Lt. Col. James Chalmers (1727-1806) was a loyalist officer in the American Revolution as well as a loyalist pamphlet and propaganda writer. Born in Scotland, Chalmers was an ambitious military strategist during the war but was apparently kept at arm's length by British commanders Sir William Howe and Sir Henry Clinton. The American Revolution was a political movement that in 1776 created a new nation, the United States of America, ending British control. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1. ... For the surrealist painter, see William Howe (painter). ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Chalmers as loyalist writer

In 1776, he authored a pamphlet entitled Plain Truth, a rebuke of Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Going under the pen name "Candidus," Chalmers attacked Paine's views as "quackery." This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about a political pamphlet. ...

Military service

In October, 1777, he became Lieutanant-Colonel of the First Battalion of Maryland Loyalists. In correspondence with British commanders, he often advocated the occupation of Maryland by the British army and was ignored. His regiment served with little distinction. Its only military engagement being the seige at Pensacola in 1781 where the regiment was captured by Spanish forces. Chalmers, however, was in British-occupied New York City at the time.

Final years

After the war, Chalmers settled in England and wrote another pamplet attacking Paine's economic policies as well as a pamphlet regarding war in St. Domingo. He appears to have frequently socialized with other expatriate loyalists such as William Franklin, the bastard son of Benjamin Franklin and former Royal Governor of New Jersey. Chalmers died in Chelsea on October 4, 1806. William Franklin (1731-1813) William Franklin (1731 – November 16, 1813) was the last Colonial Governor of New Jersey. ...

Suggested reading

"Maryland Loyalists in the American Revolution" by M. Christopher New. Tidewater Publishers; Centreville, MD, 1996.