Drummer John Brayson, 57th Regiment of Foot

The word "mutiny" brings to mind the most heinous of military insubordination, of sailors taking over their ship and setting their officers adrift or soldiers going rogue and establishing their own private outpost. While those things certainly constituted mutiny, the crime applied to much simpler acts of insubordination. A 1779 military dictionary defined mutiny as "to rise against authority." It listed explicit types of mutinous behavior including traitorous or disrespectful words against the monarch, contempt or disrespect towards a commander in chief, striking or offering any threat of violence against an officer, or disobeying "any lawful command" of a superior officer. All serious crimes, but in actual application, sometimes the circumstances were not as scurrilous as the definition suggests.

When the 57th Regiment of Foot arrived in America early in 1776, their ranks included a young drummer named John Brayson. We do not know his age, but as a member of the Light Infantry company he'd certainly been in the regiment for at least a year. With a minimum age of 12 to appear on the muster rolls, we can be sure that Brayson was at least 16, probably older, when he ran afoul of military justice in early 1779.

By this time Brayson had served in several very active campaigns with the British Light Infantry. As such, he probably mastered the skill of sounding signals on a hunting horn, an instrument that proved more practical than drums for the rapid open-order style of maneuver used by the British army in America. In July 1778 the Light Infantry company of the 57th received a new commanding officer, Captain James Graham; it appears that there was a conflict between this officer and drummer Brayson the following winter.

Brayson was tried and convicted by a regimental court martial on 24 March 1779. Unfortunately we have no record of the crime for which he was charged. He was sentenced to be lashed - we don't know the number of lashes sentenced, but regimental courts typically sentenced anywhere from 50 to 500 - and was brought before the Light Infantry battalion in Southampton, New York a week later to receive his punishment.

As he bore the pain of the lash, John Brayson had a few things to say about his commanding officer. He called out, asking if Captain Graham was present.

He called for "Captain Graham, that rascal & Gentleman, that very honorable Gentleman."

It is not known whether Captain Graham was present at the punishment. Brayson nontheless called out, "Damn you, I know you. I know what you are!"

To the soldiers and officers witnessing the punishment, Brayson bellowed, "his honor is like mine – damn his honor!"

"He has no more honor than a pig in a potato garden!"

"He is a damn’d Lousey Scoundrel!"

"He is like a pig in a Potato Garden!"

These epithets were repeated throughout the lashing. They brought repercussions.

The officer commanding the Light Infantry battalion had witnessed the scene and charged Brayson with mutiny. Brayson was brought to trial by a general court martial on 9 April, just 11 days after bearing the sentence of the regimental court. There was no question of what had happened; several witnesses testified hearing the various expressions used by Brayson, over and over again. One witness indicated that Brayson appeared to have been "in liquor."

Brayson's only defence was "that the extreme pain of punishment might have extorted expressions from him which he don’t recollect, and denies his having any intention of mutiny." He called on two officers as witness, who both said that "during a Campaign he served with them, he was remarkable for being a well behaved lad."

In spite of the amusing nature of Brayson's outburst, the court did not deem it benign. They could not allow such behavior to go unpunished, for it would encourage soldiers to use abusive language towards their officers and perhaps incite other types of insubordination. Brayson was found guilty and sentenced to receive 1000 lashes.

We do not know whether this severe punishment was inflicted. On 30 May he was transferred out of the Light Infantry company and into the main body of the regiment, a move that could've been the result of physical incapacity, inability to do his duty because of continued confinement as a result of his conviction, disharmony between him and his company officers, or some combination of these things. On a muster roll prepared on 6 September 1779, Brayson is listed as being a prisoner in the provost, perhaps indicating that he had yet to receive his full punishment.

The next day, 7 September 1779, drummer John Brayson was discharged from the army. Occasionally this was done when a man was deemed such a discipline problem that the army simply didn't want him anymore; it could also be an indication that Brayson's punishments had so incapacitated him that he was no longer fit for service as a soldier. Lacking further information, we can only wonder what happened to this "well behaved lad" whose colorful language brought charges of mutiny.

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Michael Tevin, 38th Regiment of Foot

It is easy and convenient to assume that British soldiers in general were uneducated and illiterate, but it is far from the truth. Various types of evidence illustrate that these men had, in varying degrees, the functional literacy necessary to manage their personal affairs, just as we'd expect from any working-class citizen in any era. Among the realms where this is evident is that of personal finance. Soldiering in the British army was a career choice defined by contractual obligation between the man and the army, whereby the soldier received compensation in return for service. As with any job, men knew what they were entitled to and protested if they did not receive it.

