On 10 May 1783 the Spring Fleet, carrying over 2000 Loyalists, arrived at the Saint John River mouth. The exiles, mostly civilians from the Middle Colonies, established themselves in the newly-surveyed townsites of Parr and Carleton. A second fleet in June, a third in September carrying troops of the Loyalist corps, and numerous individual vessels swelled the number crowded at the river mouth. Preparation for the arrivals was inadequate and many wintered in tents and huts under severe conditions. For some, three years or more elapsed before suitable land could be secured and the clearing of farms begun.