I learned a little about the American War of Independence (as we call it) when I found that one of my ggg uncles married the granddaughter of a United Empire Loyalist, a serjeant in the King's Carolina Rangers.
Having been forced out of Florida by the Treaty of Paris, he and his family were granted 200 acres of land in Nova Scotia.
Except in Canada, the Loyalists seem to be a forgotten element of the story. Historians now estimate that one-third of the 13 American Colonists (people also forget the "other" colonies that did not fight for independence - although they were invited to do so) were rebels, a third were loyal, and a third were neutral and just wanted a peaceful life.