In general, officers in a regiment were responsible for managing the regiment's finances and seeing that each man received his due. Because very few records of individual soldier's finances survive, we lack information to prove how well the army met its obligations to the rank and file. But other sources suggest that men were meticulous in claiming their due even in highly extenuating circumstances.

Several thousand British soldiers spent some part of their time in America as prisoners of war. Many escaped and made their way back into British lines, often after great hardship. My own estimate, based on examination of muster rolls, is that at least one thousand men rejoined the army after making escapes, often joining different regiments than those in which they'd originally served. In 1782, a board of officers in New York heard claims from soldiers who had been unable to get their full pay, clothing and other entitlements because they'd left their incarcerated regiments - and the bookkeeping that recorded their accounts - and spent time as fugitives in the American countryside.

One such man was Michael Tevin. Called "Tiffin" in some documents, he was a 29-year-old soldier in the 47th Regiment of Foot when that regiment arrived in America in 1773; at 5 feet 5½  inches tall, he was a half-inch shorter the usual minimum height for a soldier. After service in New York and New Jersey, impending hostilities brought the 47th to Boston. When that city was evacuated in 1776, the 47th was transferred from General Howe's army to Canadian service, sailing from Halifax in Nova Scotia to Quebec. Tevin went with his regiment on Burgoyne's 1777 campaign that ended with the capitulation at Saratoga.

After a year in captivity, Tevin and four other men of Burgoyne's army escaped from the stockaded prison in Rutland northwest of worcester, Massachusetts. They managed to make a quick transit, leaving Rutland on 27 September 1778 and arriving on British-held Rhode Island on 9 October, successfully evading capture by lying in the woods during the day, traveling at night, and convincing those who stopped them that they were local countrymen. They were drafted into the 38th Regiment of Foot, then in Rhode Island' Tevin continued in that corps through the end of the war.

In 1782, Tevin made his claim for pay and clothing due to him. He explained that his accounts with the 47th Regiment had last been settled through 24 June 1778, at which time he had nearly 2 pounds due to him. Also due was three years of "Queen's bounty" (a term we have not yet defined) amounting to £1.4.4½, his pay from 24 June 1778 until he joined the 38th Regiment that October, subsistence money (that is, the portion of his pay allocated for food) for a period on Burgoyne's campaign when rations were resticted, and his regimental clothing for 1776 and 1777. He accounted to the day for every penny that he believed was owed to him.

The board of officers countered some of Tevin's claims, not due to inaccuracy of his figures but because they were offset by other compensation. When Tevin joined 38th Regiment he received clothing and cash with a total value exceeding that of the money he claimed; the 38th also gave him regimental clothing that was charged to the 47th Regiment for the year 1776. Tevin acknowledged that he'd received regimentals but had considered them to be for 1778; he also agreed that he'd received three shirts and some cash, the latter a reward for escaping. The accounts were reconciled and Tevin, in recognition of his escape and effort to get promptly within British lines, was granted his claims.

When the 38th Regiment returned to Great Britain in early 1784 Michael Tevin, originally from Crossdoney in County Cavan, Ireland, was discharged from the army at Basingstoke, England. He returned to his native land where in 1793 he joined the army again, this time in the Royal Irish Invalids. He was discharged and received an out-pension from Kilmainham Hospital in 1802 at the age of 58, having served a total of 31 years in the army. He died on 20 April 1816.

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Christopher Stevens, 11th and 37th Regiments of Foot

When British regiments were deployed to overseas locations, they were first brought to their full established strength, that is, the complete compliment of soldiers and officers prescribed by the army. Each regiment was responsible for its own recruiting, and normal attrition even in peacetime could make it a challenge to maintain the full compliment of 38 private soldiers in each of a regiment's ten companies. After the war in America began, the established strength of regiments serving there was increased to 56 private soldiers per company. This meant that when a regiment in Great Britain received orders to sail for America, it had to raise at least 180 men to attain the larger establishment in addition to however many it was below the domestic establishment. Adding to the challenge, men who might not be fit for overseas service due to age or infirmity were discharged before embarkation. All of these factors meant that somewhere between a third and half of the men who embarked were new to the regiment.

