John Saunders

Who was John Saunders?

The Hon. John Saunders was a British soldier, lawyer, and Chief Justice of the colonial Province of New Brunswick.

Born to landed gentry in Princess Anne County, Virginia, Thirteen Colonies, North America, during the American Revolutionary War he remained loyal to Britain. In 1764 in Princess Anne County, Virginia, USA, John Saunders built Pembroke Manor. The Manor still stands today and is in private use. In Fall 1775 Saunders, under the direction of Colonel Jacob Ellegood and Royal Governor Dunmore, joined the Queen's Own Loyal Virginia Regiment. The QOLVR was to aid in the number of Crown Forces assembling in Tidewater Virginia to help thwart the tide of Rebels from Virginia and North Carolina. In December 1775 the Battle of Great Bridge resulted in a defeat for Crown Forces, but it was not until the Summer of 1776 that the Crown Forces including members of the QOLVR moved North and were assimilated into the Queen's Rangers. At the outbreak of the war, Saunders raised a troop of Dragoons at his own expense. Merged into the Queen's Rangers, he rose to the rank of Captain and served under John Graves Simcoe. In 1782, Saunders went to England to study law and entered the Middle Temple. In 1787, he was called to the English Bar and in 1790 was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick.²²²