Those of us educated in the United States were always taught the "winner’s side" of the American Revolution. That is, our schoolteachers and our history books paint an image of the colonists united against the tyranny of King George III. However, students in Canadian schools, especially those of eastern Canada, are taught a somewhat different story. Canadian history books portray the thirteen colonies as somewhat less than united with a lot of disagreement about the politics of the time.

In fact, the residents of the thirteen original colonies were not united in their political ideals. While most were opposed to the taxes, many thousands of everyday citizens wished to remain loyal to the King and the established government. In fact, some historians claim that if a referendum election of all citizens had been held on 3 July 1776, the left-wing revolutionaries would not have been able to obtain a majority vote. The claim is that the more conservative Loyalists were the majority at that time.

Whatever we speculate, the fact is that history is written by the winners. In this case, the winners of the Revolution of 1776 wrote U.S. history. However, a careful study of history does show that many thousands of residents of the thirteen colonies fought for the King against their more radical neighbors. After the war these Loyalists found themselves unwanted and often forced from their homes and lands. The majority of these Loyalists went to Canada, where the Crown offered land and monetary rewards for their loyal service. Canada’s immigration in the 1780s consisted mostly of displaced American Loyalists. These thousands of Loyalists now have millions of descendants in Canada and around the world. Canadians are very much aware of their Loyalist heritage.

Gerald R. Vincent has written a book, The Civil Sword: James Delancey’s Westchester Refugees, 1777 –1785 and I had a chance to read the book this week. The Westchester Refugees were Americans, mostly farmers from New York’s Westchester and Dutchess Counties who supported Britain under arms during the Revolutionary War. After the War, most moved to Nova Scotia and settled on land grants at Westchester and Wallace. The Civil Sword tells their military history as a cavalry and light infantry unit under the command of Colonel James Delancey and then tells what happened to each of the refugees in Nova Scotia.

The first half of the book is a history text that describes the formation of the military units from Westchester and Dutchess Counties and then describes their training and their service during the war. It also describes the confusion as the war ended; the Loyalist troops and their families were in danger of execution if captured by the rebel forces. Most of the Loyalists managed to escape on May 13, 1783, with little more than the clothes on their backs and what they could carry in their hands. Most went to Nova Scotia, but it was another two years before they were allotted land and were able to move their families to the new wilderness areas.

The second half of Vincent’s book is a reference work, detailing the land grants given to each man and containing transcripts of the land grant records. For instance, here is one such claim, as listed in The Civil Sword:

628. Case of CHARLES VINCENT
late of New York
31 October, 1786

Claimt. Appears, sworn saith:

He left New York in the sumr. 1783. Sent his Claim by Col. Delancey.
Is a native of America. Lived at Fish Kill, Dutchess Co. Joined the Brit. as soon as they landed in 1776, at New Rochelle. Served as volunteer in Queen’s Rangers. Continued with them till they went to Philadelphia. Was detained by sickness. Served in Col. Delancey’s Regt. afterwards, as a private & continued during the war. Settled in Cumberland.

Had 46 acres at Fish Kill. Had it by gift from his Uncle, four years before the war began. His Uncle had no children. It was under good cultivation; 2 or 3 acres meadow clear. 4 or 6 acres upland on which he had raised one crop of wheat. The rest unimproved. A common house. Vals. it at £ 10 per acre. The whole together he vals at £ 10 per acre.

Was seized on his going away & Confiscated. Left Corn in his neighbour’s barn. 40 Bus. Wheat, 70 Bushel Buckwheat left it there. His neighbours took it, on acct. of his joined the Brit., & sent his wife & family after him to New York. 5 Hogs, furniture, £ 15, taken by a Capt. Hill, a rebel Capt. Who came & turned his wife away from his farm. Has been informed one Macgill lives upon it. Has no witness present.

The Civil Sword also says there is a notation in the margin of this claim: "Values it too high." The claim was denied with the finding that the applicant must prove confiscation. The book does not tell what happened to Charles Vincent once his claim was denied.

The above is but one of the hundreds of stories of hardship, property confiscation, starvation and even death at the hands of the Revolutionary War soldiers and their supporters. Each claim is listed in detail, including the findings. Where land was approved, the location of that land is also listed.

The Civil Sword also contains numerous maps of the claimants’ origins in New York and their newly granted lands in Nova Scotia. It ends with an excellent back-of-book index that lists each person mentioned in the book and every location mentioned.

The Civil Sword – James Delancey’s Westchester Refugees, 1776–1785 is an excellent work; meticulously detailed and with a lengthy list of source citations and a bibliography for the interested reader. Gerald R. Vincent has produced a "must have" work for descendants of these families, for historians, or for anyone trying to find out what happened to the families who "disappeared" from Westchester and Dutchess Counties in New York soon after the American Revolution.

Best of all, this book is available both as a 289-page printed paperback and as a CD-ROM disk. The CD-ROM disk is in Adobe Acrobat format and should work on all Windows and Macintosh systems. Not only is it smaller and easier to store than the printed version, but the CD-ROM version also has the capability to search every word in the original book.

The Civil Sword: James Delancey’s Westchester Refugees, 1776-1785 is available in Canada for the following prices:

• Printed version: $32.50 Canadian funds

• CD-ROM version: $20.00 Canadian funds

• Both the printed and CD-ROM versions together: $47.50 Canadian funds

The Civil Sword: James Delancey’s Westchester Refugees, 1776–1785 is available in the United States for the following prices:

• Printed version: $27.50 U.S. funds

• CD-ROM version: $15.00 U.S. funds

• Both the printed and CD-ROM versions together: $37.50 U.S. funds

The above prices include postage.

The book and CD-ROM are available directly from the author. He does not have a secure Web site for ordering, so send an e-mail to gvincent@home.com for ordering information. You may also find the book available at genealogy bookstores, especially those dealing with Canadian genealogy. Specify ISBN 0-969431-01-5 when ordering.

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