Coffin, John, 1756-1838.

Major John Coffin and Lieutenant-Colonel George Campbell both served in the loyalist King's American Regiment during the Revolutionary War. Campbell was very unpopular among his fellow officers in the regiment, and was court martialed in the summer of 1783. Among the charges levelled against him was unfair treatment of fellow officer Abraham de Peyster, who Campbell had had arrested and tried on a variety of charges earlier that year. (De Peyster was acquitted.) The court suspended Campbell without pay for six months. The enmity between Coffin and Campbell continued after the sentencing, with Coffin allegedly challenging Campbell to a duel and posting infammatory writings about Campbell in public places. Eventually the two did exchange shots with pistols, each wounding the other, but neither man was killed. Later that year Coffin moved with his family to Canada, where he spent the rest of his life.

From the description of John Coffin drafts of statements to the Court of Inquiry, 1783. (New-York Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 706467086