Loyalists in the Revolutionary War

Avery Loya
APUSH Period 6, October 4, 2012

Loyalists and the Revolutionary War Around the time of the mid-late 1700 's, people in the United States (then the Thirteen Colonies) who supported Great Britain were called Loyalists. The Loyalists respected the king 's authority and were opposed to the American Revolution. They were for the most part happy with the king, as the rebellion had been fueled by (the patriot 's) general discontent with British rule (Allen xv). The Loyalists also had a chance to defeat the Patriots in the war, because they were much better prepared for war than the Americans. They had a stronger military and navy, and were a more powerful country overall. A huge part of our economy was dependant on trade with Britain. The colonies didn 't know how to govern themselves yet, so Loyalists thought that the colonies would fall apart without the strong government rule that King and his army provided. The Loyalist 's political views were generally very different from the Patriot 's. Although the term 'Loyalist ' refers to someone who took the side of the British in the American Revolution, it should be noted that the British had other problems besides the Colonies ' rebellion even during the war, such as how "French and Spanish warships patrolled the English Channel and threatened to invade England itself while her armies were across the Atlantic" (Allison 56). Loyalists thought that King George III was not an unjust or cruel leader, that he was doing the best he could regarding how he governed the colonies given the circumstances. As mentioned in my thesis, the Loyalists realized that the colonies would have difficulty governing themselves if they became independant, especially because all of the thirteen were seperate and had no universal government connecting and ruling them all except for the British crown. Some of the colonies (i.e. Northeastern colonies that relied heavily on trade, Southern ones that were very rural and big on plantation and agriculture) were extremely different from each other in their needs and interests. How could thirteen colonies who had never governed themselves autonomously before hope to be successful as an independant country? They foresaw that seperating from England would cause some problems: "Our society would fall apart: The value of our property would drop; There would always be conflict between big and small colonies; In order to win the war we would have to have help from Spain and France. What 's to keep these countries from trying to take over afterthe war? ...We need the protection that England can give us. They protected us in the French and Indian war. They can also protect us in future conflicts" ("Loyalist 's Beliefs" 1). The Loyalists defended many of England 's actions that the Patriots criticized and used as justification for the rebellion. For instance, while a Patriot might say that the taxes King George III imposed (stamp act, stugar act, townshend taxes, etc.) were tyrannical and wrong because it was taxation without representation, a Loyalist might reply that they were justified because the King was using Britain 's resources (money, soldiers, ships, etc.) to help protect and improve the quality of life in the colonies, and that it was only fair that the colonists do their part to pay back their debt. Aside from the ethical argument, the King was the rightful ruler at the time and it was within his power to levy taxes. The majority of the colonists disliked the kings policies, or openly sympathized with the patriot cause. Because of this, many of the loyalists were treated very badly. People who were suspected of working for the king were beaten, had their house burned, or were tarred and feathered. Throughout the colonies, there was more and more open and widespread resentment towards the king: "Most of the Episcopal clergy 's duties included prayers for the king... The Patriots had silenced most Episcopal clergymen in the colonies and forced the closing of their churches" (Allen xvii). While some loyalists merely opposed the American Revolution, others actively fought against the continental army, risking their lives for their mother country (Allen xix-xx). On a different note, the Loyalists definitely had a chance to defeat the Patriots during the war of 1775-1783. At the time, the British were fighting multiple other wars with Spain and France. If they were able to devote all of their military efforts to fighting the Patriots, then the Patriots wouldn 't have stood a chance. We know this because it happened in the war of 1812, the war was steady when Britain was fighting other wars over in Europe, but once those were over they focused their full attention on defeating us, and they are much better equipped for war then we were. At that time, the British army was the most professional army in the world. They were the best trained and the best equipped, and the Royal Navy ruled the high seas. Britain was still struggling financially from the Seven Years War, however the empire 's infrastructure was still stable and relatively sound. Also, at least a third (if not more) of the colonists still remained loyal to Britain throughout the war, before many fled in its aftermath. A very important factor in the war was the French. For the earlier part of the war, they diverted some of Britain 's limited resources with the seven-years ' war. Later, they wanted revenge on Britain and after the battle of Saratoga (important turning point in the war) they realized that the Colinists could actually win. Therefore starting in the spring of 1778, shortly after France recognized the United States, the French began assisting the Patriots against the British by providing the Patriots with troops, weapons, money, and military advice. The British won many of the most important battles of the war. To name only a few significant battles in which the British were victorious, they succeeded at Bunker Hill, the battle of Quebec, the battle of White Plains, the battle of Germantown, and the battle of the Brandywine (Wallenfeldt 62-70). The battle at Bunker Hill was significant because it was the first real battle of the war, and the British won eventually, although it was a close fight and it gave considerable encouragement to the Revolutionary cause. A painting by an unknown artist depicts the battle, showing both sides taking heavy casualties ("British Army storming Bunker Hill"). Another painting by famous historical painter John Trumbull shows the death of Continental Army General Joseph Warren, who died at the battle of Bunker Hill (Hulton Archive/Getty Images, Brittanica Educational Publishing). Other battles Britain was fighting around the world (in the Caribbean, Europe, India, etc.) just went to show how powerful their fighting force was: "In the fall of 1780 General Benjamin Lincoln, joined by the French force from the Caribbean, tried to retake Savannah from the British. But eight hundred of the five thousand French and Americans were killed, wounded, or captured in the disastrous attack" (Allison 58). Sometimes, luck was on the colonies ' side, and factors such as weather and terrain were the only reasons they were victorious in certain instances. The Patriots practiced guerilla warfare from concealed positions in trees, bushes, or other cover that protected and hid them from the British. Then, they fired upon British officers and soldiers who stood in rank out in the open, and were unable to effectively retaliate because they couldn 't clearly see their attackers. An important difference between the British army and the Continental army is that the British tended to stay in rank, as they 'd fought that way for hundreds of years and didn 't change their style of warfare much during the revolution. On the other hand, the Patriots were very adaptable and used the terrain and environment that they were more familiar with to their huge advantage; if it wasn 't for the Patriots using guerilla warfare and having the 'home field advantage ' so to speak, the British might have defeated the Colonists in the Revolutionary War.

