The Loyalists who came to St. John in the first fleet numbered about 3,000. They were mostly natives of Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, who had been driven from their homes and forced to seek refuge within the British lines at New York, or on Long Island. There was a scarcity of ships, and the number of those desirous of emigrating to Nova Scotia proved much larger than had been anticipated. It became evident that the vessels must make repeated trips. The following paragraph from an old newspaper is interesting in this connection:—
New London, Conn., April 25, 1783. We hear that the Loyalists destined for Nova Scotia from New York are to depart in two Divisions; the first, consisting of about 3,000 men, women and children, are nearly ready to sail; the second to sail as soon as the vessels return which carry the first.”
This paragraph accords with what subsequently took place. The first fleet sailed from Sandy Hook, on the 26th April, arriving at St. John about the 11th of May; and the second fleet sailed from Sandy Hook on the 16th June, arriving at St. John on the 28th of the same month. The most authentic account of the voyage of the first fleet is to be found in the narrative of Walter Bates,[139] who was a passenger on board the “Union.” We learn from this source that in the early part of April, 1783, the Rev. John Sayre, one of the agents for settling the Loyalists in Nova Scotia, visited those who were then living on the north shore of Long Island at Eaton’s Neck, Lloyd’s Neck and Huntington, to inform them that the King had granted to those who did not incline to return to their former places of abode and would go to Nova Scotia, two hundred acres of land to each family and two years provisions, and provide ships to convey them as near as might be to a place of settlement. A public meeting was held at which the matter was considered in detail, and it was resolved by all present to remove with their families to Nova Scotia and settle together in some situation where they might enjoy the advantages of a church and school. Mr. Bates says that providence seemed to select for them the best ship and by far the best captain in the fleet. The captain received them on board “as father of a family,” and took care that nothing in his power should be wanting to render them comfortable on the voyage. The “Union” took on board her passengers at Huntington Bay. The embarkation began on April 11th and was completed in five days. The manifest of the ship has been preserved and is now in possession of J. T. Allan Dibblee of Woodstock, N. B. (See Collections of N. B. Hist. Society, Vol. II. p. 276). It is signed by Fyler Dibblee, deputy agent in charge of the party. There were 209 passengers in all, viz., 61 men, 39 women, 59 children over ten, 48 children under ten and 2 servants. The ship sailed to the place of rendezvous near Staten Island. While waiting at New York for the other vessels, an interesting incident occurred, which (together with subsequent events) we shall let Mr. Bates tell in his own way:—
“Having a couple on board wishing to be married, we call upon the Reverend Mr. Leaming, who received us with much kindness and affection—most of us formerly of his congregation—who after the marriage reverently admonished us with his blessing, 350 that we pay due regard to church and schools, as means to obtain the blessing of God upon our families and our industry. We embarked; next day the ship joined the fleet, and on the 26th day of April, 1783, upwards of twenty sail of ships, under convoy, left Sandy Hook for Nova Scotia—from whence, after the pleasure of leading the whole fleet fourteen days, our good ship Union arrived at Partridge Island before the fleet was come within sight. Next day our ship was safely moored by Capt. Dan’l. Leavitt, the Pilot, in the most convenient situation for landing in the harbor of St. John, all in good health—where we remained comfortable on board ship (while others was sickly and precipitated on shore from other ships) which we proved a providential favor, until we could explore for a place in the Wilderness suitable for our purpose of settlement. A boat was procured for the purpose. David Pickett, Israel Hait, Silas Raymond and others proceeded sixty miles up the River St. John and report that the inhabitants were settled on Interval lands by the river—that the high-lands had generally been burned by the Indians, and there was no church or church Minister in the country. They were informed of a tract of timbered land that had not been burned, on Bellisle Bay, about thirty miles from the harbor of St. John, which they had visited and viewed the situation favorable for our purpose of settlement. Whereupon we all agreed (to proceed thither) and disembarked from on board the good ship Union, and with Capt. Wilson’s blessing embarked on board a small sloop all our baggage. The next morning with all our effects—women and children—set sail above the falls and arrived at Bellisle Bay before sunset. Nothing but Wilderness before our eyes, the women and children did not refrain from tears.”
Those who are curious to know what kind of a passage their fore-fathers had on their voyage to the River St. John will be able to form some idea from a study of the following record of the weather, kept by Benjamin Marston, while he was engaged in laying out the town of Shelburne.
“May 1st, Thursday—Wind east; calm at night.
May 2nd, Friday—Rain; wind south-westerly.
May 3d, Saturday—Fair; wind north-westerly, fresh.
May 4th, Sunday—Fair; wind north-westerly, fresh.
May 5th, Monday—Fair; wind westerly, moderate.
May 6th, Tuesday—Fair; wind easterly changing to southerly.
May 7th, Wednesday—Fair; wind south-easterly.
May 8th, Thursday—Fair; wind easterly.
May 9th, Friday—Fair; wind easterly.
May 10th, Saturday—Weather foggy and at times drizzly; wind
south-easterly.
May 11th, Sunday—Begins with plenty of rain; wind south-westerly,
changes to foggy weather. At night wind south-easterly with
frequent showers.
The Union had not long to wait until she was joined by her sister ships, and all lay safely anchored near the landing place at the Upper Cove. We may well believe that the arrival of such a multitude produced a profound sensation among the dwellers at Portland Point, then a mere hamlet.
Three hundred years have passed since Champlain sailed up this same harbor and in honor of the day of its discovery, gave to St. John the name it still retains, but in all these centuries the most notable fleet that ever cast anchor in the port was the “Spring fleet” of 1783. The old iron guns of Fort Howe thundered out their salute as the score of vessels came up the harbor, the flag of Britain streaming from the masthead, and we know that Major Studholme gave the wearied exiles a hearty welcome. The old soldier had held his post secure, in spite of hostile 351 savages and lawless marauders, and he was now equally faithful in the discharge of his duty to his new comrades. He did his best to cheer their drooping spirits and as speedily as possible to settle them in habitations which they once more might call their own.