If recruiting alone was relied upon to obtain all of these men in the few months available to do so, the regiments arriving in America would've been scarcely able to perform as required, even if they were able to meet the recruiting quotas. Keenly aware of this, the army did not consider recruiting alone to be a viable option. Instead, about half of the required men were obtained by drawing experienced soldiers from regiments remaining in Britain into those bound for America. This process of transferring soldiers was called drafting; the term did not have the same meaning that it does today. Drafting insured that about three quarters of the men sent to America had at least a few years of experience in the army.

One such draft was Christopher Stevens. When he enlisted in the 11th Regiment of Foot, it probably seemed like a safe enough choice. The regiment had served in Minorca since the end of the Seven Years War, but in July 1771 disembarked in England. Stevens may have enlisted with a recruiting party while the regiment was still overseas, but it is unlikely that he ever went to Minorca; he enlisted some time in 1770 or 1771. Stevens was born in Gloucestershire in 1748, in the area of Cirencester east of the town of Stroud. He pursued the profession of a sawyer, but left that trade in his early 20s to become a soldier. He may have been bored or discontent with his trade, seeking something more adventurous; we can only guess at his motivation. Sawyers were not particularly common in the army, but most regiments had half a dozen or so. Their skills could sometimes be valuable when materials were needed for barracks, shipping or other military demands.

After four years in the south of England, the 11th moved to Ireland. The regiment remained there for the duration of the war, but immediately began sending drafts into regiments preparing for American service, continuing to do so through March of 1776. All told, over 100 men left the 11th Regiment's peaceful Irish service to fight overseas. Drafting orders typically called for volunteers to be given preference, but no records survive to distinguish which drafts were volunteers and which were "drawn" by some other method. The drafts went to several regiments including the 15th, 22nd, 54th, 57th and 62nd. Christopher Stevens, either by his own choice or that of his commanding officer, was drafted into the 37th Regiment of Foot.

With the 37th, Stevens participated in the abortive assault on Charleston, South Carolina in early 1776. The regiment then joined General Howe's army on Staten Island and served in the fast-paced campaign that secured the city of New York and the surrounding area. It bears noting that, as most drafts did, he probably retained his uniform from the 11th Regiment for his first year in the 37th until a new annual issue of clothing was received in the late Autumn. Stevens served for the entire war. He is annotated as "sick" on the muster rolls for a time in 1779 and 1780 but no details of his service are known.

The war's end did not see a return to Great Britain for Stevens and his comrades in the 37th. Instead, they were sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia. As he closed in on 20 years of service, including several years of warfare, the dangers of his profession caught up with him. He was wounded, not in battle, but at a review on 9 September 1788. His discharge, granted the following year, used the common parlance for a musket in indicating that he was "disabled in the left shoulder by the bursting of a firelock." When firing, the butt of the firelock was pressed against the right shoulder; perhaps Stevens' left shoulder was damaged by splinters from his own weapon, or by it's being jerked from his grip; or perhaps it was an adjacent man's firelock that burst and sent debris into Stevens' shoulder. Regardless, this peacetime accident rendered him "unfit for service" at the age of 41. His discharge bears an X mark rather than his signature, indicating that he had never learned to write.

Christopher Stevens was granted an out pension, meaning that he could return to his native Gloucester and receive a subsistence level income. Instead of availing himself of this, however, he rejoined the army, this time serving in the Plymouth Invalids. This was one of many corps of men whose age or infirmity did not prevent them from performing garrison duty. After 12 and half years he was again discharged and returned to the pension rolls. But once again he returned to service, this time in the 2nd Royal Veteran Battalion, and continued as a soldier for another 5 and a half years. He was discharged and pensioned for the last time in 1808, having served 38 of his 61 years in the army.

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Duncan and Margaret Grant, 21st Regiment of Foot

Doing research this week at the National Archive of Scotland, I had the pleasure of finding a very rare type of document: a letter written by a common soldier in the British army. 

Duncan Grant was a soldier in the 21st Regiment of Foot, which was named the Royal North British Fusiliers. The regiment was among those that landed in Quebec in 1776; the following year it was part of the army that General John Burgoyne led south on a fateful campaign. Grant had experienced the successful part of the campaign, but then had a personal twist of fate: he was sent back to Canada to retrieve regimental baggage that had been left there. With the promise of the army reaching its ultimate objective, the intent was to begin the process of taking stores from the previous winter quarters at Montreal to the anticipated new ones in Albany. this duty gave Grant an opportunity to write a letter home, and spared him from being captured with his regiment at Saratoga. 

