Why would American colonists remain loyal to England? – examining our preconceived notions about Loyalists

When you are starting out in living history / reenacting activities, you come equipped with many preconceived notions about American History. Regardless of the period, there are things that you learned in school, read in books, or saw in movies that help shape your vision of the past. The problem is, often times some of these are just plain wrong.


Every country, as part of the fabric of its society, creates an historical narrative. The purpose of this “narrative” is to promote the country's triumphs and strengths, and to promote a common national identity complete with a single set of political ideals and values.


In order to do this; we tend to “bend” history to accentuate our successes and to minimize our shortcomings. We build legends around certain historical figures that played a part in the foundation, liberation, or other major event of our country’s narrative. In doing so, we often ignore significant portions of our population and, through a failure to examine the “reality” of what happened; we sometimes miss learning lessons from our past.

The first American “civil war”

This is true in the case of the American Revolution. Most people come into the hobby certain that the war pitted the British on one side, against the American colonists on the other. In fact, the conflict was much more complex and, in many places, amounted to a civil war with the American patriots on one side and the American loyalists, or Tories, on the other.


Loyalists were American colonists who, when the war broke out, chose to side, in one way or another, with the status quo and support England. No doubt, you are asking yourself, “Why would an American colonist side with England?” As you can see in this video by Yale University’s Dr. Joanne Freeman, they had a number of good reasons.

Harvard historian Maya Jasanoff, in her recent book, Liberty’s Exiles, states that loyalism “cut right across the social, geographical, racial and ethnic spectrum of early America—making Loyalists every bit as ‘American’ as their patriot fellow subjects. Loyalists included recent immigrants and Mayflower descendants alike. They could be royal officials as well as bakers, carpenters, tailors, and printers. There were Anglican ministers as well as Methodists and Quakers; cosmopolitan Bostonians and backcountry farmers in the Carolinas.”

Some reasons behind their decision

Some Loyalists were people who opposed the anarchy that the revolution seemed to offer in its early stages, the tarring and feathering and the mob-rule embodied by the vandalism and lawlessness of the Sons of Liberty and the Boston radicals.

The Sons of Liberty tar and feather a loyalist

Other Loyalists saw the opposition of the colonies to taxes as a glaring lack of gratitude for the massive debt that British taxpayers had incurred while responding to the colonist’s pleas for protection during the French and Indian War. This, at a time when Americans paid an average of 6 pence in direct taxation per annum, one-fiftieth of the 25 shillings Britons paid without complaining about “liberty.”The taxes the English paid were not ones most of them voted for. Only about one out of ten adult males in England was eligible to vote, however, the other nine did not get to escape paying taxes.

Some Loyalists also saw the Patriots arguments about “taxation without representation” to be nothing more than a “red herring.” At that time in England, due to population shifts that had occurred in the late 17^th  century and throughout the 18^th century, large segments of the English population, urban centers such as Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Bolton, Bradford and Huddersfield had no direct representation. Residents of the fast-growing London suburbs were also unrepresented unless they met the county franchise to vote in Middlesex, Surrey or Kent.

A fourth group of Loyalists, devout Anglicans, understood loyalty to the King, who was the head of the Church, and obedience to law, to be religious duties. This did not mean total submission to acts they saw as blunders, or as being unjust; this did not mean “non-resistance and passive obedience,” for no one upheld and used the right of petition and remonstrance with greater vigor than the loyalists. Only when the issue came to a choice between submission to the will of the King, Parliament, and law, or resistance by rebellion or revolution, did religious duty, in their opinion, enforce obedience.

King George III of England

Finally, there were those who simply saw themselves, and the residents of the British colonies here in America to be Englishmen and saw loyalty to their King to be an act of patriotism just as they saw the armed rebellion of their fellow colonists to be traitorous.

The loyalists, as we have seen, were a broad cross-section of the population; that were motivated to make a stand based upon their beliefs, beliefs based in patriotism, in religion, in a rejection of mob rule, in a belief in the rule of law, and even in a desire for freedom. They were often standing for the same values that the rebels claimed to stand for, liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom to practice their religion without interference. 

Were they patriots or traitors? I suspect that the answer is dependent on point of view. We do know, however, that they were certainly not villains. Rather, they were individuals of principle who risked everything in support of their beliefs in the same way that Thomas Jefferson, and the other signers of the Declaration of Independence, pledged “our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor,” to the cause of independence.