There is a quiet spot in the parish of Studholme, on the banks of the Kennebecasis, where the mortal remains of Gilfred Studholme lie. No headstone marks his grave.
Little preparation had been made by the Government of Nova Scotia for the reception of the Loyalists, and the season was cold and backward. Anxious as were the masters of the transports to return speedily to New York they were obliged to tarry some days. We learn from an old newspaper that the ship “Camel,” captain William Tinker, sailed from St. John on her return voyage, the 29th of May, in company with eight other transports, and that they left the new settlers “in good health and spirits.” Before the Loyalists could disembark, it was necessary to clear away the brushwood around the landing place and to erect tents and various kinds of shelter. The 18th of May saw them safely landed. The day was Sunday, and it is said the hapless exiles found consolation in a religious service held by the Rev. John Beardsley on the site of the present Market Square.
If Abraham’s fidelity to the Almighty caused him on his arrival in the land he was to inherit, to erect an altar, it was equally fitting that the first public act of the founders of the City of the Loyalists should be to render thanks for their preservation and safe arrival in the land of their adoption. The psalms for that 18th morning may have struck a responsive chord in many hearts. “Comfort us again now after the time that thou hast afflicted us, and for the years wherein we have seen adversity.” “Establish the work of our hands upon us, yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.”
No friendly roof had yet been reared to shelter them from the storm. The wilderness had its unknown perils. Perhaps too the dread of some lurking savage may have filled the hearts of the helpless ones with a nameless fear. Still the message was—“He that dwelleth in the tabernacle of the most High shall lodge under the shadow of the Almighty.” “Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day.”
The Loyalists could not but feel relieved when they safely reached their destination. There were no light houses, or beacons, or fog horns to aid the navigator, and the charts were imperfect. The vessels were greatly over crowded and the accommodations not of the best. To add to the general discomfort, in some of the ships epidemics, such as measles, broke out. Yet, glad as they were to be again on shore, it was with heavy hearts they watched the departure of the fleet. The grandmother of the late Sir Leonard Tilley said to one of her descendants, “I climbed to the top of Chipman’s Hill and watched the sails disappearing in the distance, and such a feeling of loneliness came over me that, although I had not shed a tear through all the war, I sat down on the damp moss with my baby in my lap and cried.”
The days that followed the arrival of the Loyalists were busy days for Major Studholme and his assistant, Samuel Denny Street.[140] By their orders, boards, shingles, clapboards, bricks, etc., were distributed to those needing them. A large number of Studholme’s accounts in this connection are on file at Halifax. The first in which the name of Parr (Parrtown) occurs is the following:—
“Parr, on the River St. John, 31 August, 1783.
“Rec’d from Gilfred Studholme £5. 18. 10 1–2 for surveying 142,660 feet lumber for use of the Loyalists settled on the River St. John.
“JEREMIAH REGAN.”
Each Loyalist on his arrival was provided with 500 feet of boards, and a proportion of shingles and bricks. Most of the erections at first were log houses, the lumber being used for roofing. By the end of May, 1784, Major Studholme had delivered to the Loyalists 1,731,289 feet of boards, 1,553,919 shingles and 7,400 clapboards. The lumber was purchased from James Woodman, William Hazen, Nehemiah Beckwith, Patrick Rogers, John Whidden and others, the usual price being, for boards £4 per M., and for shingles 15 shillings per M.
The work of building must have progressed rapidly, for when winter came, about 1,500 dwellings afforded shelter. Joshua Aplin wrote Chief Justice Smith that the efforts of the people were unparalleled, and that on his arrival he could scarce credit his own eyes at the sight of such industry. But, he adds, the people had no legal right even to the ground their houses covered, and they appeared to be almost in despair at not getting on their lands. The greater part of those in the town at the mouth of the St. John river never meant to fix themselves there, but to settle on their lands and to apply their money to building farm houses, purchasing live stock, etc., and great loss had been incurred by their being obliged to build at the mouth of the river.
The Kingston settlers were amongst the few that proceeded directly to the lands on which they were to settle. For some weeks they lived in tents on the banks of Kingston Creek, where the mothers found occupation in nursing their children through the measles. They used to send across the river to “Jones’s” for milk and other necessaries. They were visited by the Indians, with whom they established friendly relations and who furnished them plentifully with moose meat. In the month of July they obtained the services of Frederick Hauser to survey their land. Before the lots were drawn by the settlers, however, reservations were made for church and school purposes. They then set to work with a will, working in one united party, clearing places on their lots for buildings, cutting logs, carrying them together with their own hands, having as yet neither cattle nor horses to draw them. By the month of November every man in the district found himself and his 353 family covered under his own roof, and, according to Walter Bates, they were “perfectly, happy, contented and comfortable in their dwellings through the winter.” In this respect they were fortunate indeed in comparison with those who passed their first winter in canvas tents at Parrtown and St. Anns.
We must now speak of the arrival of the Summer fleet of transports at the River St. John.
Almost everybody has heard of the Spring and Fall fleets, but comparatively few are aware that a very important contingent of Loyalists came to St. John on the 29th of June. The late J. W. Lawrence makes no mention of this Summer fleet in his “Foot-Prints;” in fact nearly all of our local historians have ignored it. Moses H. Perley, in his well known lecture on early New Brunswick history, mentions it very briefly. Lorenzo Sabine, in his Loyalists of the American Revolution, incidentally refers to the date of arrival. The reference occurs in the biographical sketch of John Clarke, of Rhode Island, of whom we read:—
“At the peace, he settled at St. John. He arrived at that city on the 29th of June, 1783, at which time only two log huts had been erected on its site. The government gave him and every other grantee 500 feet of very ordinary boards towards covering their buildings. City lots sold in 1783 at from two to twenty dollars. He bought one for the price of executing the deed of conveyance and ’a treat.’ Mr. Clarke was clerk of Trinity church nearly 50 years. He died at St. John in 1853, in his ninety-fourth year, leaving numerous descendants.”