Works Cited
Allen, Thomas B. Tories: Fighting for the King in America 's First Civil War. New York: Harper, 2010. Print.

Allison, Robert J. The American Revolution. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.

Bailey, Thomas Andrew, David M. Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print.

"British Army storming Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Mass." June 17, 1775. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

"France in the American Revolution." Author Unknown. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. .

Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Print.

"Loyalist 's Beliefs" Author Unknown. Web. 8 Oct. 2012.
.

Marston, Daniel. The American Revolutionary War. New York: Rosen Group, 2011. Print. Early American Wars.

Rae, Noel. The People 's War: Original Voices of the American Revolution. Guilford, CT: Lyons, 2012. Print.

Wallenfeldt, Jeffrey H. The American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812: People, Politics, and Power. New York, NY: Britannica Educational Pub. in Association with Rosen Educational Services, 2010. Print.

Cited: Allen, Thomas B. Tories: Fighting for the King in America 's First Civil War. New York: Harper, 2010. Print. Allison, Robert J. The American Revolution. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print. Bailey, Thomas Andrew, David M. Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print. "British Army storming Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Mass." June 17, 1775. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division "France in the American Revolution." Author Unknown "Loyalist 's Beliefs" Author Unknown. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. Marston, Daniel. The American Revolutionary War. New York: Rosen Group, 2011. Print. Early American Wars. Rae, Noel. The People 's War: Original Voices of the American Revolution. Guilford, CT: Lyons, 2012. Print. Wallenfeldt, Jeffrey H. The American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812: People, Politics, and Power. New York, NY: Britannica Educational Pub. in Association with Rosen Educational Services, 2010. Print.