Royal Fencible American Regiment The Royal Fencible American Regiment of Foot ( or RFA ) was a Loyalist battalion of infantry raised in 1775 to defend British interests in the colony of Nova Scotia . The RFA was commanded by Lt . Col . Joseph Goreham throughout its existence . The most notable achievement of the RFA ( and its only combat as a regiment ) was the successful defense of Fort Cumberland during the Eddy Rebellion in November , 1776 , which prevented the revolution in the other American colonies from moving into Nova Scotia . Formation . Goreham was a prominent landowner in Nova Scotia in 1775 , as well as a former officer of Gorham ' s Rangers during the French and Indian War . Noting the growing tensions in New England and especially Boston between the government and the patriot movement , he wrote the following to Gov . Francis Legge : Proposed to raise a Battalion of Light infantry or Royal Fensible Americans , To consist of Five Companies . That they be clothed and armed as Light Troops and put on the same Establishment of Pay as the late 80th , Gage ' s Light Infantry and [ this ] Corps to be employed on the like Services . " Fencible " troops differed from militia in that they were full - time soldiers and were paid ; however they differed from regulars in that they were exempt from overseas service . They were , in effect , a full - time Home Guard . ( defensive = fencible ) As a former Ranger , Goreham proposed that his regiment serve as light infantry . In the event they served as garrison troops for the regiment ' s existence . Goreham ' s proposal was accepted in April 1775 , and recruiting began in Boston , Newfoundland and in and around Halifax ; the Boston men were shipped to Halifax in October . At that time the approximately 200 men of the RFA comprised a large portion of the total British forces available in Nova Scotia . This situation changed briefly when Gen . Howe ' s army arrived in Halifax from Boston in April , 1776 , but this army left again for New York in June . Meanwhile , rumours of rebellion stirring in the Cumberland region arrived in Halifax , prompting the authorities to dispatch Goreham ' s regiment to Fort Cumberland in late May , first overland to Windsor and then by ship via Minas Basin and Chignecto Bay . Fort Cumberland ( originally built by the French as Fort Beauséjour in 1750 ) was in an advanced state of disrepair by 1776 . Goreham set his men to reconstruction , both the buildings and the earthworks , but work went slowly due to the shortage of supplies and equipment , and lack of assistance from the local population , who were mostly pro - patriot . With winter approaching , Goreham had his men put more effort into the accommodations than the fortifications . In spite of this , the fort would be a hard nut to crack by any rebel force without artillery . Battle of Fort Cumberland . The fort was strategically important to the British as it guarded the overland route to peninsular Nova Scotia and also the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy . The patriot forces , led by Jonathan Eddy , planned to capture the fort , seizing its artillery and stores , as a first step in an overland march via Fort Edward in Windsor to Halifax , raising patriot sympathizers along the way . As there were many such sympathizers in the colony , the plan was feasible . Goreham had deployed an outpost of 14 Fencibles under command of Lt . John Walker , a long time friend of Goreham , to Shepody in September , about 20 miles ( 30 km ) northwest of the fort , to warn of any approach by rebel forces from New England . On the evening of Oct . 29 Eddy ' s arriving force of about 150 men overwhelmed the outpost , with one officer of the RFA , 2nd Lt . Solomon King , killed , and the rest taken prisoner . Lt . Walker was wounded . Eddy ' s men suffered no casualties . Goreham finally became aware of the rebel presence on Nov . 4 when a boat carrying a relief party and supplies for the outpost returned early with the news . By this point Eddy ' s force had effectively cut all overland communications from the fort , making it impossible to send reports of the invasion to Halifax . Meanwhile winter supplies , plus arms and ammunition , for the garrison had arrived on the sloop " Polly " , escorted by the frigate " HMS Juno " , on Oct 31 ; " Juno " departed for Halifax on Nov . 3 . " Polly " was brought up a creek near the fort and unloading began with the ship lying in the mud at low tides . Eddy ' s army staged its next coup on the night of Nov . 6 / 7 when a party of 30 men , led by Zebulon Roe , set out to capture the " Polly " . After a difficult approach march over the tidal flats , with the tide rising , Roe ' s men took the RFA party aboard by surprise and captured the sloop without firing a shot . Waiting for the rising tide , Roe ' s men captured a work team and several officers coming to the ship . Finally as the fog lifted around 7am , the rebels were able to sail and tow " Polly " out of the creek , followed by cannon fire from the fort , which fell short . In all , Goreham lost 49 officers and men captured . Added to the men lost at the outpost , the RFA garrison was down 25 % of its strength , plus most of the " Polly " ' s provisions . On Nov . 