The Loyalists who came in the Summer fleet embarked at various places, some on Long Island, others at Staten Island and many at New York. In some instances embarkation had taken place three weeks prior to the departure of the ships from Sandy Hook. The delay in sailing was caused by difficulties attending the embarkation and getting the fleet together. The names of the vessels have been preserved in the following notice, printed in a New York paper:—
“NOTICE TO REFUGEES.
The following Transports, viz. Two Sisters, Hopewell, Symetry, Generous Friends, Bridgewater, Thames, Amity’s Production, Tartar, Duchess of Gordon, Littledale, William and Mary, and Free Briton, which are to carry Companies commanded by Sylvanus Whitney, Joseph Gorham, Henry Thomas, John Forrester, Thomas Elms, John Cock, Joseph Clarke, James Hoyt, Christopher Benson, Joseph Forrester, Thomas Welch, Oliver Bourdet, Asher Dunham, Abia. Camp, Peter Berton, Richard Hill and Moses Pitcher, will certainly fall down on Monday morning; it will therefore be absolutely necessary for the people who are appointed to go in these companies, to be all on board To-Morrow Evening.
“New York, June 7th, 1783.”
Of the seventeen companies whose captains are named above, those of Christopher Benson and Richard Hill went to Annapolis, and that of Moses Pitcher, to Shelburne; the others (with the possible exception of Thomas Welch’s company) came to St. John. We learn from a document entitled “A Return of the number of Loyalists gone to St. John’s River in Nova Scotia, as pr. returns left in the Commissary 354 General’s Office in New York” that the number enrolled in the various companies for provisions, etc., was as given below:—
| Men. | Women. | Children. | Servants. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capt. S. Whitney | 42 | 27 | 87 | 12 | 168 |
| Capt. J. Goreham | 31 | 20 | 78 | 7 | 136 |
| Capt. H. Thomas | 32 | 26 | 52 | 12 | 122 |
| Capt. J. Forrester | 51 | 30 | 73 | 31 | 185 |
| Capt. Thos. Elms | 30 | 19 | 27 | 45 | 121 |
| Capt. John Cock | 32 | 21 | 48 | 10 | 111 |
| Capt. J. Clarke | 36 | 25 | 48 | 52 | 161 |
| Capt. Jas. Hoyt | 42 | 31 | 61 | 85 | 219 |
| Capt. Jas. Forrester | 35 | 25 | 47 | 15 | 122 |
| Capt. O. Bourdet | 55 | 36 | 47 | 42 | 180 |
| Capt. A. Dunham | 31 | 19 | 57 | 5 | 112 |
| Capt. Abi. Camp | 52 | 36 | 67 | 48 | 203 |
| Capt. P. Berton | 31 | 20 | 51 | 30 | 132 |
| Total | 500 | 335 | 743 | 394 | 1972 |
If all who gave in their names to Brook Watson at the commissariat office actually embarked for St. John in the June fleet, it would appear that nearly two thousand persons were carried in that fleet. But it is not unlikely that some of those who gave in their names did not go at this time. Among the papers in the archives at Halifax, there is a copy of a “Return of Loyalists, etc., gone from New York to Nova Scotia as pr. returns in the Commissary General’s office.” The original was compiled at New York, Oct., 12, 1783, by Richard Fitzpatrick, and at the bottom he adds the significant words—“The above is made from returns left in the commissary general’s office, but it is probable the numbers actually gone will fall far short.” The chief reason for supposing this to have been the case in regard to the summer fleet is the publication of the following official return, signed by Sir Guy Carleton, in one of the newspapers of the day.
Return of Refugees Embarked for Nova Scotia.
New York, 17th June, 1783.
Men. Women. Children. Servants. Total. For St. John’s River 443 283 670 258 1654 For Annapolis Royal 46 37 76 46 205 For Port Roseway 34 15 39 34 122 For Fort Cumberland 175 86 216 14 491 Total 698 421 1001 352 2472 GUY CARLETON.
It may be safer to take the figures in Sir Guy Carleton’s list; but whichever list we take, the numbers are sufficient to make the arrival of the summer fleet a thing of considerable importance. The names of nearly all the captains of the companies of Loyalists, who sailed in the fleet are found amongst the grantees of Parrtown.
The diary of Sarah Frost, who was a passenger to St. John in the ship “Two Sisters,” throws much light upon the circumstances that attended the voyage. Sarah (Schofield) Frost was the wife of William Frost, a sturdy loyalist of Stamford. He 355 was proscribed and banished and threatened with death if he ever returned to Connecticut. He did return, however, on the night of July 21, 1781, accompanied by an armed party in seven boats. The boats were secreted and the party placed themselves in hiding in a swamp near the meeting house. The next day, which was Sunday, they surprised and captured the minister, Rev. Dr. Mather, and his entire congregation. A selection of the prisoners was quickly made, and forty-eight individuals were hurried away to the boats and taken across the sound to Lloyd’s Neck, where they were greeted in no complimentary fashion by some of their old neighbors whom they had driven from their homes. Twenty-four of the prisoners were allowed to go back to Stamford on parole. The remainder, twenty-six in number, were sent to the provost prison in New York. Dr. Mather was one of those consigned to the provost, as a “leader of sedition.” Needless to say this exploit rendered Wm. Frost exceedingly obnoxious to the “patriots” of Stamford. The parents of Mrs. Frost espoused the cause of the revolutionary party, and her’s was one of those sad cases in which families were divided by the war.
The extracts from her journal will enable the reader to have a good idea of some of the trials endured by those who left their old homes for the sake of the principles they cherished.
“May 25, 1783. I left Lloyd’s Neck with my family and went on board the Two Sisters, commanded by Captain Brown, for a voyage to Nova Scotia with the rest of the Loyalist sufferers. This evening the Captain drank tea with us. He appears to be a very clever gentleman. We expect to sail as soon as the wind shall favor. We have very fair accommodation in the cabin, although it contains six families besides my own. There are two hundred and fifty passengers on board.”
