Promises to Keep: French Canadians as Revolutionaries and Refugees, 1775–1800

The Treaty of Paris of 1783 brought the American War of Independence to a formal end. But all was not resolved with the return of peace to North America. Loyalists had to build new lives in Canada and elsewhere across the British empire. Similarly, Canadians who had supported and fought for the revolutionary cause were no longer welcome in their ancestral homeland. After years of hardship in the ranks of the Continental Army, they remained south of the border. Both in and out of military service, Canadian soldiers and their families held the political and the military authorities of the United States to the lofty pledges they had made in 1775–1776. In response, despite acute financial constraints, American leaders sought to honor their word. Through varied forms of compensation, policymakers aimed to uphold the moral character of the young nation and to ensure that all those who sacrificed for liberty might reap the blessings of independence.

The Treaty of Paris of 1783 brought the American War of Independence to a formal end. But all was not resolved with the return of peace to North America. Loyalists had to build new lives in Canada and elsewhere across the British empire. Similarly, Canadians who had supported and fought for the revolutionary cause were no longer welcome in their ancestral homeland. After years of hardship in the ranks of the Continental Army, they remained south of the border. Both in and out of military service, Canadian soldiers and their families held the political and the military authorities of the United States to the lofty pledges they had made in 1775–1776. In response, despite acute financial constraints, American leaders sought to honor their word. Through varied forms of compensation, policymakers aimed to uphold the moral character of the young nation and to ensure that all those who sacrificed for liberty might reap the blessings of independence.