In May, 1783 ten ships, containing more than 2,000 refugees, anchored in Saint John harbour. The landscape stretching away from the shoreline was a forbidding wilderness which markedly contrasted with the well established communities in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania which the Loyalists had called "home." The only permanent inhabitants of the area were a group involved with the trading activities of the Simonds, Hazen and White Company and the garrison of Fort Howe, a defence work built on high ground behind Portland Point as protection for the neighbouring, commercial establishment. This painting by Adam Sherriff Scott shows the fort in the background and the settlers coming ashore. One woman later recalled that she took her baby to the top of a knoll and sat and wept at the prospect of life in such a dismal place. Note the variety of containers and bundles being carried by the Loyalists. Imagine that you are a Loyalist, forced to flee from your home with little opportunity to pack all of your material possessions. Which objects would you take with you, remember you might possibly have to carry everything yourself, unless you are a wealthy or influential citizen? For background information, look at The Loyalists; A catalogue featuring selected pieces of Loyalist history from the collections of the New Brunswick Museum (Saint John, 1975).
Courtesy: City of Saint John, and New Brunswick Museum
