If one thinks about it, the American Revolution or the War or Independence was in many ways, a civil war. There were people living in the Colonies who were very much opposed to separating from Britain. Some for business reasons, some for fear of losing personal freedoms, some because they felt they would gain freedom, and some because they felt tied to the Crown for other reasons.

Author Chartrand goes into a goodly background of the reasons for joining loyalist forces, then covers some of their major actions during the conflict. The rest of the book is dedicated to brief unit histories and the number is a great deal more than one would originally think.

One of the outcomes of the British loss in this war was that loyalists were no longer welcome in the new country and were treated rather harshly by the victors. This led to a mass exodus of people, some of whom had been living in the now United States for generations. These people basically went north and settled in southern Canada and the maritimes.

What you will find in these pages are superb descriptions of these units/dress along with some period illustrations of these men in their various uniforms. This is further enhanced by the outstanding illustrations of Gerry and Samuel Embleton which add some real color to these old greyscale images from the distant past.

A book that rightly belongs on the shelf of any American Revolutionary War enthusiast and one that provides a bit more insight into that conflict of over 200 years past. Highly recommended.

September 2008

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