Duncan Grant wrote the letter to his father, directing it to "Lachlan Grant, Farmer in Duthill, Strathspey, Inverness shire, North Britain." Most of the news he conveys relates to people from his area - Major Robert Grant of the 24th Regiment, killed at the battle of Hubbarton among others. He mentions several who had moved from Scotland to Canada before the war and were now serving in the Royal Highland Emmigrants commanded by Lt.-Colonel Allan McLean. Grant is careful to name the towns from which the various men came; because of the many common names in Scotland, this added context was important. 

He told his father of his adoration for his wife Margaret, along with the news that they were expecting a child. His language suggests that his father had not yet met Margaret and perhaps had expressed misgivings about the marriage.

Grant's closing note of "Direct to..." tells his father how to address letters to him.

The transcript of the letter presented here has some punctuation added for readability; punctuation in period writing is highly inconsistent, often consisting of lines and squiggles rather than the uniform symbols that we're accustomed to today. 

Canada, Montreal, North America, the 12 Septr 1777 

Dr. Father 

You will Excuse me for not writing to you sooner as I could not inform you of our Transactions in this part of the world. We had several Engagements last Summer but this summer has been a bloody one on both sides and likely to continue for some time but I hope wit the assistance of god in time we will get the better of them although they are very numerous in proportion to our number. I am very sorry to let you know that Major Grant of the 24th Regiment was killed [illeg] ago Tullochgribans son and Peter mack Donald son in Tullochgribban was killed the same Engagement with major Robert Grant. Alexander Cameron is well and William Robertson when I left them but they had a smart engagement since I was sent to Montreal by General Hamilton to Bring some Bagage to the Regiment to Albeny. Peter Smith and Peter Smith William and David Smith, Sons that was in Duthil, they are in Colo MacLeans Regiment in Canada; Likeway Lewis Grant Capt Allan Grants son, James and Donald Grant sons to Donald Grant that was formerly on Desher is in the same Regiment. My step mothers Brothers son is in General Hows Army but for his sister I do not know what place she is in. Robert Grant is in Colo Mackleans Regiment in Canada that is married to James Cumings daughter that was in Avocmore who informed me when he left new York that serjt MacGrigor was an officer in a new raised Regiment there and before that I heard that he went home a Recruiting. There is so many of our Country people hear that it is too tedious for me to mention at present, my wife is Bigg with child at present expecting to ly in every day who desires to be Remembered to you all happy was the day that ever I got such a good wife for she keeps me more like a gentleman than a Soldier. 

Dr. Father although I am at a Distance from you I hope you will not for get me in my proper rights and if you will have the pleasure to see my wife she will please you better than your son in Law although I Bless god for it I do not want both gold and silver and good Cloaths by her industry. 

Remember our love to my step mother our Sisters ther husbands and Children and all Enquiring Friends. No more at present from your Dutifull son and Daughter 

Duncan & Margaret Grant 

21st Regiment 

Direct to Duncan Grant soldier In the 21st Regimt or Royal North British Fuziliers in North America 

Duncan Grant's letter is yet another piece of evidence to defy the dogma that British soldiers were illiterate and vagrant characters. Here we find a farmer's son who had enough education to write a thoughtful letter, and enough compassion to be devoted to his father and to his bride.

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John May, 40th Regiment of Foot

Escape stories are among the most fascinating in the lore of soldiers at war - prisoners who evaded enemy captors and made their way back to their own lines hold a special fascination. During the 1775-1783 war in America, hundreds of British captives absconded and rejoined the ranks of active regiments. My own estimate is that at least 1000 prisoners did so from Burgoyne's army alone, on the order of one fifth of the total number of men taken prisoner at Saratoga in 1777. Unfortunately we know the details of only a few of these escapes; only one soldier left a detailed narrative of his two escapes, while a few others gave brief depositions of their harrowing adventures.

One man about whom we know precious little is John May of the 40th Regiment of Foot. Having worked as a turner before he joined the army, he was already a private soldier in the regiment at the beginning of 1775 and embarked with his comrades for America in May of that year. The regiment arrived in Boston shortly after the battle of Bunker Hill and endured a difficult winter in that besieged city. The fall of 1776 saw them on the aggressive campaign that drove American forces out of New York city and across New Jersey. The dramatic reversal of fortunes that was initiated by Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776 led to the battle of Princeton on 3 January 1777. Here the 40th Regiment was heavily involved and had several dozen men taken prisoner.

