1st New Jersey Volunteers Trucker Hat

In the early part of the war, The Board of Associated Loyalists was formed in New York and chaired by William Franklin. The King authorized this group to conduct raids in order to acquire continental supplies, and to show his gratitude, allowed them to divide captured goods among themselves. 200 acres of land were promised to all of those who stayed the course for the duration of the war. Although the raids were to be strictly against military targets, many loyalists were very angry over loosing their homes, land, jobs, and friends, and found it quite difficult to limit their aggression to military targets. Being in disagreement with British military tactics, and knowing that Britain had failed to put down the initial uprisings in the colonies, The Board of Associated Loyalists felt that it would take a more unorthodox approach to warfare in order to shift the war back into England's favor. In 1776 the New Jersey Volunteers were formed and based in New York which was occupied by the Britsh. To have a such a large loyal group of New Jerseyeans working with them was most beneficial to British military efforts, for with free reign of New Jersey, the British army could attack the continentals in Pennsylvania while easily protecting their supply line in New York. The King's authority to conduct raids, the anger of loosing their lives as they were, the promise of booty and land, and the largest loyalist population percentage of all the colonies would soon prove to be the recipe for the largest and most feared loyalist regiment serving the British army, and this regiment would embark upon a cruel, fear-based campaign that New Jersey residents at the time would much rather forget than remember