Richard Lang: #2 From British Loyalist to Spanish Citizen
The Life and Times of Richard Lang (1744-1817), His Family and Other Related Matters
Much of what I know about Richard Lang and his family comes from secondary sources which is not ideal. Both information and evidence are incomplete in places.
This post is the second in a series of posts about Richard Lang, his family and other related matters. If you would like to read from the beginning, you can find Part #1 here:
The first post in this series outlined Richard’s family background in the British Colony of South Carolina. His father was an Indian Trader at Saxe Gotha and later a Ranger guarding against Indian attacks in the Saluda Valley.
This post picks up Richard’s story in 1775 when the American Revolutionary War broke out. At that time, Richard was about 31 years old and still living in the British Colony of South Carolina. The 1778-1779 Jury List1 for the Newberry District of South Carolina includes Richard Lang and his brothers William, Robert, David and James living at Little River between the Broad and Saluda.
Like others, when the war broke out, Richard and his brothers were faced with the choice of which side to take.
Taking Sides
Research suggests that approximately twenty percent of white Americans decided to remain loyal to Great Britain. There were Loyalists in all thirteen colonies and from every social and economic class2. It is likely, therefore, that there is no simple reason as to why any one person chose to remain loyal to Great Britain when another did not.
This was a choice that could split families. It appears that three of Richard’s brothers Robert, William, and James, fought with the Patriots while Richard and his brother David and son, Isaac fought with the Loyalists3:
Richard the Loyalist
What I know about Richard’s service during the American Revolutionary War is limited to what I have been able to glean from Loyalist payroll extracts covering the period June 1780 to December 17824. In some cases, Richard’s name is written as Long.
The payroll records mention Richard, his brother David, who died in action, and his son Isaac. Isaac appears in the payroll records alongside both Private Richard Lang and Captain Richard Lang at different times. Because Private Richard Lang never appears on the same payroll as Captain Richard Lang and, in fact, the mention of Private Richard Lang appears to cease just before the mention of Captain Richard Lang begins, I have assumed that Private Richard Lang and Captain Richard Lang are the same person. This suggests that Richard became a Captain sometime between June and November 1781.
The Loyalist Payroll extracts5 read as follows (in some places, I have corrected ‘Long’ to ‘Lang’):
Private Richard and Private Isaac Lang - on the loyalist payroll of Major Patrick Cunningham’s Little River Regiment, Ninety-Six District for the periods: 14 June – 13 December 1780 – 102 days (Captain Joseph Person’s Company).
Private Richard and Private Isaac Lang – on the loyalist payroll of Major William Cunningham’s Troop of Mounted Militia (abstract Nr 138) - paid on 28 Jun 1781 for 92 days service.
Captain Richard Lang and Private David Lang - on the loyalist payroll of Major William Cunningham's Corps, Little River Regiment, Ninety-Six Brigade, Three-Months-Militia (Pay Abstract Nr 43) - 61 days service from 3 Nov 1781 to 2 Jan 1782. This payroll records Captain Richard Lang receiving the pay of his brother Private David Lang who had been killed in action (1781).
Captain Richard Lang – on the loyalist payroll of Major William Cunningham’s Troop of Mounted Militia, Ninety-Six Brigade (abstract Nr 96) - paid on 19 March 1782 for 91 days 3 January to 3 April 1782
Captain Richard Lang and Private Isaac Lang – on the payroll of Major William Cunningham's Troop of Mounted Militia, (Pay Abstract Nr 138) - acknowledged receipt of 92 day’s pay from the 8th of April to the 8th of July 1782 inclusive.
Captain Richard Lang and Private Isaac Lang - on the payroll of Major William Young’s Troop of Militia Dragoons, Ninety Six Brigade, Charlestown, South Carolina (Pay Abstract Nr 162) - 93 days from 9 July - 9 October 1782.
Captain Richard Lang and Private Isaac Lang – on the payroll of Major William Young’s Troop of Mounted Militia, Charlestown, South Carolina (Pay Abstract Nr 170) – 84 day’s pay for period 10 October - 31 December 1782.
East Florida - A Loyalist's Haven
When the American Revolution broke out, East Florida which had been a British Colony since 1763, offered refuge to those in other American Colonies who were loyal to the Crown. It became a Loyalist haven.