Most of the British prisoners taken in New Jersey were sent to central Connecticut, an area away from active campaigning. They were distributed among several towns including Enfield, Chatham, Farmington, Bolton, Glastonbury and others. John May was among 17 men sent to "Symsbury" northwest of Harford. A year later, however, May was in the town of Goshen about 30 miles to the west. He may have been granted parole and allowed to work in the area, as many British prisoners were; they were a welcome supplement to a labor force depleted by the manpower needs of the American army.

Regardless of why he was in Goshen, he did not stay. A newspaper advertisement provides some details:

Goshen, (Litchfield County) Jan. 31, 1778.

Ran Away from said Goshen on the night after the 25th of January instant, two persons, both Irishmen, one named Peter Golden, about 23 years old, light complexion, about 5 feet 8 inches high, short hair; had on and carried with him an old felt hat, grey coat, vest, and breeches, pair of grey woolen stockings, pair of white ditto, pair of white thread ditto, striped Holland shirt, black velvet stock, square copper shoe buckles. The other named John May, he belonged to the 40th regiment is about 28 years old, and about 5 feet 10 inches high; had on and carried with him a felt hat, light brown surtout bound with white, grey coat lined with brown tammy, black home made vest & breeches, pair of black woolen stockings, two pair of blue and white ditto, one pair white thread ditto, two pair of shoes, pewter shoe buckles, silver knee buckles; striped Holland shirt, two white linnen shirts. It is supposed said prisoners are endeavoring to escape to the enemy, as they had parted with most if not all their regimentals before they went off. Whoever will secure said prisoners, and send them to Hartford to the care of Ezekiel Williams, Esq; commissary of prisoners, or to the subscriber at said Goshen, shall be well rewarded. Eben’r Norton.

[Connecticut Journal, 4 February 1778]

The ad suggests that, after a year of captivity, May had retained some of his regimental clothing but had managed to dispose of it and acquire other garb in order to make his escape. We have not been able to identify the Peter Golden described in the ad; the text does not make it clear whether or not he was a British prisoner of war. No man by this name appears either on the muster rolls of the 40th Regiment or on the list of Princeton prisoners that includes John May.

Proof that May was successful in his endeavor to return to British lines comes from the 40th Regiment's muster rolls. The date of his return is not annotated, but he was back in the regiment before June of 1778 and transferred into the grenadier company on 23rd of that month. He went with his regiment to the West Indies from late in 1778, and at some point became a drummer (or fifer). He survived the difficult Caribbean climate and returned to New York with the 40th in 1781. The 40th Regiment took heavy casualties storming Fort Griswold in Groton, Connecticut in September of that year, but May survived this bitter engagement.

John May’s career took him through campaigns in Boston, New York, New Jersey, and the West Indies in addition to spending a year as a prisoner of war. His service record is that of a dedicated and faithful soldier, but something must have occurred to change his attitude towards his military career. He deserted from Long Island on 28 April 1782, then made his way to Philadelphia where he took an oath of allegiance to the colony on 22 August; presumably he found work at his former trade as a turner. 

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Thomas Page, 22nd Regiment of Foot

In 1773, a 29 year old soldier name Thomas Page married a woman named Elizabeth. Page's life had been typical enough of British soldiers. Born in 1744 in Silverton, Devonshire, in his early teens he went to work at an apprentice some miles to the south, for a yeoman farmer in the town of Sowton. After five or six years he chose a different path and enlisted in the 22nd Regiment of Foot, becoming a soldier in 1764 at the age of 20.

When he married, he had spent his nine years in the army in England and Scotland, but he and his new bride were soon in Ireland. This may have been a major move, but did not compare to their experience two years later. In May 1775 the couple left the British Isles and sailed with their regiment to America, arriving in Boston soon after the battle of Bunker Hill.

Thomas Page served for the duration of the war; a competent and educated soldier, he become a corporal in 1780 and a serjeant in 1781. His time in America also saw the birth of two sons, Thomas in Rhode Island in 1777, and James in New York in 1780. A third son, Samuel, was probably also born in New York in 1783. Service took a toll on him, though. For reasons unknown, he lost one eye and by war's end had diminished sight in the other.

The family boarded a transport ship in New York in November 1783 with the last of the British troops to vacate America. After arriving in Great Britain in early 1784, Page took the discharge that his twenty years of service entitled him to (there was no fixed duration of service; men were granted discharges from the army on an individual basis, but post-war military reductions combined with Page's long service and incapacity made him an obvious choice). He went before the commissioners of Chelsea Hospital and was granted an out-pension (also frequently granted to men with long service and disability resulting from it). He then took his family back to his native Devonshire and settled there.

