The 4th of July 2026 is fast approaching. It’s a big anniversary – two and a half centuries since the American colonists declared independence from their mother country, Great Britain. It was a gigantic event for world history back then and we’re still feeling the effects today. Becoming independent is an issue for many countries today, including my home nation, Scotland. There are renewed calls for a referendum of the Scottish people; the Scottish National Party claims its recent success in May’s national elections means they have a mandate to put the question to the Scots people. Again. Last time the country faced a referendum on this was in 2014, and we voted 54% in favour of remaining in the United Kingdom. Look at it this way: more than half the population of Scotland voted to stay part of the UK.
Now, rewind two and a half centuries, and nip across the pond (I mean the Atlantic pond) and it was a similar situation among the colonists, many of whom were born in Britain or were first generation Americans. More than half were either on the fence and undecided or they were clear in their minds that they wished to stay part of Great Britain. This last group were the Loyalists and they were many in number. Here are five of the top Loyalists from the American Revolutionary War, well-known, outspoken, influential and active in their support of the British Crown. They didn’t want independence. They believed they were British – actually, they usually believed they were Englishmen who happened to live in a colony. (See the sketch accompanying this post.)
See my post: 8 Facts About American Independence
Thomas Hutchinson (1711–1780)
Hutchinson was Royal Governor of Massachusetts. He was loyal to George III and against breaking the relationship with the British. In the years before 1776, Hutchinson enthusiastically enforced hated British legislation like the Stamp Act (in reaction to which rioters burned down his home) and his refusal to budge led directly to the Boston Tea Party incident of 1773. In 1774 he was replaced as Governor and he left America for Britain, never to return. He was loyal to his death, acting as an adviser to George III.
Joseph Galloway (1731–1803)
Galloway was a lawyer by trade and Speaker in the Pennsylvania Assembly, where he was the leader of the moderate Loyalist faction. In his “Galloway Plan of Union”, presented in 1774, he proposed keeping the colonies under British rule, but creating a sort of devolved government. During the Revolutionary War he became Superintendent of Police in British-occupied Philadelphia. Like Hutchinson, he was forced to flee America for Britain.
William Franklin (1730–1813)
Franklin was the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin. The elder Franklin was proud of his English roots early on in his life, but then became an opponent in the years leading to the Revolutionary War. Younger Franklin was the Royal Governor of New Jersey and so it was hardly surprising he was loyal to King George III. During 1776, he was captured and imprisoned by the Patriots and after his release in 1778 he went on to lead Loyalist military units. He left America for England in 1782.
Joseph Brant / Thayendanegea (1743–1807)
Brant was a native American, belonging to the Mohawk tribe from the area known today as New York State. He was a well known military chief of the Mohawk nation. Most Mohawks sided with the British, as did many native American nations, hoping they would get a better deal from the Brits than with the colonists who were encroaching into their lands. Brant was a leader of indigenous Loyalist forces in the New York frontier.
James Chalmers (c.1730-1806)
Chalmers was born in Morayshire, Scotland, and had only travelled to America in 1760 where he made his home in Maryland. He was wealthy and loyal to the British crown. He became an influential pamphleteer and used the pseudonym Candidus to write ‘Plain Truth’, supporting the British constitution and arguing that independence would bring “ruin, horror, and desolation” to the colonies. He returned to Britain and retired
Leave a Reply