U.E. Loyalist History

On August 8, 2026 a day of presentations and events was held at  Fort Beausèjour National Historic Site near Amherst, Nova Scotia.  The activities were organized to mark the 250th anniversary of the Eddy Rebellion and Siege of the Fort in November 1776 when it was called Fort Cumberland. Jonathan Eddy led a rebel force in an unsuccessful siege of the Fort that was garrisoned by Lieut. -  Col. Joseph Goreham and members of the Royal Fencible American Regiment.   As an historian interested in the American Revolution I attended.  During the day there were historical re - enactors in civilian clothing present and members of the  DeLancey's Brigade and 84th Regiment of Foot, two re - enactment groups who portray Loyalist units from during the American Revolution,  who put on musketry and drill demonstrations.  Presentations were also made by historians.  As well the  Festival by the Marsh   presented  T he Complete History of ...

This year, 2026, marks the 60th Anniversary of the Admiral Digby Library and Historical Society which operates the Admiral Digby Museum in Digby.  It was named after Admiral Robert Digby (1732 - 1814), commander of British naval forces in New York at the end of the American Revolution. He arranged for ships to transport approximately 1,500 Loyalist refugees in 1783 to Nova Scotia that settled in the town and county which both took his name.  Newspaper clipping from 1976 on 10th anniversary   A report in the Digby Courier Newspaper of June 24, 1976 noted: Judge John Nichols was on Tuesday evening re-elected president of the Admiral Digby Library and Historical Society when the annual meeting was held at the Digby Baptist Church.  Other officers elected were Honoray Vice - president, Judge V.G. Cardoza, vice - president  Lawrence Banks, Jr., treasurer, F.C. Purdy, and secretary, Miss Mary Marshall. The Board of Trustees include: Mrs. Donald Brown, Miss Louise Dal...

One of the best researched and most informative books which I have read in recent years tells the life story of an enslaved Black man from  South Carolina  who became a Black Loyalist and came to  Digby , Nova Scotia. In 2019, Barry Wright authored T homas Byng - Slave, Black Loyalist, Schoolmaster...a likely lad. Wright, whose wife Pat is a descendant of Thomas Byng,  researched the book by traveling with Pat from his native Australia to North America and visited Digby where he spent time at the Admiral Digby Museum.   In his book he acknowledged and thanked the Museum for its assistance in finding information .  He writes: ...thanks are due to Mrs. Hilma Woods at the Genealogical Division of the Admiral Digby Museum for her helpful responses to the first requests for information ... back in the early 1990s. Special thanks are also due to Sue Beard at the Admiral Digby Museum for her many communications by post and email ... and her more direct assist...

John Richard Nichols, U.E.L., was born on February 19, 1751, in  Oyster Bay , Long Island, New York, and settled in Digby County  , Nova Scotia as a United Empire Loyalist.   A descendant, also named John Richard Nichols, was the first president of the Admiral Digby Library and Historical Society which operates the Admiral Digby Museum.  He was appointed a judge at Digby in 1972, where he then resided. Judge John R. Nichols   Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on August 16, 1932, after graduation from Dalhousie University with a law degree, John R. Nichols, U.E., came to Digby in 1957 and was a partner in the practice of law with Senator Eugene Theriault. He was the president of the Admiral Digby Library and Historical Society from its organization in 1966. On March 17, 2017, he passed away. He served as a judge for 30 years until age 65 and then a supernumerary judge until age 75.  According to an article published in the Digby Courier Newspaper on N...

For over fifty years, since my mother told me her Campbell and Ferguson ancestors arrived in Canada from Ireland in 1847,  I have wanted to visit Grosse Île , Quebec. On July 18, 2026,  I did and, as with many historic sites I have been to,  learned of a connection to the American Revolution.  Grosse Île and the National Irish Historic Site Grosse Île is an island located in the middle of the St. Lawrence River and was Canada's main immigration gateway from 1832 to 1947. During that time a quarantine station was operated there for the Port of Quebec. From 1860 to 1867 Anthony von Iflund (1798 - 1876) was the medical superintendent at Grosse Île.  His father, Johann, was born in Germany and served with Hessian troops during the American Revolution.  He was a soldier in the von Knyphausen Regiment which arrived in New York in August 1776. It took part in the fighting at Long Island, White Plains, Fort Washington and was garrisoned at Trenton, New Jersey. Celt...

The Loyalist connection of the Admiral Digby Museum  in Digby. Nova Scotia is clear.  It was named after Admiral Sir Robert Digby, appointed in 1781 the British Commander - in - Chief of the North American Station of the Royal Navy in New York. He oversaw in 1783 the evacuation of 1,330 Loyalist refugees from New York at the end of the American Revolution to settle the place in Nova Scotia that named itself after him. Admiral Digby Museum   The Admiral Digby Museum has items and artifacts on display as well as an archives for research purposes. When earlier this month I was elected President of the Admiral Digby Library and Historical Society which operates the Admiral Digby Museum, I decided to learn more about the history of the property and if there were other Loyalist connections to the building and the property on which it sits. On an Plan of Survey of the Town of Digby in 1785, lots of land are marked and the names of the occupiers. It indicates that Charles Coulbou...

On September 23, 1779, an important naval engagement took place off the north Yorkshire coast of England near  Flamborough Head . It demonstrated that conflict between the Americans and the British during the American Revolution was not limited to North America.  I was reminded of this while visiting nearby Scarborough in Yorkshire this week.                                    Flamborough Head Flamborough Head is a dramatic eight mile promonotary extending into the North Sea. A convoy of 40 merchant ships carrying supplies, protected by two British Royal Navy ships, was attacked off here by four ships commanded by John Paul Jones, often referred to as the Father of the American Navy .  The convoy escaped into Scarborough Harbor, where it was safe under the cannons of Scarborough Castle . Scarborough Harbour During my visit this week,  at Scarborough Castle, a guide explained to...