It must
be said that the Loyalists gave abundant provocation. They
sneered at rebel officers of humble origin as convicts and
shoeblacks. There should be some fine hanging, they promised, on
the return of the King's men to Boston. Early in the Revolution
British colonial governors, like Lord Dunmore of Virginia,
adopted the policy of reducing the rebels by harrying their
coasts. Sailors would land at night from ships and commit their
ravages in the light of burning houses. Soldiers would dart out
beyond the British lines, burn a village, carry off some Whig
farmers, and escape before opposing forces could rally. Governor
Tryon of New York was specially active in these enterprises and
to this day a special odium attaches to his name.
For these ravages, and often with justice, the Loyalists were
held responsible. The result was a bitterness which fired even
the calm spirit of Benjamin Franklin and led him when the day
came for peace to declare that the plundering and murdering
adherents of King George were the ones who should pay for damage
and not the States which had confiscated Loyalist property. Lists
of Loyalist names were sometimes posted and then the persons
concerned were likely to be the victims of any one disposed to
mischief.
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