The Victoria branch of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada have invited me to speak at their monthly meeting on February 8, 2020 to talk about my book The Loyalist and about my ancestor Michael Eisan.
I consider this a great honour. Many Canadians, and I believe those who are members of UEL are just the tip of the iceberg, are descended from the thousands of refugees who fled after the American Revolution, or as I prefer to call it, the first American Civil War. I consider this a more apt title because the American militias were not just fighting the British Army, they were also fighting many of their own countrymen as well, those who were loyal to the crown.
The UEL pamphlet states that “the Loyalist can quite rightly be described as the first multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-national refugees to Canada.” This is often over-looked. We think that Loyalists were only white and British, but this is far from the truth. My ancestor Michael Eisan was German-born. He fought in a citizen-militia for the British king who had given him land and saved his life.
For too long we have heard only one side of the story about the American Revolution. But as Canadians we should take pride in our ancestors who lost everything because they were loyal to their king and country. From this perspective, the so-called American “patriots” were the traitors.
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