Father Against Son, Sister Against Sister: The American Revolution as a Civil War

Benjamin Franklin helped make his son William the royal governor of New Jersey. William stayed loyal to the Crown; his father turned against it. When the war ended, William fled to England, virtually disowned by a father who apparently still loved him — and a father's dreams for his son were shattered.

The American Revolution is usually told through great heroes, politics and battles. But it also had social effects that are often overlooked and that profoundly changed colonial society. Families split as their members took different sides, and examples abound.

Reenactors firing muskets. Credit: National Park Service.

Brother against brother

At the Battle of Kings Mountain, Preston Goforth of Rutherford County, North Carolina, an ardent Patriot, was killed. So were three of his brothers — all fighting on the Tory side. Nobody has recorded what divided the family. It is one of the better-documented examples in the Carolinas.

Husband against wife

Also at Kings Mountain, according to the historian Draper, a wounded Tory named Branson — Brandon, in fact — asked his Whig relative James Withrow for help after the battle. Withrow answered, "look to your own friends for help." Brandon was Withrow's brother-in-law, his wife's brother. That answer very likely played a major part when James and his wife, Sydney Brandon Withrow, petitioned for divorce in 1798.

Sister against sister

In the South Carolina backcountry, south of Ninety Six, lived two sisters, Katy and Anna Adolph, daughters of Palatine German immigrants. Their story has been pieced together from family documents and keepsakes, letters and historical records.

Following their husbands' politics, the sisters found themselves at odds. Ostracized in the community, Katy and other Loyalist families began a new life in Nova Scotia. The true story ends well: as elderly women, they were reunited and came to terms with the bitterness of the past.

Part of the Revolution, too

Many families, of course, stayed united. But at times the Revolution was a civil war — father against son, brother against brother, sister against sister, husband against wife. That social drama was as much a part of the Revolution as its battles and heroes, and it changed lives forever.

Sources

Based on "Fractured Families: The American Revolution as a Civil War," National Park Service (Cowpens National Battlefield), a work of the United States government in the public domain.