In 1782, the evacuation of British troops and Loyalists from Georgia and South Carolina began. Official records kept at the time indicated that '2925 whites and 4,448 blacks' emigrated to East Florida during the Georgia-South Carolina evacuation, increasing the population in 1783 to between 16,000 and 17,3756.
While the Loyalist payroll records above show that Richard was engaged with fighting during 1782, it appears that, before the end of that year, he had already made preparations to move to East Florida. Perhaps, he had already moved his wife and children there during 1782? He was certainly living there in 1783:
In a sworn statement on 7 October 1786, General Robert Cunningham, when talking about his own travel to East Florida immediately following the evacuation of Charles Town (Charleston) in South Carolina in 1782, says that he settled on land he purchased on the St Mary’s River situated about 100 miles from St Augustine and 'adjoining a township laid out on St Mary's on one side, Capt: Lang's on the other'7.
Richard is listed on a return of South Carolina Loyalist refugees in East Florida. The return was received from General Leslie on 15 July 17838.
Prior to this and up to the end of the Revolutionary War, the colonies of East Florida and West Florida remained loyal to the British. There were two distinct groups of Loyalist volunteer units in East Florida: The East Florida Rangers was a cavalry unit mainly consisting of frontiersmen 'who knew the lay of the land and were excellent horsemen'; and the East Florida Militia was an infantry unit made up of townspeople and frontiersmen9.
Richard Lang was the recognized leader of the citizens of Anglo-Saxon origin living between the St. Marys and St. Johns rivers. He was a Captain in the local militia, and was said to be one of the wealthier of the newly arrived citizens10. It is likely that Richard went backwards and forwards between East Florida and Georgia and maintained his Loyalist activities until the end of the Revolutionary War, possibly beyond (see below).
Richard Becomes a Spanish Citizen
The American Revolutionary War ended with the Treaty of Paris on 3 September 1783. This Treaty not only saw the British Crown acknowledge the United States existence as free, sovereign and independent, it also incorporated a number of other peace treaties between Great Britain and the nations that had supported the American cause. Consequently, also in September 1783, Great Britain surrendered East Florida and West Florida to Spain and these colonies then returned to Spanish control.
After 1783, many of those who had earlier been refugees from South Carolina and Georgia swore an oath of loyalty to Spain and continued to reside in Spanish East Florida as Spanish citizens. Most obtained land grants and either farmed or were engaged in commerce. Richard was among them11.
Extradition from Georgia to South Carolina
It appears that after settling in East Florida and becoming a Spanish Citizen, Richard continued to travel into South Carolina and Georgia.
On 18 June 1784, Richard was being held as a Prisoner in the jail at Savannah in Georgia. He was charged with having committed a felony in the state of South Carolina. He also had charges pending in Georgia.
The Executive Council of the State of Georgia ordered the Sheriff of Chatham County, Georgia to deliver Richard to Colonel William Farrel. Colonel Farrel was given the responsibility of transporting Richard to South Carolina to stand trial. Farrel was to be paid 10 guineas to 'Safely convey Richard Lang to Charleston'; the sum to be paid by the state of South Carolina.
On 22 June 1784, Governor John Houston (Governor of Georgia 1778, and 1784–1785) wrote a letter to Governor Benjamin Guerard (Governor of South Carolina from 1783 to 1785) identifying Colonel Farrel and his purpose in transporting Richard Lang.
You can access a copy of the handwritten letter in my family history archive12. The letter reads as follow:
'Savannah 22 June 1784
The Bearer hereof Col. Farrel goes to Charleston charged with the care of one Rich’d Lang who has been (I am informed) a most notorious Offender both during the War & since the Peace. Although it has been said he is guilty of some Enormities in this State, yet as the principal charges & the clearest evidence be against him in So. Carolina, our Chief Justice has recommended that he be sent there for trial. I have been obliged to promise Col. Farrel, and another man who goes with him, ten Guineas for their trouble, besides their Passage money, which, being Charges against your state, I flatter myself your Excellency will order payment of …
I have the Honor to be, with great Respect Your Excellency’s Most obed't & most humble serv't
(signed) J Houstoun
[To] His Excell'y
Gov'r Guerard
P.S. Col. Farrel has also some other Charges for apprehending & securing. His Expenses while he was waiting for an Opportunity to Charleston to convey the prisoner; which I beg leave to refer him to your Excell'y for payment of'.