Loyalist refugees landing in Saint Johns, N.S. after the war

We all have other preconceived ideas about American history and the revolutionary period. Unfortunately, some of these are based upon our national narrative that, as we have seen, is sometimes distorted. If we are to interpret history to the public, in an accurate and balanced manner, then we each need to weigh our beliefs against what period documentation shows, correct those that are wrong, and incorporate a more complete understanding of our history into our interpretations.

Twelve Tips You Can Use for Getting Started in Living History / Reenacting – Part 2

7.      It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money….

If you choose what you purchase carefully. Many things you will use are costly so this is a good reason to follow the advice about joining a group and asking them for help. If you don’t, when starting out, you will end up buying a ton of gear that you don’t need or is inappropriate for your impression. Eventually you will get tired of hauling it around and after that, it just gathers dust in your basement or storage shed

8.     Get it right for your impression.

Most of the sutlers (vendors of period equipment) that cater to the 18^th century are honest, and want you to be happy with your purchase so you will keep coming back. Even so, you have to remember that they are not experts on what is or is not appropriate for your particular impression and that they make their living selling things to you. If you ask a sutler if something is “period correct” or correct for your impression, most of them are going to try to answer you as best they can. Remember however, that it is ultimately up to you, or your mentor, to evaluate items in terms of your nationality, class, location, situation, date, and other considerations before you can say it is appropriate for your impression. Just because the sutler tells you something is “period correct” or “historically correct” doesn’t mean it is correct for your impression.

9.     Discard 21^st century priorities.

In order to live in the past, you have to begin to try to think like a person of the past. Today, we have a sense of privacy, personal space, comfort, and modesty that is quite different from what existed in the 18^th century. While you certainly won’t give up your modern beliefs and desire for comfort, you need to try to keep them from creeping into your interpretation as much as possible and try to think like someone from the 18^th century.

In reality, you can never think exactly like someone from the 18^th century because you have knowledge and experiences that they couldn’t imagine. At the same time, they had experiences, Indian attacks for example, that you can never experience. In spite of all this, you just have to do the best job you can based upon your research and your reading of period documents.

You may find yourself tempted to argue that they must have done this or that because it is just “common sense.” The problem is that “common sense” isn’t “common.” The meaning of common sense changes over time.  Prior to the American Revolution, “common sense” told you that being ruled by Kings and Queens was the proper order of things. Before the invention of the airplane, “common sense” told you that the only way to cross the Atlantic Ocean was in a boat. At the time of the Spanish Inquisition, “common sense” told you that you got sick because someone had put a spell or curse on you. Be cautious of reasoning with “common sense.”

10. Learn to do it yourself.

The more things you can learn to make yourself the more enjoyable the hobby will be and the less it might cost. If you can master the skills to make reenactment items well, you can also trade for the things you can’t do yourself. At the same time, you have to learn to understand what you can do a quality job with, and therefore should make, and what you can’t, and therefore should buy.

11.   For the men - You don’t have to have a gun….. at least at first.

The first thing you want to do, as a beginner in the hobby, is buy one of those “cool” guns. The thing is, the type of gun you would have, and even if you have one is a function of your impression. Rifles, in the 18^th century, were very expensive and the folks who had them were primarily frontier folk who made a living hunting.

As a farmer, most likely that you would have had a smoothbore fowler; like a modern day shotgun. With a rifle, you can only fire round ball and that pretty much limits you to hunting deer, bear, and other large game. On the other hand, with a fowler, you could fire either round ball for deer hunting, or shot, for hunting small game, birds, and dealing with foxes and wolves.

If you were someone who lived in town, say a merchant or an artisan, then you might own a fowler or possibly no gun at all. While you may like to think of the minutemen at Lexington and Concord hiding behind trees and rock wall while they used their rifles to pick off the redcoats, the reality is that most of them, being farmers in the militia, would have been carrying fowlers.

A final option is a soldier. If you portray a soldier, then you would not be likely to be carrying either a rifle or a fowler but rather a military smoothbore called a musket. While these are similar to the fowlers, they are generally of larger caliber and built heavier in order to stand up to the hard military use.

A good quality gun – one you will be happy with for a long time – is not inexpensive. Since the type of gun you will need is dependent on the impression you develop, you will do best to hold off on your gun purchase until you have decided on your impression and have most of your kit that you need for it.

