For other men with the same name, see John Johnson (disambiguation).

Sir John Johnson (5 November, 1741 – 4 January, 1830) was a loyalist leader during American Revolution. He was the son of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs Sir William Johnson, who had promoted the British settlement of the Mohawk Valley and founded the community of Johnstown in Tryon County in the Province of New York.

In 1774 John Johnson inherited his father's title and estates, making him a wealthy landowner. When the American Revolutionary War erupted in 1775, Johnson loyalty to the King cost him his home in Johnstown and extensive property in the Mohawk Valley. He and his family were arrested early in the war, but he broke parole and fled to Canada. He led a large group of his tenants and allies among the Iroquois Confederacy to Montreal, Quebec. He and his followers formed the core of the British military regiment known as the King's Regiment of New York , which saw substantial action under his command throughout the war. Johnson was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1782.

In 1783 when the Treaty of Paris was signed, establishing the independence of the American Colonies, Johnson and thousands of other loyalists found themselves in permanent exile in Canada. In 1784 Johnson was assigned by the British government to distribute crown lands along the St. Lawrence River and the north shore of Lake Ontario to the loyalists who had come to Canada during the Revolution and to help them settle on these lands. Johnson estimated that he had arranged the settlement of 3,776 loyalists during that year.

External links

• Biography at the Canadian Dictionary of Biography Online