A few days later the ships proceeded to New York, and then there followed an uncomfortable period of waiting. They hoped to have sailed on the 9th of June, having been already a fortnight on shipboard, but it was not until a week later that they got away. While at New York the passengers spent much of their time on shore, visiting their friends and making purchases of things needed on the voyage. Mrs. Frost had a touching interview with her father, who came in a boat from Stamford to bid her farewell. She writes under date of Monday, June 9th; “Our women all came on board with their children, and there is great confusion in the cabin. We bear with it pretty well through the day, but at night one child cries in one place, and one in another, while we are getting them to bed. I think sometimes I will go crazy. There are so many of them, if they were still as common, there would be a great noise amongst them.”
Two days later the ships weighed anchor and dropped down to Staten Island where they remained until Sunday the 15th of June, when Mrs. Frost writes: “Our ship is getting under way, I suppose for Nova Scotia. I hope for a good passage. About three o’clock we have a hard gale and a shower which drives us all below. About five o’clock we come to anchor within about six miles of the Light House at Sandy Hook. How long we shall lie here I don’t know. About six o’clock we had a terrible squall and hail stones fell as big as ounce balls. About sunset there was another squall and it hailed faster than before. Mr. Frost went out and gathered 356 a mug full of hail stones, and in the evening we had a glass of punch made of it, and the ice was in it till we had drank the whole of it.”
“Monday, June 16. We weighed anchor about half after five in the morning, with the wind North-Nor’-West, and it blows very fresh. We passed the Light House about half after seven. It is now half after nine and a signal has been fired for the ships all to lie to for the Bridgewater, which seems to lag behind, I believe on account of some misfortune that happened to her yesterday.... It is now two o’clock and we have again got under way. We have been waiting for a ship to come from New York, and she has now overhauled us.[141] We have a very light breeze now, but have at last got all our fleet together. We have thirteen Ships, two Brigs, one Frigate belonging to our fleet. The Frigate is our Commodore’s. It is now three o’clock, we are becalmed and the men are out fishing for Mackerel. Mr. Miles has caught the first.”
“Thursday, June 19. We are still steering eastward with a fine breeze. We make seven miles an hour the chief part of the day. About noon we shift our course and are steering North by East. At two o’clock the Captain says we are 250 miles from Sandy Hook, with the wind West-Nor’-West. At six o’clock we saw a sail ahead. She crowded sail and put off from us, but our frigate knew how to talk to her, for at half past seven she gave her a shot which caused her to shorten sail and lie to. Our captain looked with his spy glass; he told me she was a Rebel brig; he saw her thirteen stripes. She was steering to the westward. The wind blows so high this evening, I am afraid to go to bed for fear of rolling out.”
“Friday 20th. This morning our Frigate fired a signal to shift our course to North-Nor’-East. We have still fine weather and a fair wind. Mr. Emslie, the mate, tells me we are, at five in the afternoon, about 500 miles from Sandy Hook. We begin to see the fog come on, for that is natural to this place. At six our Commodore fired for the ships to lie to until those behind should come up. Mr. Emslie drank tea with Mr. Frost and myself. The fog comes on very thick this evening.”
“Saturday, June 21. Rose at 8 o’clock. It was so foggy we could not see one ship belonging to the fleet. They rang their bells and fired guns all the morning to keep company. About half after ten the fog all went off, so that we saw the chief part of our fleet around us. At noon the fog came on again, but we could hear their bells all around us. This evening the Captain showed Mr. Frost and me the map of the whole way we have come and the way we have yet to go. He told us we are 240 miles from Nova Scotia at this time. It is so foggy we lost all our company tonight and we are entirely alone.
“Sunday, June 22. It is very foggy yet. No ship in sight now, nor any bells to be heard. Towards noon we heard some guns fired from our fleet, but could not tell where they was. The fog was so thick we could not see ten rods, and the wind is so ahead that we have not made ten miles since yesterday noon.
“Monday, June 23. Towards noon the fog goes off fast, and in the afternoon we could see several of our vessels; one came close alongside of us. Mr. Emslie says we are an hundred and forty miles from land now. In the evening the wind becomes fair, the fog seems to leave us and the sun looks very pleasant. Mr. Whitney and his wife, Mr. Frost and I, have been diverting ourselves with a few games of crib.”
The passengers had now become exceedingly weary of the voyage. The ships had lain buried in a dense fog, almost becalmed, for three days. An epidemic of 357 measles, too, had broken out on board the “Two Sisters,” and served to add to the anxiety and discomfort of the mothers. But a change for the better was at hand and Mrs. Frost continues her diary in a more cheerful strain.
“Thursday, June 26. This morning the sun appears very pleasant. We are now nigh the banks of Cape Sable. At nine o’clock we begin to see land. How pleased we are after being nine days out of sight of land to see it again. There is general rejoicing. At half past six we have twelve of our ships in sight. Our captain told me just now we should be in the Bay of Fundy before morning. He says it is about one day’s sail after we get into the Bay to Saint John’s River. How I long to see that place though a strange land. I am tired of being on board ship, though we have as clever a captain as ever need to live.
“Friday, June 27. I got up this morning very early to look out. I can see land on both sides of us. About ten o’clock we passed Annapolis. The wind died away. Our people got their lines out to catch cod fish. About half after five John Waterbury caught the first.
“Saturday, June 28. Got up in the morning and found ourselves nigh to land on both sides. At half after nine our Captain fired a gun for a pilot and soon after ten a pilot came on board, and a quarter after one our ship anchored off against Fort Howe in Saint John’s River. Our people went on shore and brought on board pea vines with blossoms on them, gooseberries, spruce and grass, all of which grow wild. They say this is to be our city. Our land is five and twenty miles up the river. We are to have here only a building, place 40 feet wide and an hundred feet back. Mr. Frost has gone on shore in his whale boat to see how it looks. He returns soon bringing a fine salmon.”
