Rawdon is a former township in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The township was the eventual destination of Loyalists fleeing the Siege of Ninety Six during the American Revolutionary War. In 1861, along with the township of Douglas, Nova Scotia, the Rawdon township became part of the newly formed Municipal District of East Hants, along with neighbouring townships.
The township is the site of the present-day communities of Upper Rawdon, Centre Rawdon and South Rawdon, as well as Rawdon Gold Mines.
The first European settlers in the Rawdon Township, Nova Scotia were United Empire Loyalists who had to flee their homes in Ninety Six, South Carolina. They first went east, taking refuge behind British lines in Charleston. About 501 Rawdon loyalists, as well as members of the 2nd American Regiment, were relocated from South Carolina to Nova Scotia in 1782 after the American Revolution. [1]
They named their community after Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings or "Lord Rawdon", who had rescued them from the 1781 Siege of Ninety-Six. The British had garrisoned a fort in this settlement because of its strategic location in western South Carolina, and as support for the many Loyalists in the area, most Scots-Irish immigrants. Stationed in Charleston after its fall, Lord Rawdon and his regiment, the Volunteers of Ireland (also known as The 2nd American Regiment), rescued the Rawdon Loyalists, who were severely outnumbered by about 1500 American Patriots. One of the most prominent Loyalists to survive the siege and settle in Rawdon was Captain John Bond, who was then part of the militia. [1]
Some of the troops who assisted Lord Rawdon in the Siege of Ninety-Six were from the 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants), as well as the 2nd American Regiment. After the American Revolution, many of the troops of the 84th Regiment and 2nd American Regiment settled in the neighbouring Township of Douglas (i.e., Kennetcook, Nova Scotia and the surrounding area). (The 1st and 2nd Battalions of De Lancey's Brigade fought successfully from within the fort until the siege was lifted by Rawdon. The soldiers of the De Lancey's Brigade settled Woodstock, New Brunswick. [2] )
Abraham Cunard, the Loyalist merchant and father of shipping magnate Samuel Cunard, retired to the Cunards' country home in Rawdon. He is buried at the St. Paul's graveyard in Centre Rawdon. [3]
In 1861, Rawdon Township became part of the newly formed Municipal District of East Hants, along with neighbouring townships.
Ninety Six is a town in Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,076 at the 2020 census.
Hants County is a historical county and census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the West Hants Regional Municipality, and the Municipality of the District of East Hants.
The Battle of Eutaw Springs was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas. Both sides claimed a victory.
Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings,, styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762, Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783, The Lord Rawdon from 1783 to 1793 and The Earl of Moira between 1793 and 1816, was an Anglo-Irish politician and military officer who served as Governor-General of India from 1813 to 1823. He had also served with British forces for years during the American Revolutionary War and in 1794 during the War of the First Coalition. In Ireland, he was critical of the policy of coercion used to break the United Irish movement for representative government and national independence. He took the additional surname "Hastings" in 1790 in compliance with the will of his maternal uncle, Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon.
Loyalists were colonists in the Thirteen Colonies who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War, often referred to as Tories, Royalists, or King's Men at the time. They were opposed by the Patriots, who supported the revolution, and called them "persons inimical to the liberties of America."
The 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutionaries. The 84th Regiment was also involved in offensive action in the Thirteen Colonies; including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and what is now Maine, as well as raids upon Lake Champlain and the Mohawk Valley. The regiment consisted of 2,000 men in twenty companies. The 84th Regiment was raised from Scottish soldiers who had served in the Seven Years' War and stayed in North America. As a result, the 84th Regiment had one of the oldest and most experienced officer corps of any regiment in North America. The Scottish Highland regiments were a key element of the British Army in the American Revolution. The 84th Regiment was clothed, armed and accoutred the same as the Black Watch, with Lieutenant Colonel Allan Maclean commanding the first battalion and Major General John Small of Strathardle commanding the second. The two Battalions operated independently of each other and saw little action together.
The Volunteers of Ireland, also known as the 2nd American Regiment and the 105th Regiment of Foot, was a British Provincial military unit, raised for Loyalist service, during the American Revolutionary War, which was later added to the British regular army. The Volunteers of Ireland should not be confused with the contemporaneous Irish Volunteers an autonomous militia that supported the Irish Patriot Party, in the 1770s and 1780s.
