Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Abraham de Peyster (18 February 1753 – 19 February 1798) was an American-born military officer who was a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. He is best known for leading a Loyalist force during the

Battle of Kings Mountain The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took pl ...

and for helping to settle

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Quebec and governor general of the Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North Ameri ...

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

Biography

American Revolution

Born in 1753 into an upper-class

Dutch-American Dutch Americans () are Americans of Dutch and Flemish descent whose ancestors came from the Low Countries in the distant past, or from the Netherlands as from 1830 when the Flemish became independent from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands ...

family long settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Abraham was the great-grandson and namesake of former city mayor

Abraham de Peyster Abraham de Peyster (July 8, 1657 – August 3, 1728) was the 20th mayor of New York City from 1691 to 1694, and served as Governor of New York, 1700–1701. Early life De Peyster was born in New Amsterdam on July 8, 1657, to Johannes de Peyste ...

. Upon the outbreak of war in 1775–1776 between

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

s who rebelled against the colonial administration and

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

who continued to support British government, de Peyster chose the

Monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...

side. He served in the

King's American Regiment The King's American Regiment, also known as the "Associated Refugees", were a Loyalist regiment during the American Revolutionary War. The King's American Regiment was raised on Staten Island in the Province of New York in December 1776 by Colon ...

, a regiment of Loyalists who were ordered to serve in the interior of the American colonies to re-awaken loyal sentiment and hearten those opposed to the rebels, and was commissioned in December 1776 as a captain. This became dangerous duty in the rebel colony of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, where de Peyster served under and tried to assist his regimental commander, Major

Patrick Ferguson Major Patrick Ferguson (1744 – 7 October 1780) was a British Army officer who designed the Ferguson rifle. He is best known for his service in the 1780 military campaign of Charles Cornwallis during the American Revolutionary War in the ...

. Major Ferguson had led the regiment into the Upcountry of South Carolina, where he and his men were badly outnumbered, and into the decisive

on October 7, 1780. After the hemmed-in Loyalist regiments tried to entrench themselves on a low mountaintop near

Kings Pinnacle The Pinnacle, is one of the two main peaks located within Crowders Mountain State Park. The other peak is Crowders Mountain. The park is located in the western Piedmont of North Carolina between the cities of Kings Mountain and Gastonia. Geo ...

, 1,100 Patriot militiamen known as the

Overmountain Men The Overmountain Men were American frontiersmen from west of the Blue Ridge Mountains which are the leading edge of the Appalachian Mountains, who took part in the American Revolutionary War. While they were present at multiple engagements in t ...

surrounded the Loyalists and opened fire. The Loyalists were besieged and, after the combat death of Major Ferguson, Captain de Peyster became the regiment's ''de facto'' commander. His strategic position was hopeless and he chose to offer a white flag of surrender. Although the battle was over, many of Patriot militiamen continued to shoot down their defeated enemies, allegedly in retaliation for the recent Loyalist massacre of surrendered Patriots following the

Battle of Waxhaws The Battle of Waxhaws (also known as the Waxhaws Massacre, Buford's Massacre, and Battle of Waxhaw Creek) was a military engagement which took place on May 29, 1780, during the American Revolutionary War between a Patriot force led by Abraham ...

. Until the Patriot officers finally reestablished control over their men, de Peyster was forced to watch as his men were massacred. By the end, there were 1,018 Loyalist casualties and only 698 living prisoners, including de Peyster.

New Brunswick

Following the decisive defeat of the British and Loyalist forces at the

Battle of Yorktown The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Mar ...

in 1781, de Peyster was allowed to return to the royal garrison in his home city of New York. There, on 2 August 1783, he married Catharine Augusta Livingston. He and Catharine evacuated New York in November 1783, bound for British North America. In 1785, the couple began a new life in the recently organized

Colony of New Brunswick New Brunswick is a province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to the west. It is part of Eastern Canad ...

. In consideration of his services to the Crown, de Peyster was granted lands and appointed to a variety of official posts. In 1792, he was appointed by royal Lieutenant Governor

Thomas Carleton General Thomas Carleton ( 1735 – 2 February 1817) was an Irish-born British Army officer who was promoted to colonel during the American Revolutionary War after relieving the siege of Quebec in 1776. After the war, he was appointed as Lie ...

to be

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

of the new colony. While serving in office as Treasurer, however, de Peyster died in Saint John in February 1798. Although honored by his superiors and his neighbors, colonial records indicate that de Peyster died intestate and insolvent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Peyster (captain), Abraham 1753 births 1798 deaths Colony of New Brunswick people De Peyster family Loyalists in the American Revolution from New York (state) Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War