I represent Patrick Strachan. I was a resident of Pensacola during the British period. I was a planter, but I was also elected to represent Mobile in the House of Commons for the provincial General Assembly in 1771. In June 1773, I petitioned for a grant of land in the western part of the province, and I stated that my houshold consisted of myself, my wife, one child, five enslaved people and two indentured white servants. I eventually came to own 11,000 acres in British West Florida, including a plantation on the Tensaw River. I owned 600 head of cattle and sixty horses, and I abandoned it all when the Spanish came in 1780. I became a captain and company commander in the West Florida Royal Foresters, a troop of light cavalry raised by Maj. Gen. John Campbell in March 1780. Captain Adam Chrystie commanded the other company. We fought against the Spanish at such notable battles as Baton Rouge, Mobile, and the Siege of Pensacola. After the surrender of Pensacola on May 10, 1781, we were taken to New Town on Long Island as prisoners of war. There are extant muster rolls for Captain Chrystie’s company on Long Island well into 1782, but there are no rolls for mine. I returned to Scotland at some point, as I died at Trafalgar Cottage (near Forres) in 1826.
Sources: 5, 6, 30, 64, 80, 123, 126