De Lancey's Brigade, also known as De Lancey's Volunteers, De Lancey's Corps, De Lancey's Provincial Corps, De Lancey's Refugees, and the "Cowboys" or "Cow-boys", was a Loyalist British provincial military unit, raised for service during the American War of Independence. Its commanders were Brigadier General Oliver De Lancey and his nephew James De Lancey.
The Siege of Ninety Six was a siege in western South Carolina late in the American Revolutionary War. From May 22 to June 18, 1781, Continental Army Major General Nathanael Greene led 1,000 troops in a siege against the 550 Loyalists in the fortified village of Ninety Six, South Carolina. The 28-day siege centered on an earthen fortification known as Star Fort. Despite having more troops, Greene was unsuccessful in taking the town, and was forced to lift the siege when Lord Rawdon approached from Charleston with British troops.
Centre Rawdon is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipal District of East Hants. Abraham Cunard, the Loyalist merchant and father of shipping magnate Samuel Cunard, retired to the Cunards' country home in Rawdon. He is buried at the St. Paul's graveyard in Centre Rawdon.
Major-General John Small was a career British military officer from Scotland who played a key role in raising and leading the 84th Regiment of Foot during the American Revolution. After the war, he settled with many of the men of the 84th Regiment in Douglas Township, Hants County, Nova Scotia. He later returned to Britain. He was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey and promoted to major general, serving from 1793 until his death in 1796.
Abraham Cunard was a United Empire Loyalist carpenter, timber merchant, and ship owner from Halifax, Nova Scotia, best known as the father of shipping magnate Samuel Cunard.
Colonists who supported the British cause in the American Revolution were Loyalists, often called Tories, or, occasionally, Royalists or King's Men. George Washington's winning side in the war called themselves "Patriots", and in this article Americans on the revolutionary side are called Patriots. For a detailed analysis of the psychology and social origins of the Loyalists, see Loyalist.
John Hamilton was a military officer in the British Army, and the commander of the Royal North Carolina Regiment of Loyalist provincial volunteers during the American Revolutionary War from 1777 to 1783. Prior to the Revolution, Hamilton was a successful merchant in Halifax, North Carolina, with business interests throughout the Province of North Carolina. Hamilton commanded soldiers in several major engagements, including the battles of Brier Creek, Camden, Guilford Courthouse, and Yorktown. After the conclusion of the war, Hamilton was made British consul to Norfolk, Virginia, one of only three Loyalists to receive consular positions in the newly created United States.
Captain John Robert Grant fought in the American Revolution and then became an American Loyalist and the first British settler of Summerville, Nova Scotia.
Douglas is a former township in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The township was the eventual destination of Loyalists fleeing the Siege of Ninety Six during the American Revolutionary War. In 1861, along with the township of Rawdon, Nova Scotia, the Douglas township became part of the newly formed Municipal District of East Hants, along with neighbouring townships.
The Province of Nova Scotia was heavily involved in the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). At that time, Nova Scotia also included present-day New Brunswick until that colony was created in 1784. The Revolution had a significant impact on shaping Nova Scotia, "almost the 14th American Colony". At the beginning, there was ambivalence in Nova Scotia over whether the colony should join the Americans in the war against Britain. Largely as a result of American privateer raids on Nova Scotia villages, as the war continued, the population of Nova Scotia solidified their support for the British. Nova Scotians were also influenced to remain loyal to Britain by the presence of British military units, judicial prosecution by the Nova Scotia Governors, and the efforts of Reverend Henry Alline.
The Royal North Carolina Regiment was a provincial corps of Loyalists from the Province of North Carolina during the American Revolution. Provincial corps were regiments with both British and Loyalist forces.
The King's Carolina Rangers (KCR) was a loyalist militia regiment active during the American War of Independence. The KCR was composed of nine infantry companies, of which one was converted into a troop of dragoons in 1782. The unit primarily saw action in the South Carolina and Georgia theatres of the conflict.
Early Settlement of Rawdon - The East Hants Historical Society