It isn’t clear what crime Richard was alleged to have committed. There is reference to a Capital offence in Georgia.
The Revolutionary War had come to an end in the preceding year and, in keeping with the conditions of the Treaty of Paris in September 1783, no further retribution was to be taken against those who fought as Loyalists on the losing side of the War. In practice, this did not always happen. These charges may have had something to do with his activities as a Loyalist to the British Crown during the war, although the letter does refer to him being a 'most notorious Offender both during the War & since the Peace'. More information is needed to clarify exactly what Richard was accused of in South Carolina and Georgia and how he came to be caught.
Whatever the charge, it appears that Richard somehow escaped from Colonel Farrel on route to South Carolina and promptly went back to East Florida and to his family.
You can read more about Richard's family and where they lived in Part #3 …
This post draws information from my family history archive on the WeAre.xyz platform.
Accessed 13 May 2025.
Smith, Paul H. (1968) cited by Williams, Linda K. (1976) East Florida as a Loyalist Haven in Society, Florida Historical (1975) Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 54: No. 4, Article 1.
Personal correspondence with Lang researcher, R. Chilson.
Extract from: Cook, Murtie June (1981) Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War' Volume 1 Official Rolls of Loyalists Recruited from North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana, Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. via Ancestry.co.uk (document shared by Ralan64 on 23 Jan 2015). Accessed 23 May 2022
See Note 4.
Williams, Linda K. (1976) East Florida as a Loyalist Haven in Society, Florida Historical (1975) Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 54: No. 4, Article 1.
Siebert, William Henry (Ed.) (1929) Loyalists in East Florida, 1774 to 1785 : the most important documents pertaining thereto Edited with an Accompanying Narrative Deland Florida State Historical Society (p.7) via FamilySearch.org Accessed 24 May 2022.
List of Royalist Refugees – from the 'East Florida Papers', British Public Records Office by the University of Florida via Ancestry.co.uk (shared by Martha 2374 on 1 Dec 2014). Accessed 25 May 2022.
This information came from the website of the National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior and was accessed by me on 22 Jan 2020. However, the link has subsequently been broken.
Murdoch, Richard K. (1951) 'The Georgia-Florida Frontier 1793-1796. Spanish Reaction to French Intrigue and American Designs' University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles (p.158).
Coker, William S. Book Review [Untitled] The Florida Historical Quarterly', vol. 61, no. 2, 1982, (pp. 185–187) via JSTOR [Website]. Accessed 24 May 2022.
I obtained a copy of the letter via Ancestry.com. It was shared as 'richardlangextradition' by glang2008 on 30 Jan 2014. Accessed 24 May 2022.
This is very interesting... I didn't know anything about Florida in this period, least of all that it was a haven for Loyalists
As one raised from early childhood in Jacksonville, Florida, I must point out that there is no apostrophe in the name St. Johns River. Reliable maps have it without an apostrophe, as do the nautical charts for the river. Same for the St. Marys River. I'm fascinated by your post, as I studied Spanish Colonial St. Augustine from 1784 to 1821, the Second Spanish Period. I don't have much on Richard Lang in my files, but here's what I do have: 1793 Census of St. Augustine: Ricardo Lang, native of South Carolina, married, farmer, Protestant, 2 sons, 4 daughters (names of wife and children not mentioned), 1 male slave, 2 horses, 11 cattle, master (owner) of a sloop-rigged boat 25 feet in length, on the list of British. (East Florida Papers (microfilm), Reel 148, Censuses 1783-1814, Bundle 323A. It was a head-of-household census only.)
Richard Lang signed for John Bailey on his request for a parcel of land on the St. Marys River, 26 March, 1792. (Memorials & Concessions, Record Group 599, Series 992, Box 1, Folder 5 -- Bailey, J.; Florida State Archives)
You might be interested, if you want a deeper understanding of the society in which Richard Lang found himself in the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, to look for The Other War of 1812, a book by James Cusick, Ph.D. There is a small bit about Richard Lang's participation in a brief rebellion against the Spanish government in St. Augustine. But Dr. Cusick's book will give you a good picture of what the society was in that place at that time.