In 1774, John Peters (1740–1788) of Mooretown, Gloucester County, New York (then part of the New Hampshire Grants, now in Vermont) was a Judge of Probate of the Court of Common Pleas, colonel of the militia and recorder for the county.
Respected by his neighbors, he was chosen as a representative to the First Continental Congress.
Within two years, those same neighbors would drive him from his home for his political views, forcing him to flee to the British in Canada. By 1777 he was a colonel in the British service, leading a regiment of Loyalists (Queen’s Loyal Rangers, also known as Peters’ Corps) under General John Burgoyne.
“Peters had little idea then that his misfortunes were just beginning,” says Loyalist military historian Todd Braisted.
On August 16, 1777, Peters and his rangers fought at the Battle of Bennington, suffering a devastating tactical defeat for the British forces that significantly weakened Burgoyne’s army prior to their ultimate surrender after the Battles of Saratoga.
Following the defeat of the British, Peters’ properties were confiscated. He spent the his final years seeking financial compensation from the British government for his lost livelihoods and military service.
His detailed petitions — now preserved in the New York State Library — offer a rare, firsthand window into the hardships faced by Loyalist refugees.
As part of their 2026 Guest Lecture series, Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site will host the virtual presentation “A Sacrifice to the Rage of a Misguided People: The Revolutionary War Adventures of New York Loyalist John Peter” on Saturday, June 20th at 2 pm.
Todd Braisted is an author and researcher of Loyalist military studies. His research concentrates on “Loyalist military personnel, infrastructure and campaigns throughout North America” and has amassed and transcribed over 40,000 pages of Loyalist and related material from archives and private collections around the world.
To learn more about Braisted and his work, you can explore his website royalprovincial.com.
The talk will focus on the career of this most interesting, and sometimes bewildering, Loyalist of the American Revolution. Those interested in attending can tune on Zoom via this link: https://bit.ly/4uTHdIM.
This program is free and part of New York State’s Revisit the Revolution & Rev War 250 initiatives.
Read more about Loyalists during the American Revolution.
Illustrations, from above: Captain Sherwood’s company of the Queen’s Loyal Rangers reenactors (courtesy Peters’ Corps); and a map of Charlotte County, Gloucester County and Cumberland County during the American Revolution.
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