“Sunday, June 29. This morning it looks very pleasant. I am just going on shore with my children.... It is now afternoon and I have been on shore. It is I think the roughest land I ever saw.... We are all ordered to land tomorrow and not a shelter to go under.”
Such is the simple story told by this good lady; the reader’s imagination can fill in the details. At the time of Mrs. Frost’s arrival she was a young matron of twenty-eight years. Her daughter, Hannah, born on July 30th., is said to have been the second female child born at Parrtown.
In the case of the June fleet, as of that which arrived in May, the captains of many of the transports seem to have been remarkably considerate for the welfare of their passengers. The “Bridgewater,” staid at St. John more than a fortnight before she sailed on her return voyage to New York, as we learn from the address presented to her captain by the Loyalists who came in her.
“To Captain Adnet, Commander of the Transport Bridgewater.
“The Address of the Loyalists, that came in the Ship under your command, from New-York to St. John’s River, Nova-Scotia.
“Your humanity, and the kindness and attention you have shewn to render as happy as possible each individual on board your ship, during the passage, and till their disembarkation, has filled our hearts with sentiments of the deepest gratitude, and merit the warmest return of acknowledgments and thanks, which we most sincerely desire you to accept. Wishing you a prosperous voyage to your intended port, we are, your much obliged and very humble servants.
Signed by the particular desire, and in behalf of the whole.
JOHN HOLLAND,
CAPTAIN CLARKE,
NATHANIEL DICKINSON.St. John’s River, July 15, 1783.
Vessels continued to arrive during the summer, each bearing its quota of loyal exiles. Those who came were in nearly all cases enrolled in companies, and officers appointed, who were commissioned by Sir Guy Carleton. Several of the ships came repeatedly to St. John. The Bridgewater, one of the Spring fleet, came again in June, and made a third voyage in October. The Cyrus, one of the Spring fleet, arrived again on the 14th September, with 194 passengers, whose names are given in the collections of the New Brunswick Historical Society. The Sovereign, one of the vessels of the Spring fleet, came again in August, as we learn from the letter of thanks addressed to the captain by her passengers, which follows:
“Dear Sir: Your Generosity, Kindness and Attention to us while on board your ship, and assistance lent us on landing our Property from on board, demands our most warm Acknowledgments: Permit us therefore to return you that unfeigned Thanks for all your Goodness that feeling hearts can: and as your are about to leave us, accept of our most sincere wishes for your Happiness and Prosperity; and that you may have a safe and easy Passage to New York is the sincere wish of, Dear Sir.
(By Request of the Company.)
Your most obedient, humble servant,
JOHN MENZIES, Capt. 24th Company.
St. John’s River, Aug. 12, 1783.
To Capt. Wm. Stewart, Ship Sovereign.”
About this time the Americans began to urge upon Sir Guy Carleton the speedy evacuation of New York by the British forces. But Sir Guy was too good a friend of the Loyalists to allow himself to be unduly hurried in the matter. He stated that the violence of the Americans, since the cessation of hostilities, had greatly increased the number of Loyalists who were obliged to look to him for escape from threatened destruction. That their fears had been augmented by the barbarous menaces of Committees formed in various towns, cities and districts, which had threatened dire vengeance to any who ventured back to their former homes. He therefore adds, “I should show an indifference to the feelings of humanity, as well as to the honor and interest of the nation whom I serve, to leave any of the Loyalists that are desirous to quit the country, a prey to the violence they conceive they have so much cause to apprehend.”
Sir Guy did his best to facilitate the emigration of all who desired to leave New York, and by his instructions the following notice was published.
“City Hall, New York, August 14, 1783.
“Notice is hereby given to all Loyalists within the lines, desirous to emigrate from this place before the final Evacuation, that they must give in their Names at the Adjutant-General’s Office, on or before the 21st instant, and be ready to embark by the end of this month.
“ABIJAH WILLARD.”
Before the arrival of the date, mentioned in the notice, 6,000 names were entered at the Adjutant-General’s Office for passages, and the evacuation proceeded as fast as the number of transports would admit. Four weeks later another and more emphatic notice was issued.
“City Hall, New York, September 12, 1783.
The Commissioners appointed to examine the Claims of Persons for Passages from this Place, give this Notice to all Loyalists, who have been recommended for Passages to Nova Scotia; that ships are prepared to receive them on board, and it is expected they will embark on or before the Twentieth Instant.
“And the Board have Authority further to declare. That if they neglect to embrace the opportunity now offered, they must not expect to be conveyed afterwards at the Public Expense.
ABIJAH WILLARD.”
There can be little doubt that many who continued to linger at New York would gladly have returned to their former places of abode, but the experience of the few days who attempted it was too discouraging. Here is an instance, as described by one of the American “patriots.”
“Last week there came one of the dam’d refugees from New York to a place called Wall-Kill, in order to make a tarry with his parents. He was taken into custody immediately, his head and eye brows were shaved—tarred and feathered—a hog yoke put on his neck, and a cow bell thereon; upon his head a very high cap of feathers was set, well plum’d with soft tar, and a sheet of paper in front, with a man drawn with two faces, representing Arnold and the Devil’s imps; and on the back of it a cow, with the refugee or tory driving her off.”
The forced migration of the Loyalists was a source of much amusement to the whigs of that day. A parody on Hamlet’s soliloquy, “To be or not to be,” was printed in the New Jersey Journal, under the title, The Tory’s Soliloquy. It begins:
|
“To go or not to go; that is the question, |
We have now to consider the circumstances under which the “Fall fleet” came to St. John.