12.  HAVE FUN!

If it stops being fun, you are doing something wrong. This is the number one rule of living history so let’s repeat it so you remember it. “If it stops being fun, you are doing something wrong!”

Sure, when you first start out, it is going to be new, maybe a bit confusing, or stressful, but if it doesn’t get better after a couple of years then maybe you should talk to one of your friends about it. A lot of us have been doing this for 20+ years and we still enjoy it and have a great time every time we go out. There is no reason that you shouldn’t have a great time as well if this is what you really want to do.




Chuck H.

Twelve Tips You Can Use for Getting Started in Living History / Reenacting - part 1

1. Don’t believe everything you see in the movies. 

In almost every case, historical accuracy was not the point of the film, TV show or novel; entertainment was. Don’t be confused by them. Base what you do and say on solid research, not TV, movies, or novels.

2. It will take time. 

Building an impression takes time. It takes time to do research, to get clothing, to learn what the period was like. Like all beginners, you will be in a rush to “master” your new hobby, and that is great! Take the time to do it right though, if you do you will save time, money, and a lot of frustration.

3. Hook up with an established group. 

The value of being a member of a living history group can’t be overstated. Most groups, whether a reenactment unit or an historic site’s volunteer group, have experienced members who will be more than happy to assist you in your research and making choices on what to purchase (thus keeping you from buying things you don’t need or really can’t use). Groups sometimes have things to loan – clothing, etc. – on a short-term basis. This helps to get you out and participating in the activities until you can purchase them for yourself.

 One other advantage to being a member of a group is that they often are the only way you can participate in events. As a result of today’s law suit-happy society, most event organizers are requiring participants to have liability insurance that will cover their activities at an event. Often, personal liability policies, unless you work with your agent to make sure, will not cover some of the activities at events. Many groups carry a group liability policy that is specifically designed for living history / reenacting activities.

4. Have a long term goal. 

Figure out what impression you want to do and why you want to portray that person (there were many more “lower class” folks then there were “upper” or “middle” class). For many of us, our visions of the past have been formed around what we see in the movies and on television where the people of the 1700s were all ladies and gentlemen or those in the 1860s all lived on plantations. The truth of the matter is that throughout US history, the vast majority of people were farmers or other forms of “common” laborers. Our impressions need to reflect the common-place rather than the exception. (More on why you want to do this in the next rule.)

5. Start simple. 

Remember that when you are just starting out, your knowledge of the period is probably limited. The higher your place in society, the more you have to know. If you are representing a farmer or a teamster (wagon driver) all you really need to know about is period agriculture or about horses, mules, oxen and wagons. On the other hand, if you are representing a wealthy upper-class Virginian in the 1770s, then you need to know about how to run a plantation, 18th century bookkeeping methods, (quite different from today), as well as all the political aspects of the American colonies and the relations between the major countries in Europe. In the beginning, keep it basic, you can go up in class later.

6. Do the research. 

Read, listen and ask questions. Most reenactors love to talk about what they do and where they find their information. Most are also willing to share their research with you, as long as you show that you are trying to do research yourself. Just remember, in the modern world you don’t like it when someone is constantly borrowing your tools or asking you to do their work for them. As long as you are bringing information to the conversation, even if it happens to be something that others already know, it shows you are trying to do the research and others will willingly share with you.


Chuck H

Getting Started: Five questions to ask BEFORE getting involved.

Note: The periods that I reenact stretch from the mid-eighteenth Century (1750) up through the early parts of the nineteenth century (~1815). While portions of this article may reflect that “bias,” the principles discussed are applicable to any era.

So, how did you get started in living history?” This one of the most frequent questions that I have heard over the years. Without a doubt, there are as many answers to this question as people involved in living history / reenacting. The thing is, I have learned that when people ask this question they are almost never interested in the details of how I got started. What they really want to know is, “How can I get started doing this?”

Most of us, excited by the idea of scoring a new recruit to the hobby, immediately launch into a description of what the MOP (Member Of the Public) needs to buy in order to get themselves minimally fitted out to participate in an event. The problem is, the MOP has often only seen us for a few hours and really has no idea what is actually involved in Living History / Reenacting. What we should be doing is talk with him or her about reenacting and, in the process, ask these five questions and talk with them about their answers. 

Question 1: Are you and your family prepared to “live in the past” for the duration of the event?

