The price of loyalty

Description

The passionate prejudices of the Revolutionary War Patriots have wrought a historical distortion-the Tory as affluent Loyalist whose acts were traitorous and ethics unmentionable. The Price of Loyalty takes a fresh look at an accepted stereotype, places the Loyalists in a new perspective, and provides meaningful insight into the motivations of those maligned participants in a war that was a much civil as revolutionary. In contrast to the traditional approach of emphasizing the wealthy Loyalists-the royal officeholder, big merchant, large landowner, or Anglican clergyman-the author focuses on the average man. Through personal documents, Mrs. Crary presents a more balanced and representative account of the Tory movement than has previously been available. To do so involved the unearthing of unpublished evidence and detective work of high order. For example, using clues hitherto ignored, the author proves that the arch-Tory printer James Rivington was in fact a double agent working for George Washington as well as the British! The volume abounds with memorable stories and offbeat accounts of the Loyalists from seaboard and back country, in the South and in the North, and from among all classes. These tales of strikingly individualistic behavior, often movingly told, bring us face-to-face with the strength and determination of the Tory conviction. One of the virtues of this book that makes it good reading for scholar and historical buff alike is that the Tory experience is depicted through the eyes of the little-known people who, in many cases, paid a greater price for their loyalty then the rich and influential. How the Loyalists dispersed to new lands, how they accepted the changes, how they responded to adversity, how they remolded their lives to new surroundings are shown through experiences as varied as human personality and equipment for life. These were the experiences which the Loyalists themselves recounted as they learned the painful price of their loyalty. -Copied from the dust jacket of the book.

Description

The revealing, often quaintly written Tory diaries, letters, and journals which animate this fascinating book provide what is probably the most comprehensive picture of Tory acts and attitudes to date.

Subjects

Series Statement

• Bicentennial of the American Revolution