it lost a vast and valuable domain.
