He remained in this post, which he characterized as "the most disagreeable" of his life, until 1773. He traveled to New York with the intention of returning to Europe, but the death of his friend Bouquet led to his promotion to brigadier general and assignment to Bouquet's post as military head of the Southern Department, with responsibility for military affairs in East and West Florida. Denied leave to return to Europe, he remained in Quebec until 1765, when his command was merged into another. In 1764 the province of Quebec was turned over to a civil administration, and Haldimand's role was reduced to that of a troop commander. At Trois-Rivières he oversaw the development of the ironworks at nearby Saint Maurice, and arranged for his nephew (also named Frederick) to serve under James Murray, then the military governor of Quebec City. In 1762 Amherst promoted him to colonel, and temporarily gave him the military governorship of Trois-Rivières while its governor, Ralph Burton was called to serve in the Caribbean. He was given the responsibility for working with the outgoing French leadership as they prepared to depart for France, serving first under Amherst and then under General Thomas Gage. In 1760 he joined General Jeffrey Amherst's army as it descended the Saint Lawrence River, and was the officer who formally took control of Montreal on September 8 following the French surrender. Haldimand returned to Oswego, where he remained throughout the winter. When Prideaux was killed early during the Battle of Fort Niagara, Haldimand went to assume command of the operation, but William Johnson, the Indian agent on the expedition who took over, refused to relinquish control. After spending the winter in command of the forward British position at Fort Edward, he was made second in command on the 1759 expedition of John Prideaux against Fort Niagara he was placed in charge of the key supply and communication point at Oswego, New York, where he oversaw the construction of Fort Ontario. While Haldimand's battalion was sent to Louisbourg in 1758, Haldimand himself served under General James Abercrombie at the disastrous Battle of Carillon, where he suffered minor wounds. In spite of this, Haldimand and Bouquet both earned the respect of the British military establishment with their dedicated professionalism. Formation of the regiment, known as the Royal American, took two years, and was beset by culture clashes with the rest of the British Army. In 1755, as the Seven Years' War (whose North American theater is also known as the French and Indian War) was in its early stages, Haldimand and Bouquet joined a British regiment composed of German and Swiss men recruited at first from the armies of Europe, but then also from German-speaking settlers in North America. There he formed a friendship with Henry Bouquet, another Swiss military man, with whom he would serve in North America. He next joined the Swiss Guards of the Dutch Republic, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. His first service appears to have been in the army of Prussia during the War of the Austrian Succession, with whom he fought at Mollwitz and probably also at Hohenfriedberg and Kesselsdorf. He became interested in the military at an early age, and the poor prospects for advancement in Switzerland led him to join foreign armies. Baptized François-Louis-Frédéric Haldimand, he was the son of a civil servant. Haldimand was born in Yverdon, Switzerland. His administration of Quebec was at times harsh, with the detention of numerous political dissidents and agitators. From 1778 to 1786 he served as Governor of the Province of Quebec, during which time he oversaw military operations against the northern frontiers in the war, and engaged in ultimately fruitless negotiations to establish the independent Vermont Republic as a new British province. Sir Frederick Haldimand, KB (Aug– June 5, 1791) was a military officer best known for his service in the British Army in North America during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |