Charles Preston

Sir Charles Preston, 5th Baronet (c. 1735 - 23 March 1800) was a British Major who was stationed in Canada during the American Revolutionary War.

Revolutionary War
See also: Siege of Fort St. Jean

He was ordered by Gen. Guy Carleton to delay the American advance on Montreal, and Quebec. He was in command of 662 men of the 26th Regiment, engineers, Canadians, and Indians.[1] They held Fort Saint-Jean, at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, in 1775 when it came under siege by American General Richard Montgomery, and resisted multiple attacks by troops under command of Montgomery and Philip Schuyler.[2] His troops held the fort in hopes of being rescued by reinforcements for two months before surrendering[3] on the third of November 1775.[4][5]

After the war

On his return to Valleyfield, Fife, in 1784, he became Member of Parliament for Dysart, from 1774 to 1790.[6] After his death, the Preston baronetcy passed to his brother, Robert.

Legacy
Historic plaque Fort-Saint-Jean 1926

Preston is mentioned in a Fort Saint-Jean plaque erected in 1926 by Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean. "Constructed in 1743 by M. de Léry under orders from Governor la Galissonnière. This post was for all the military expeditions towards Lake Champlain. On 31 August 1760, Commandant de Roquemaure had it blown up in accordance with orders from the Governor de Vaudreuil in order to prevent its falling into the hands of the English. Rebuilt by Governor Carleton, in 1773. During the same year, under the command of Major Charles Preston of the 26th Regiment, it withstood a 45-day siege by the American troops commanded by General Montgomery.:

References
  1. Mary Beacock Fryer (1986). Battlefields of Canada. Dundurn Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-55002-007-6.
  2. Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles And Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century. Vol. 3. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 880–881. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  3. A History of the American Revolution, John R. Alden. 1969: Da Capo Press, Inc. Accessed through Google Books, 8 October 2009.
  4. Morrissey, Brendan. Quebec 1775: the American invasion of Canada Osprey Pub. Oxford:2003. p38. Accessed through Google Books, 8 October 2009.
  5. W. J. Wood; John S. D. Eisenhower (2003). Battles of the Revolutionary War: 1775-1781. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81329-0.
  6. Clan CrestsL Preston Clan, scotsconnection.com. Accessed 15 December 2022.
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