American “Loyalists,” also known as “Tories,” were those individuals who remained loyal to Great Britain during the American Revolution.  Though exact numbers may never be known common estimates claim that Loyalists averaged about one-third of the overall population.

Loyalists, like Patriots, represented all classes of colonial American society.  They included great landowners such as the De Lanceys and Jessups of New York, wealthy merchants like the Whartons and Pembertons of Philadelphia, and professional classes such as lawyers, physicians, printers, teachers, royal officials and Anglican clergy.  Often there was no instantaneous line between Patriots and Loyalists. Many who would eventually take up arms for Britain favored early rumblings of revolution. Most future-Loyalists initially resisted objectionable actions of the British Parliament, including the Stamp Act, Townshend Duties and the Intolerable Acts.  Many even supported the calling of the first Continental congress.  In general, the Loyalists were eager to preserve their rights through petitions and legal protests, and sometimes were willing to use force.  What they strongly opposed was separation from the British Empire.  For this reason, the Declaration of Independence caused an irreparable breach between Loyalists and Patriots.    

Only after the battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775 did the Patriot and Loyalist parties begin to solidify.  Large numbers of Loyalists gathered in support of the Crown, and some even formed militia units under commissioned officers (2).  Their numbers amounted to 60,000 troops. There were also those who began fighting with the Patriots, who then turned their allegiance to the Crown (3). Meanwhile, the American Patriot authorities took increasingly stringent measures against Loyalists, including oaths of allegiance to the new governments required for the rights of citizenship, voting, holding political office and enjoying legal protections.  In many cases, those who refused to take the oath were denied the right of pursuing their professions, acquiring or disposing property and free speech.  If such measures failed to persuade, Loyalists could be jailed, sent to detention camps or tarred and feathered.  Almost every state government passed laws that exiled individuals who refused the oath. Before the end of the Revolutionary War about 200,000 Loyalists were killed, banished or voluntarily left the American colonies for other parts of the British Empire.

At Thomas Paine’s suggestion the exiled Loyalists suffered the confiscation of their property to pay the costs of the War.  As a result, claims totaling £10 million were filed with a British Parliamentary commission established in 1783 (4).

1.    George III Commission to David Hartley, May 14, 1783

This commission grants David Hartley full power to act as plenipotentiary of England and to sign the Peace Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the American Revolutionary War. In 1783, amidst internal British strife concerning the peace agreements with the United States, George III replaced then-current plenipotentiary Richard Oswald with David Hartley, British statesman and friend of Benjamin Franklin.

The commission reads in part:

Whereas for perfecting and establishing the Peace, Friendship and Good Understanding so happily commenced by the Provisional Articles signed at Paris … We have thought proper to invest in some fit person full power on our part to meet and confer with Ministers of said United States now residing at Paris duly authorized for the accomplishing of such laudable and salutary purposes.

Attached is the Great Seal of the Realm, used to authenticate important legal documents.

2.    Class Number 2: Claimants who Bore Arms

One of the sticking points throughout the peace negotiations between Britain and the United States was the issue of compensation for individuals who remained loyal the King. This list shows columns with the names, income, pensions and other information for persons petitioning for such compensation. The claimants listed here bore arms for the Crown.

3.    Class Number 6: Claimants who Bore Arms or Supported the American States but afterwards Joined His Majesty’s Forces or Acted in Support of his Government

To the chagrin of both Patriots and Loyalists, individual allegiances often shifted during the American Revolution. Due to a variety of circumstances, including the shifting fortunes of the respective sides, some individuals began fighting for one side but switched to the other. This list, among the shortest of the Classes of Claimants, records the names of people who did just that.

4.    Totals of Losses

Totaling the losses from all Classes of Claimants, this list acts as a summary of the various categories. In addition to the two classes listed above, this summary also includes the names of other Classes that illuminate the full range of claimants, including “Claimants who took oaths to the American States,” and “Claimants who were British subjects not Residents of American.” The total number of individuals in each class is also listed, with 92 grouped as “Loyalists.”