General Gage called Haldimand to New York in 1773 to temporarily act as
commander-in-chief of North America while he went to England on leave. While Haldimand's command was uneventful, the political climate in the provinces noticeably declined, and he carefully resisted bringing troops in conflict with the population by refusing to get involved in the jurisdictional disputes over the
New Hampshire Grants and refusing to protect tea shipments after the
Boston Tea Party unless specifically requested to do so. When Gage returned to
Boston in 1774, Haldimand remained in command of the troops in New York, which Gage ordered to Boston in September 1774 in the wake of the colonial uprising known as the
Powder Alarm. While Gage was primarily occupied with his duties as Governor of Massachusetts, Haldimand commanded the army in Boston although Gage did not notify him of the expedition that led to the
Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. With the arrival additional military leadership in Boston after that event, Haldimand was advised that his status as a foreigner made it inappropriate for him to exercise command in what was viewed as an internal civil conflict. He sailed from Boston in June 1775 (one day before the
Battle of Bunker Hill), and arrived in London in August. and served through the
American Revolution. Haldimand built up Quebec's defenses in reaction to repeated rumors of American plans to again invade the province and limited offensive actions to raiding parties such as the
1778 raid by
Christopher Carleton and the 1780 "
Burning of the Valleys" into the rebellious
American colonies. As an administrator, he at times dealt harshly with political activists by arresting
Fleury Mesplet and
Valentin Jautard, publishers of a literary journal that often featured political commentary, and
Pierre du Calvet, an agitator for judicial reforms. In 1781, Haldimand's efforts on behalf of the British cause included engaging in negotiations with political representatives of the
Vermont Republic, which had declared its independence from the state of New York in 1777 after long-standing disputes over jurisdiction. These negotiations, which are sometimes called the
Haldimand Affair because of his participation, involved brothers
Ira and
Ethan Allen, and were promoted to see if Vermont could be convinced to become a new British province, which would then provide a new avenue for attack against the southern portions of New York and
New England. The negotiations had reached the point that Haldimand believed Vermont was almost ready to admit British troops when news of the
surrender at Yorktown arrived. As the revolution came to an end by the
Treaty of Paris (1783), Haldimand helped settle American
Loyalist refugees, who became known as
United Empire Loyalists, many in territories that are now in
New Brunswick and
Ontario. He and
Sir John Johnson, his Superintendent of Indian Affairs, also helped settle the
Iroquois who had been driven out of New York during the war by issuing what is now known as the
Haldimand Proclamation, which awarded them a tract of land on the
Grand River in what is now known as Ontario's
Six Nations reserve. ==Later life==