In 1771, Johnson became the last Provincial
Grand Master of
Masons in the colonies of
Province of New York,
New Jersey and
Pennsylvania. At his father's death in 1774, Johnson became a wealthy landowner and succeeded to his father's title of baronetcy, along with his extensive estates and 20 slaves. In 1775, he was appointed doorkeeper of the
New York General Assembly.
American Revolution In January 1776, nine months after the outbreak of the
American Revolution, Johnson gathered several hundred armed supporters at Johnstown. He sent a letter to Governor
William Tryon, through Captain
John McDonell, saying that he and his Loyalist neighbors had conferred about raising a battalion for the British cause. He also said he could raise 500 Indian warriors who, when used with his regular troops, could retake all of the forts captured by the rebels. in 1772 (painting by E. L. Henry, 1903) On January 20, 1776, Major General
Philip Schuyler, with a force of Continental troops and the
Tryon County militia numbering around 3,000, disarmed Johnson and about 300 of his Loyalist supporters; Schuyler
paroled Johnson. Hearing in May 1776 of another force being sent to arrest him, Johnson decided to flee with his family and supporters to Canada. He led about 170 of his tenants and allies among the
Iroquois Confederacy to
Montreal,
Quebec. Sir John's loyalty to King
George III cost him his home in Johnstown and extensive property in the Mohawk Valley, all of which was confiscated after the war by the State of New York. . Johnson and his followers formed the core of the
King's Royal Regiment of New York, a
Loyalist regiment which saw substantial action against American forces from New York under his command throughout the revolutionary war. He was promoted to the rank of
brigadier general on the
American Establishment in 1782. On March 14, 1782, he received the appointment of Superintendent General and Inspector General of Indian affairs from Sir
Frederick Haldimand, due to the dismissal of his cousin
Guy Johnson. In 1781, General MacLean reported that Guy Johnson's wartime accounts were "Extravagant, wonderful & fictitious, and the quality of articles so extraordinary, new & uncommon". Guy Johnson was suspended as superintendent and summoned to Montreal, where Haldimand criticized his conduct as "reprehensible". Guy Johnson was disgraced and departed for London to defend his reports to the government, but met with no success. Sir John took over
Fort Niagara as superintendent of Indian affairs in his cousin's absence, later to be appointed in full. The authority of the position extended over all northern First Nations allied with the Crown, including four of the Iroquois League nations, most of whom had relocated to Canada after having been allies of the British during the revolution.
Post-war Years In 1783, the
Treaty of Paris was signed, establishing the independence of the
American Colonies. Johnson and thousands of other Loyalists were in permanent
exile in Canada. The British had transported some Loyalists from New York and New England for resettlement to
Nova Scotia, including more than 3,000
Black Loyalists:
African-American slaves whom they had freed as promised for their service during the war. In 1784, Haldimand appointed Johnson to distribute Crown lands (purchased from First Nations) along the
St. Lawrence River and the north shore of
Lake Ontario (what became known as
Upper Canada) to Loyalists who had come to Canada, as some compensation for their losses in the colonies. The government wanted to encourage development of this part of Canada, as it was lightly settled. The exiles faced severe conditions in the early years, as they struggled to create settlements out of frontier lands, and the British were not able to get adequate supplies to them on time. Johnson estimated that he had arranged the settlement of 3,776 Loyalists during the first years. From 1787 to 1788 he worked with his subordinate at the Indian Department Colonel
John Butler on the Johnson-Butler Purchase in acquiring more land east of the
Toronto Purchase. In 1791,
Lord Dorchester recommended Johnson as lieutenant governor of Upper Canada, but London turned this recommendation down. In 1796, Johnson moved back to
Montreal, then the seat of government, where he served in the
Legislative Council of Lower Canada and as head of the
Department of Indian Affairs for
Lower Canada. He owned land in both
Upper and Lower
Canada, including the
seigneuries of
Monnoir and
Argenteuil in Quebec. ==Personal life==