(tco 2) according to the loyalists, legitimate authority over the colonists was held by the

Loyalists were called such because they stayed loyal to whichever government authority had control over the colony. This could be applied to any type of government but usually refers to the King or Queen of England (Great Britain) having control over the American colonies. They fought on the side of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. 

He droped it over the bridge into the river