After the cessation of hostilities, the violent temper manifested by the victorious Americans caused the officers of the Loyalist regiments to lay their case before Sir Guy Carleton in a letter dated March 14, 1783. They state, “That from the purest principles of loyalty and attachment to the British government they took up arms in his Majesty’s service, and, relying on the justice of their cause and the support of their Sovereign and the British nation, they have persevered with unabated zeal through all the vicissitudes of a calamitous and unfortunate war.... That whatever stipulations may be made at the peace for the restoration of the property of the Loyalists and permission for them to return home, yet, should the American Provinces be severed from the British Empire, it will be impossible for those who have served his Majesty in arms in this war to remain in the country. The personal animosities that arose from civil dissensions have been so heightened by the blood that has been shed in the contest that the parties can never be reconciled.” The letter goes on to speak of sacrifices of property and lucrative professions; of the anxiety felt for the future of wives and children; of the fidelity of the troops, who in the course of the contest had shown a degree of patience, fortitude and bravery almost without example; and of the great number of men incapacitated by wounds, 360 many having helpless families who had seen better days. In conclusion they make the following request:—
“That grants of land may be made to them in some of his Majesty’s American Provinces and that they may be assisted in making settlements, in order that they and their children may enjoy the benefit of British government.
“That some permanent provision may be made for such of the non-commissioned officers and privates as have been disabled by wounds, and for the widows and orphans of deceased officers and soldiers.
“That as a reward for their services the rank of the officers be made permanent in America, and that they be entitled to half pay upon the reduction of their regiments.”
The letter was signed by the commanders of fourteen Loyalist regiments.
The application of these officers received due recognition, and on the arrival of his Majesty’s orders and instructions to Sir Guy Carleton, dated the 9th of June, it was decided that the Kings American Regiment, Queens Rangers, British Legion, New York Volunteers, Loyal American Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, De Lancey’s Brigade, Prince of Wales American Regiment, Pennsylvania Loyalists, Maryland Loyalists, Loyal American Legion, King’s American Dragoons and one or two other corps, should hold themselves in readiness to embark for Nova Scotia, where on their arrival they were to be disbanded, unless any should chose to be discharged at New York.
Before the royal orders and instructions arrived in America the King’s American Dragoons had been sent to the mouth of the St. John river, under command of Major Daniel Murray. They encamped at Manawagonish, a little to the west of Carleton heights, with the intention of making a settlement in the old township of Conway. On the 6th of July, Col. Edward Winslow wrote to Major Joshua Upham, who had remained at New York as Aide-de-Camp to Sir Guy Carleton: “I am gratified excessively at the situation and behaviour of your regiment. I never saw more cheerfulness and good humor than appears among the men. They are encamped on one of the pleasantest spots I ever beheld, and they are enjoying a great variety of what you (New) Yorkers call luxuries—such as partridges, salmon, bass, trout, pigeons, etc. The whole regiment are this day employed in cutting and clearing a road to the river, and Murray and I intend to ride tomorrow where man never rode before.” The following day Winslow wrote Ward Chipman, “I am at present at Murray’s head quarters in a township which we shall lay out for the provincials,[142] and we have already cut a road from his camp to the river, about three miles. We cut yesterday, with about 120 men, more than a mile through a forest hitherto deemed impenetrable. When we emerged from it, there opened a prospect superior to anything in the world I believe. A perfect view of the immense Bay of Fundy, on one side, and very extensive view of the river St. John’s with the Falls, grand Bay and Islands on the other—in front the Fort, which is a beautiful object on a high hill, and all the settlements about the town, with the ships, boats, etc., in the harbor—’twas positively the most magnificent and romantic scene I ever beheld.”
The view from Lancaster Heights, which so delighted Colonel Winslow, proves equally charming to American tourists of the present generation. The stay of the 361 King’s American Dragoons at “Camp Manawaugonish,” however, was brief, for about the end of August they were sent up the St. John river to what is now the Parish of Prince William, where many of their descendants are to be found at the present day. The commander of the regiment was the celebrated Sir Benjamin Thompson, better known as Count Rumford, who, by the way, never came to New Brunswick; but other officers of the corps were prominent in our local affairs. Major Joshua Upham was a judge of the supreme court. Major Daniel Murray was for some years a member of the House of Assembly for York County. Chaplain Jonathan Odell was for years Provincial Secretary. Surgeon Adino Paddock was a leading physician, and the progenitor of a long line of descendants, who practiced the healing art. Lieutenant John Davidson was a member for York County in the provincial legislature and a leading land surveyor in the early days of the country. Lieutenant Simeon Jones was the ancestor of Simeon Jones, ex-mayor of St. John, and his well known family. Quarter master Edward Sands was a leading merchant of the city of St. John. Cornet Arthur Nicholson was a prominent man on the upper St. John in early times, and for a while commanded the military post at Presquile.
After the articles of peace had been signed, no serious effort was made to restrain the non-commissioned officers and men of the Loyalist regiments from taking “French leave,” and a good many of them left the service without the formality of a discharge. Those who did so were of course marked on the roll as deserters; they remained, for the most part, in the States, and eventually returned to their former places of abode. Others of the troops were formally discharged at New York. As a consequence the British American regiments that came to the St. John river were reduced to a fraction of their original strength. The number of those who came to St. John in the Fall fleet, has been commonly stated as about three thousand souls. The returns of the Commissary general’s office in New York show that up to October 12th as many as 3,396 persons connected with the Loyalist regiments had sailed to the River St. John, viz., 1823 men, 563 women, 696 children and 311 servants. The following summer an enumeration was made by Thomas Knox of the disbanded troops settled on the St. John river. His return for the Loyalist regiments gives a total of 3,520 persons, viz., 1877 men, 585 women, 865 children and 193 servants. This does not differ very materially from the other return at New York, the difference being accounted for by the fact that a few of the men of these regiments left New York very late in the season, and consequently were not included in the return of 12th October.