9 Michael Francklin , the former lieutenant - governor , got word of the invasion from residents around the Minas Basin ; he passed these reports to Halifax where planning got underway to relieve the fort . Meanwhile , Eddy presented an ultimatum that Goreham surrender the fort on Nov . 10 ; Goreham replied with a demand that Eddy surrender instead . His bluff having failed , Eddy began planning for battle . Although the RFA was down to a strength of 172 all ranks , plus some armed civilians , it ' s unlikely that Eddy was able to persuade more than about 80 of his men to actually participate in any of the following attacks , so numbers were very much on Goreham ' s side . The first attack began at 4am on Nov . 13 . A Maliseet warrior of Eddy ' s force managed to slip inside the fort , but was wounded by an RFA officer before he could open the main gate , foiling Eddy ' s plan . After about two hours Eddy disengaged . The warrior , who escaped , was the only casualty on either side . The second attack began in the early morning of Nov . 22 . This time the rebels set fire to several buildings to the north of the fort . With a brisk wind blowing from that direction , it was hoped that the fire would spread to the fort , and it very nearly did so . Only desperate but effective fire - fighting by the garrison prevented disaster , and Eddy ' s men somehow failed to exploit their opportunity . Again there were no fatal casualties on either side . Finally on the morning of Nov . 27 the rebels tried to seize several dozen head of cattle from the marsh below the fort . This attempt was intercepted by two parties of picked men from the Fencibles . In the running fight that followed , several of Eddy ' s men were killed ; the RFA lost one man , Peter Calahan , died of wounds and two others wounded . Later that morning the entire situation changed with the arrival of the sloop , including a company of Royal Marines under Cpt . Branson plus Maj . Thomas Batt and Cpt . Gilfred Studholme of the RFA , who had been on duty at Fort Edward . Before dawn on Nov . 29 Maj . Batt led a mixed force of Marines and 74 men of the Fencibles , led by Cpt . Studholme , in a sortie from the fort against the rebel positions on Camp Hill . Somehow Eddy had not noticed the arrival of " Vulture " and the rebels were taken by surprise . When the alarm was finally sounded , the Fencibles " gave a loud Huzzah and ran like lions " towards Eddy ' s headquarters , according to Batt ' s report to Goreham . Eddy was nearly captured and rebel resistance was broken . The homes of many rebels and sympathizers were burned . The RFA lost one man , Michael Dickie , killed , one died of wounds , and three wounded ; one Marine was wounded , and at least three of Eddy ' s men were killed , with several others taken prisoner . Batt was later commended by King George for his conduct . Later service . Most of the RFA remained at Fort Cumberland for the duration of the war . In Sept . 1777 a company under command of Studholme was part of an expeditionary force to the Saint John River . Sent in response to a rebel expedition to the area , they captured some New England rebels and drove others up the river to secure that part of Nova Scotia ( now New Brunswick ) . Men of the RFA , under Studholme ' s direction , constructed Fort Howe near the river mouth , and garrisoned it until the end of the war . In 1777 Goreham had a major dispute with Batt , probably due to Goreham ' s terms of amnesty granted to the rebels on Dec . 1 , 1776 , which were also disapproved of by some parties in Halifax . The regiment was disbanded on Oct . 10 , 1783 , at Halifax and Fort Howe . Officers and men received land grants , plus tools and provisions , if they chose . Studholme was appointed agent for these arrangements . Fourteen other ranks took up grants in Remsheg ( today Wallace , NS ) while 57 officers and other ranks are listed as having settled in New Brunswick . Uniforms . For nearly two years after its formation , the men of the RFA mostly wore civilian clothing , essentially , whatever they were wearing when enlisted . This caused them great hardship in winter , and Goreham permitted them to wear blankets or rugs " in lieu " of greatcoats when on sentry at Fort Cumberland . They would have looked very much like their rebel opponents during the siege . Their first uniforms arrived in early 1777 , green coats faced white , with white smallclothes , in common with most other Loyalist corps of the American command at that time . Officers wore silver lace . By 1780 the regiment was wearing red coats faced black , probably with white lace for other ranks .