Whether he supported his family solely on his military pension of a shilling a day (a rate higher than that of common soldiers because he had been a non-commissioned officer) or sought other employment is not known. He did live considerably longer. As an out-pensioner (a soldier receiving a pension but not resident at Chelsea Hospital), he was subject to be called for service in domestic garrisons or other light-duty posts in times of military need. And called he was, at the age of 59, to serve in the Royal Garrison Battalion at Plymouth. Probably due to his age and poor eyesight, he was discharged again after only three months of service. He returned once again to Devon, presumably for the remainder of his life.

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Moses Livermore, 34th Regiment of Foot

Even when we have substantial amounts of information a man, his military career sometimes follows a path that we cannot fully explain. Moses Livermore started his service in a typical enough way - as a recruit in the 46th Regiment in Ireland.

A great challenge for recruiting parties in Great Britain, and particularly in Ireland, was desertion. Men received a bounty for enlisting, and this tempting source of money led some to practice the dangerous game of bounty jumping (enlisting strictly to receive the bounty money and then deserting immediately). Other men probably simply reconsidered their decision and absconded. Recruiting officers complained that some towns made “a trade of Desertion and too often with impunity" and that the local culture facilitated desertion of recruits “whilst surrounded by their Friends and Relations who employ every allurement to prevail upon them to desert.” Although Livermore seems to have been such a man, the 46th Regiment managed to catch up to him enough times that he was eventually drummed out of the regiment because of his repeated desertions.

Continuing his antics, he enlisted again but this time into the 34th Regiment of Foot in March 1775. The 21 year old, standing six feet tall, was probably an attractive specimen for the army, but he made his way off again just three months later. Rather than lie low, he enlisted yet again, this time into the 9th Regiment of Foot. He was not, however, able to hide his past; he was claimed by the 34th Regiment and punished (probably by lashes) for his crime. Because of his stature, and certainly in spite of his unreliability, he was put into the regiment's grenadier company late in 1775.

The 34th Regiment was among those ordered to embark for the relief of besieged Quebec, and by April they were embarking on transports in Cork. Livermore deserted once again, avoiding his regiment's departure. His inability to evade capture also persisted. Although he made his was to England he was taken up as a deserter. This time he was pardoned rather than punished, and put on board ship with other recruits bound for America. Not one to be influenced by the mercy shown him, he plotted with others to steal the ship's boat and escape. When his plan was found out, he was tried, convicted and received 500 lashes.

On 21 September 1777 he finally joined his regiment in America. The grenadier company to which he officially belonged, however, was campaigning near Saratoga and would soon be made prisoners of war. Livermore remained with the eight battalion companies of the regiment in Canada, and was formally transferred into one of them at the end of the year.

Moses Livermore continued to make a poor impression on his officers. Although it is not clear when and where he saw combat, the commanding officer of the regiment indicated that "he only plays the Lion at the head of all kinds of Thievery and Mischief and is a timid lamb in the face of his Enemy." This suggests that he had other disciplinary infractions besides those of which we have direct records. When he deserted from a wood cutting party in June 1780, it was the last straw. He was quickly captured, and his commanding officer requested (from the commander in chief of the army in Canada) that he either be tried by a general court that could sentence capital punishment; short of that, the officer requested permission to drum him out of the regiment once and for all because "the loss of such a nuisance takes nothing from the strength of a Corps." The officer hoped that Livermore would be pressed into service on a navy ship, where presumably he would be less able to abscond.

Livermore was discharged from the 34th Regiment on 13 July 1780; it is not known whether he was lashed yet again as a prelude to being drummed out. Here we would expect to lose site of this incorrigible man. Rather than disappearing into the countryside or being pressed into the navy, however, he once again joined the army. Researcher Todd Braisted determined that Livermore this time chose not a regular British regiment but a Royalist corps called the Queen's Loyal Rangers serving in Quebec. He served in that organization and its Provincial successor, the Loyal Rangers, for over two years, through the last surviving rolls in early 1783. Whether he served with good discipline or continued to be "a nuisance" is not known. In 1808, Moses Livermore was living in Hawkesbury, Ontario (at that time called Upper Canada), and petitioned for a land grant as a reward for his service in the Loyal Rangers.

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