1776-1778 New York Loyalists under De Lancey

Published in 1917, the Orderly book of the three battalions of loyalists commanded by Brigadier-General Oliver De Lancey 1776-1778 by the New York Historical Society has a list of over 1,500 names that we have index in the dataset below.

“This volume, the third of the series of the publications of the John Divine Jones Fund, contains an Orderly Book, 1776-1778, relating to the Battalions of Loyalists or Provincial Troops, raised for the defense of Long Island, and commanded by Brigadier General Oliver De Lancey, and mentions several regiments of the British Army and other provincial troops.

The Brigade was raised for the defense of Long Island with the understanding they were not to leave the Island for any service elsewhere. The entire third Battalion consisted of natives or Inhabitants of Queens County. In the winter of 1776-77 these battalions were stationed one at Oyster Bay, one at Huntington and one at Brookhaven.

In the Spring of 1778 the forts which had been erected at Huntington and Brookhaven were ordered to be destroyed much to the dismay of the Inhabitants of Long Island who were thereafter harassed by raiding parties of the Americans coming from the Connecticut shore. The 1st and 3rd battalions then encamped near Newtown.

When the Southern campaign was organized the 1st and 2nd battalions of De Lancey’s Brigade were sent in November 1778 to Georgia, with several other Regiments all under the command of Lieut. Col. Archibald Campbell where they served until the evacuation of Georgia and South Carolina by the British. The 3rd battalion was stationed at Lloyd’s Neck where they remained until the evacuation of New York City. All three battalions disbanded in Nova Scotia.

This Orderly Book covers the period from September 1776, to June 1, 1778, and relates mainly to the 1st and 3rd battalion of De Lancey’s Brigade and their service on Long Island.” [source page 12]

How to search: Enter a Surname, or partial Surname, in the box below and press enter. If any matches are found a list will be presented. Simply click on the name to bring up the page in the old digital book which is hosted by Archive.org.

Alternatively, if you would like to browse the book on Archive.org follow this link to the cover page or this link to the appendix.