The Loyalists

In the full sweep of history there are groups of people who have suffered grievously. I'm thinking of the Cambodians under the Khmer Rouge, of the tribal slaughters depicted in (among other films) Hotel Rwanda. So posting about the lot of the American Loyalists will not, and should not, rank highly on the list of tragedies.
Still, they were victims. Proud victims. As many students of history know, Loyalists took their measure of the Patriots, of their Committees of Correspondence, assessed the men who made the bold speeches and said, Better one tyrant a thousand miles away than a thousand one mile away. Many of the Loyalists were well off. They were people of property, and many felt King George was abusing the colony, but argued for diplomatic solutions. Some wanted a colonial elected body, a political solution that Canada successfully navigated.
But that didn't happen in the colonies. The Patriots successfully argued for war, and midway through the war they clued into the wealth left by the ostracized Loyalists, some of whom left the colonies at the beginning of hostilities and may have planned to return after the king's expected victory (!), leaving behind mansions or at least comfortable homes with valuable furnishings. The Patriots made a business of stripping Loyalists of their material goods to help pay for the war.

The Loyal Quakers in Where the Gold is Buried were among the last to leave, after the cessation of hostilities in the latter 1780's. Many were persecuted by the Patriots during the war, fined for not taking part in the war, taxed heavily as many were as well off as the mainstream Loyalists, even forced to pay for substitutes. Being Quakers they were supposed to be pacifists and to take no part in political issues. Obviously, some did, and in the case of Jeremiah Moore, they also offered comfort to Hessian soldiers being released from POW camps at the end of the war. (An interesting historical note: when POWs were released in earlier times, they were kicked out the gate and left to walk home). Who, exactly, Jeremiah Moore aided is not clear. In family legends a reference is made to a local Loyal family. In the Legend of the French Military Chest, Moore aided a Hessian prisoner. If it was the Hessian, he died in the Moore home, but he died more comfortably than he would have in the camp, and he drew the map for young Jeremiah in gratitude for the kindness.

The Quaker Loyalists settled in present day Niagara-on-the-Lake, settling wild country and starting their lives over. They obviously suffered hardships, including repeated famines. In memory of their hardships, of the great pains they suffered to remain in the British Empire, they were granted the honorific of UEL, United Empire Loyalists.