Thomas Banister (1750-1826) fought for the British during the American Revolution and lost his inheritance, real estate valued at thousands of pounds. The Crown gave him land in far-off Nova Scotia, when his hopes were to be compensated for his losses and return to his country. His older brother, John Banister (1744-1807), married with a child, swore allegiance to the United Colonies, then witnessed the destruction of his Newport lands by the British Army. Convinced British laws supported remuneration, he left for England, where he sought justice for four years. His wife, Christian Stelle Banister (1747-1830), took care of the family property and their child while the state threatened confiscation and the French Army lived in Newport. Tracing the lives of three young Americans during the Revolution, this study of the Banister family of Rhode Island contributes to an understanding of the war's affects on the lives of ordinary people.