The official correspondence of Sir Guy Carleton contains a pretty full account of the circumstances that attended the departure of the Loyalist regiments and their subsequent arrival at St. John. During the summer months they had been encamped near Newtown, Long Island, a short distance from Brooklyn Ferry. They embarked on the 3d of September, and Sir Guy Carleton wrote to General Fox, the commander in chief in Nova Scotia, that he hoped they would sail on the 7th of that month; but, as usual, unforseen delays prevented their departure until some days later. The command of the troops devolved on Lieut. Col. Richard Hewlett, of the 3d battalion of De Lancey’s Brigade; Lieut. Col. Gabriel De Veber, of the Prince of Wales American Regiment, was second in command. Most of the senior 362 officers were at this time in England, where they had gone to present to the British government their claims for compensation for losses consequent upon the war, and to press their claims for half-pay upon the disbanding of their regiments.
Sir Guy Carleton’s instructions to Lieut. Col. Hewlett are contained in the following letter.
“New York, Sep. 12, 1783.
“Sir.—You are to take the command of the British American Troops mentioned in the margin,[143] which are to proceed to the River St. John’s in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. On your arrival there you will see that the stores intended for them are duly delivered, and you will take such steps as shall be necessary for the several corps proceeding immediately to the places alloted for their settlement, where they are to be disbanded on their arrival, provided it does not exceed the 20th of October, on which day Captain Prevost, deputy inspector of British American Forces, has directions to disband them.... You will give directions to the officer commanding each corps that, in case of separation, they will proceed on their arrival at the River St. John’s in forwarding their respective corps to the places of their respective destination.... The debarkation of the troops must not on any account whatever be delayed, as the transports must return to this Port with all possible dispatch. Directions have been given to Mr. Colville, assistant agent of all small craft at the River St. John, to afford every assistance in his power to the corps in getting to the places of their destination, and the commanding officers of corps will make application to him for that purpose.
I am, etc., etc.,
GUY CARLETON.
The perils of navigation in the olden time are seen in the experience of the Esther and the Martha, two of the vessels of the Fall fleet. The ships left Sandy Hook, on or about the 15th of September, and all went well until they arrived near the Seal Islands, off the South-West coast of Nova Scotia. Here the Esther, having on board Colonel Van Buskirk’s battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers, got out of her course and narrowly escaped destruction, reaching St. John several days after her sister ships. The Martha, Capt. Willis, was even more unfortunate. She was wrecked on a ledge of rocks off the Seal Islands, afterwards known as “Soldier’s Ledge.” Her passengers numbered 174 persons and including a corps of Maryland Loyalists and part of Col. Hewlett’s battalion of De Lancey’s Brigade. Of these 99 perished and 75 were saved by fishing boats.
According to the account of Captain Patrick Kennedy of the Maryland Loyalists, the accident was due to gross neglect. The master reported the previous evening that he had seen land, and everyone imagined he would lay to during the night, the weather being tempestuous. He had left New York with an old suit of sails and had not above twelve men and boys to work his ship. While they were engaged in rigging and setting up a new main topsail, to replace one that had gone to pieces early in the night, the ship struck. Soon after the long boat was smashed by the fall of the mainmast. The cutter had already been launched. The captain now gave orders to launch the jolly boat and, to the surprise of everybody, having 363 repeatedly proclaimed that he would be one of the last to leave the ship, he jumped into her as she went over the side, rowed to the cutter, got into her, and inhumanly pushed off for the shore. The empty Jolly boat was turned adrift in full view of the unhappy people on board, the master turning a deaf ear to the solicitations of Captain Kennedy, who begged him to pull in toward the stern, in order to discuss some means of saving the lives of his passengers.
Another account of this tragedy has been preserved in the letter of Lieut. Michael Laffan, of Colonel Hewlett’s battalion, to his brother:—
St. Johns, Oct. 11, 1783.
Dear Brother.—Yesterday evening I had the good Fortune to arrive at this Place. On the 25th of September, about 4 o’clock in the morning, the “Martha” struck against a rock off the Tusket river near the Bay of Fundy, and was in the course of a few Hours wrecked in a Thousand Pieces. I had the good Fortune to get upon a Piece of the Wreck with three more officers, viz., Lieut. Henley, Lieut. Sterling, Dr. Stafford and two soldiers (all of the Maryland Loyalists) and floated on it two Days and two nights up to near our Waists in Water, during which time Lieut. Sterling and one of the Soldiers died. On the third Day we drifted to an island where we lived without Fire, Water, Victuals or Clothing, except the Remnants of what we had on, about one Quart of Water per man (which we sipped from the cavities in the Rocks) and a few Rasberries and snails. On the seventh Day we were espied and taken up by a Frenchman, that was out a fowling, who took us to his House and treated us with every kindness. We staid with him six Days and then proceeded to a Place called Cape Pursue, where we met with Captain Kennedy and about fifty of both Regiments, who were saved at Sea by some fishing Boats, about 36 Hours from the time the Vessel was wrecked. Capt. Doughty, Lieut. McFarlane, Mrs. McFarlane and Ensign Montgomery perished....
Lieut. Col. Hewlett’s letter to Sir Guy Carleton, announcing the arrival of the fleet at its destined port, is brief and to the point:
St. Johns, Bay of Fundy, 29th September, 1783.
Sir.—Agreeable to your Excellency’s orders I have the honor to inform you that the Troops under my command arrived at the River St. Johns the 27th instant, except the ship “Martha” with the Maryland Loyalists and part of the 2d Batt’n De Lancey’s, and the ship “Esther” with part of the Jersey Volunteers, of which ships no certain accounts were received since their sailings.
This day a small party of the Guides and Pioneers are landed, which proceed from the Falls up the River St. Johns tomorrow, if the weather permits.
I have given the necessary orders for the Troops to disembark tomorrow and encamp just above the Falls, from which place they shall be forwarded with all possible expedition to the place of their destination, but am much afraid the want of small craft will greatly prevent their dispatch.
I have the honor to be sir,
Your most obedient, humble servant,RICHARD HEWLETT, Lt. Col.
On the 13th October Col. Hewlett informed Sir Guy Carleton that the troops had all been disbanded by Major Augustin Prevost, and were getting up the river as speedily as the scarcity of small craft for conveying them would admit.
