Liberty's Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World

Liberty’s Exiles begins by acknowledging that there were two sides in the Revolutionary War. One side enjoyed a victory parade on November 25, 1783, when troops under the command of General George Washington (1732-1799) marched into New York City, displacing the British force that had occupied the city since 1776. This event, marking the end of the British occupation of the United States, was cause for celebration among patriots. New Yorkers celebrated Evacuation Day for generations, until November 25 became part of the Thanksgiving holiday season in the United States.

For the other side of the American population, loyalists who remained faithful to the British monarchy, the end of the war began a new period of disruption and uncertainty. Loyalists faced imprisonment, loss of property rights, and mob violence. Jacob Bailey (1731-1808), for example, a Massachusetts-born Anglican missionary in Maine, kept loyal to the king despite multiple assaults and separation from his family.

Approximately 75,000 people, including 15,000 enslaved people, fled the United States, entering exile elsewhere in the British Empire. This represented an exodus of approximately 1 in 40 Americans. Loyalists were widely diverse in terms of religion, economic status, urban or rural residence, and race, as large numbers of formerly enslaved people and Native Americans backed the British.