Loyal American Regiment

Loyal American Regiment
Active	1777-1783
Country	Great Britain
Allegiance	British Army
Branch	British Provincial unit
Type	infantry, (auxiliary troops)
Size	detachment - regiment
Garrison/HQ	Kingsbridge, Province of New York
Nickname(s)	King’s American Rangers
Engagements	American Revolutionary War Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery (1777) Battle of Stony Point (1779) Raid on New London, Connecticut (1781)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Brigadier General Benedict Arnold Colonel Beverley Robinson Lieutenant Colonel Beverley Robinson, Jr. Major Thomas Barclay

Monument to Major Thomas Barclay of the Loyal American Regiment, Middleton Park, Middleton, Nova Scotia, Canada

The Loyal American Regiment was a British Provincial regiment, raised in 1777, for Loyalist service, during the American Revolutionary War. The regiment fought, in many engagements, throughout the war and the men were among the thousands of loyalists, who settled in Nova Scotia, who disbanded, the regiment, in 1783.

Regiment formed

The "Loyal American Regiment" was raised in mid-March 1777, by wealthy, Loyalist, Beverley Robinson. Robinson, a childhood friend of George Washington, commanded the regiment, until it was disbanded, at the end of the war, in 1783. Several of, Beverley Robinson's sons were officers in the regiment. A number of the enlisted men, in the "Loyal Americans", were tenant farmers, who worked Robinson's estate, in lower Dutchess County and Westchester County, Province of New York.

Campaigns

The Loyal American Regiment served, in many, war-time engagements, often at detachment strength. The Loyal Americans spent many months, of the war, in the Province of New York, at Kingsbridge, defending British-occupied, New York City. The Loyal Americans are best known, for being the first British regiment, to enter Fort Montgomery, when it was captured, on October 6, 1777. A detachment of the regiment was captured, in July 1779, when the fort, at Stoney Point was taken, by the Continental Army. On September 6, 1781, the Loyal American Regiment participated, in the British raid on New London, Connecticut, commanded by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold.

Regiment disbanded and resettled in British Canada

When the war was over, Loyalists were unwelcome in the former colonies. From New York City, Britain transported thousands of Loyalists to Nova Scotia throughout the early fall of 1783. In all about 33,000 were settled in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick (separated from Nova Scotia in 1784), Prince Edward Island, and Quebec (including areas that were eventually separated to form Upper Canada, eventually renamed Ontario). Many members of the Loyal American Regiment settled there; some were among the first colonists of the newly formed province of New Brunswick.

Present day

Reenactors have recreated Robinson's unit wearing green coats, the standard issue for loyalist soldiers at the beginning of the war.

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.