A WWII medic using a cellphone in public

“Living in the past” means switching off your text messages, cellphones, tablets, etc. It means leaving them switched off at home, in the car, or inside your tent. If your family is going to reenact with you, this requires buy-in from everyone. Over the last 10 years or so, there has been an increasing focus on authenticity in the hobby, and the fact of the matter is, people in the past did not have these items. The public comes to our events in order to learn about the past, as well as to get some small feeling, real or imagined, of what it might have been like for their ancestors. Nothing destroys that illusion faster than seeing a reenactor talking or texting on a cellphone. If you want to check messages, do it discreetly, inside your tent during non- public hours. I check my email / messages twice a day when I am at an event. Once in the morning, before the public arrives, and again in the evening after they have left. Other than those times my phone is put away in my tent and switched off.

Bottom line: If you or your loved ones cannot “unplug,” at least during public hours, then reenacting/living history may not be a good choice for you.

Question 2: Are you and your family prepared to dress in authentic period clothing for the duration of the event?

What was that?

Living history is not dressing up in a “colonial costume” from the costume shop; nor is it dressing in costumes made of modern fabrics using Vogue or Simplicity patterns from the local sewing shop. It is also not dressing in “old timey-looking” clothes. Reenactor clothing is made from natural fabrics, such as wool, and flax linen because that is what they had in the past, using patterns based upon surviving pieces of clothing, and period techniques and construction. If you are a good seamstress/tailor you can make most of them yourself, or you can buy them from those who specialize in supplying the reenactor market. Generally, you will be participating as a member of a reenacting unit (more on this in a coming post) or as a volunteer at a living history site. Either way, your organization will generally have authenticity “standards” and clothing guidelines that you will need to follow. They can also point you to vendors that meet their standards.

Bottom line: As with any hobby, there is a level of investment required in order to participate.

Question 3: If you are reenacting as a family, and have children, are your kids prepared to leave their “modern” toys at home?

Playing the "Game of Graces" at an event

Along the lines of “authenticity,” one cannot have a camp that reflects the past if there are toy trucks and airplanes or baby dolls made from plastic lying around. Young children do need to be entertained, but this is nothing new. Typically, at events there are other children for them to meet and play with, there are also games that have entertained children for hundreds, if not thousands of years before the “modern” era. A day of hide-and-seek, catch (with an appropriate leather or fabric-covered ball), playing in a creek, or exploring the camp location, will go far to tire your kids. There are also sources for period toys such as Colonial Williamsburg, Jas Townsend, and Smoke & Fire, that sell toys that will pass as period appropriate.

Bottom line: The kids will have fun, but it will be a different sort of fun than many of them are used to. As parents, you will need to help them adjust.

Question 4: Are you willing to participate in all aspects of “camp life”?

Answering questions from the public

If you are portraying a soldier, are you ready to take part in formations, drill, and all the other jobs a soldier does on a day-to-day basis? If you are a woman portraying a “camp follower” (the wives of soldiers of the unit) are you prepared to take on the duties appropriate for the time? (I will talk more about this in a future post.) How about taking part in small scenarios for the public, such as pay call, ration issue, courts martial, etc.? Most importantly, are you ready to greet the public and talk with them about what is being portrayed in the camp?

Bottom line: If you aren’t willing to get involved and talk with the public then living history may not be the best choice for you.

Question 5: Are you willing to abide by all the rules, (health and safety as well as authenticity) of your unit, the event, or the site at which the event is taking place?

Cooking over an open fire with long skirts can be dangerous

Rules and regulations can seem like a real “pain” sometimes but there are reasons for them. Sometimes, such as when working with the National Park Service or a State-run facility, they are required by agency regulations or by law. Other times, the insurance company that is covering the event or your unit requires them. Also, unlike our ancestors, most of us did not grow up working around open fires in long skirts, or handling guns on a regular basis. The rules and regulations are there to protect all of us (yes, even people like me who have been at this for 20+ years) and we need to heed them.

Bottom line: If you are not willing to follow the rules and regulations at events, I certainly don’t want you in my unit and I doubt that others will welcome you for very long either.

We, as living history interpreters / reenactors have a lot of fun at events, both during the day and after the public leaves, but we are also here to provide a service: Teaching the public about the past in a safe, enjoyable and, as much as possible, realistic manner and that must always be in the forefront of our thinking during public hours. Thus, the five questions.

In our next posts we will begin looking at the nuts and bolts of getting started in living history / reenacting.

Chuck H