A large number of the officers and men of the disbanded regiments drew lots at Parrtown, and many remained at the mouth of the river during the winter. George Leonard, who was one of the chief directors of the settlement of the town, 364 says that the lots at first laid out were divided and subdivided, on the arrival of almost every fleet, to accommodate the Loyalists as they came. These proved to be so greatly in excess of what had been anticipated, that the lots of those who came at the first were reduced by degrees to one sixteenth part of their original dimensions. It was not until the 17th December that a complete plan of Parrtown was prepared by Paul Bedell. Meanwhile there had been much delay in laying out lands for settlement on the River St. John.
Colonel Morse, of the Royal Engineers, gives a summary of the causes of the delay in placing the disbanded troops upon their lands: “First their arriving very late in the season; Secondly, timely provision not having been made by escheating and laying out lands; Thirdly, a sufficient number of surveyors not having been employed; but Lastly and principally, the want of foresight and wisdom to make necessary arrangements, and steadiness in carrying them out.”
Lieut. Col. Edward Winslow, muster-master-general of the British American regiments, had been sent to Nova Scotia in the month of April to secure lands for the accommodation of the officers and men who wished to settle there. In this task he had the assistance of Lieut. Col. Isaac Allen, Lieut. Col. Stephen De Lancey and Major Thomas Barclay. Their instructions were to procure the lands required “in the most eligible and advantageous situation, paying strict regard to the quality of the soil.” They decided to make application for the vacant lands on the River St. John, and the Nova Scotia government agreed that the provincial troops might be accommodated “near the source of that river, leaving the lower part to the Refugees.” Lieut. Colonel De Lancey was greatly chagrined at this decision, and on the 11th July he wrote to Winslow: “If what I am informed is true, we might better be all of us in New York. It is that Conway, Burton, etc., are to be given to the Refugees, and that the lands to be given to the Provincials are to commence at Sunbury (or St. Anne) and go northwest to Canada or elsewhere.... This is so notorious a forfeiture of the faith of Government that it appears to me almost incredible, and yet I fear it is not to be doubted. Could we have known this a little earlier it would have saved you the trouble of exploring the country for the benefit of a people you are not connected with. In short it is a subject too disagreeable to say more upon.”
The decision to settle the Loyalist regiment some distance up the river obliged the Kings American Dragoons to remove from Lancaster, where they had at first pitched their tents. The intimation to move on came in the shape of a letter from Gen’l Fox’s secretary, to Major Murray, their commanding officer. An extract follows:
“It having been represented to Brig’r. General Fox that the King’s American Dragoons under your command cannot be enhutted at the place where they are at present encamped, without inconvenience to the great number of Loyalists who are forming settlements at the mouth of the River St. John’s, and he being also informed that His Excellency the Governor of this Province has assigned a certain tract of land for the accommodation of the Provincial Regiments on the River St. John’s, beginning at the eastern boundaries of the Townships of Sunbury and Newtown, and extending up the River, I am directed to acquaint you that you have Brigadier General Fox’s permission to remove the King’s American Dragoons to 365 that part of the district which has been allotted to the regiment.... Lieut. Colonel Morse, chief Engineer, will, in consideration that your Regiment may be exposed to peculiar inconveniences from being the first who are ordered to but on the River St. John’s, forward to you such articles as he apprehends cannot be procured at that place.”
On the 16th September, Gen’l Fox wrote from Annapolis, informing Governor Parr that the Loyalist regiments embarking at New York were, by the Commander in Chief’s express order, to be discharged as contiguous as possible to the lands on which they were to settle, and he accordingly asked the Governor to determine the district each regiment was to settle, so that on their arrival they might proceed immediately to their respective destinations. Up to this time no attempt had been made to lay out lands for the troops, save in the district of Prince William for the King’s American Dragoons. There was, it is true, an order to reserve for the Provincial Regiments, a tract extending from the townships of Maugerville and Burton on both sides of the river on the route to Canada as far as to accommodate the whole, but no survey had been made.
About this time the Hon. Charles Morris prepared a plan of the river in which the land not yet granted was laid out in blocks. These blocks were numbered and drawn for by the various regiments shortly after their arrival. But as the lines had not been run, nor any lots laid out for settlement the disbanded troops were in great perplexity. They knew not where to turn or what to do. Extracts from the letters of two regimental commanders will show how they regarded the outlook. Lieut. Col. Gabriel De Veber, of the Prince of Wales American Regiment, writes at Parrtown on the 14th December. “I am still here, where I have built a small house for the present. I have not been up the River yet, indeed the block, No. 11, which our Regiment has drawn, is so far up that I am totally discouraged. The numerous family I have demands some attention to the education of children. At such a distance they never can hope for any, and I should think myself highly culpable, were I not to endeavor to settle nearer to the metropolis, or to some place where I can attend to this necessary duty.”
Major Thomas Menzies, of the Loyal American Legion, writes on March 2d, 1784: “I drew Block No 10 for the Corps under my command, which commences 48 miles above St. Anns, so that whatever becomes of me, it would be wildness to think of carrying my family there for the present.”
We get a glimpse of the distress and perplexity of the men of the loyal regiments in one of Edward Winslow’s letters to Ward Chipman. “I saw all those Provincial Regiments, which we have so frequently mustered, landing in this inhospitable climate, in the month of October, without shelter and without knowing where to find a place to reside. The chagrin of the officers was not to me so truly affecting as the poignant distress of the men. Those respectable sergeants of Robinson’s, Ludlow’s, Cruger’s, Fanning’s, etc.,—once hospitable yeomen of the Country—were addressing me in language which almost murdered me as I heard it. ‘Sir, we have served all the war, your honor is witness how faithfully. We were promised land; we expected you had obtained it for us. We like the country—only let us have a spot of our own, and give us such kind of regulations as will hinder bad men from injuring us.’”