George Prevost

On 3 May 1779, Prevost was commissioned at the age of eleven, as an ensign in the 60th Regiment of Foot, in which his father was a senior officer. In 1782, he transferred to the 47th Regiment of Foot, as a lieutenant, followed in 1784 by a move to the 25th Regiment of Foot as a captain. He then returned to the 60th Foot on 18 November 1790 with the rank of major, at the age of 23. Prevost's maternal grandfather was a wealthy banker in Amsterdam, and his money is considered to have certainly been responsible for his grandson's quick advancement up the chain of command in the British Army, as promotion could then be obtained "by purchase".[1]

While serving in the 60th, Prevost was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 6 August 1794. He was stationed in St Vincent from 1794–1795. During fighting on 20 January 1796, he was wounded twice, and he returned to England shortly after, where he was appointed to become an inspecting field officer. On 1 January 1798, Prevost became a colonel, and on 8 March he became a brigadier-general, at the age of 30. In May he was appointed to be the lieutenant governor of St Lucia, where his fluency in French and conciliatory administration won him the respect of the French planters living there. In 1802, he returned to Britain as a result of ill health.[1]

On 27 September 1802, soon after fighting against France resumed, Prevost was chosen to be the Governor of Dominica. In 1803, the French attempted to seize the island, and Prevost fought against them. He would also fight against the French in an effort to reclaim St Lucia. On 1 January 1805, at the age of 37, Prevost was promoted to major-general, and soon after he was granted leave to return to England, where he became Lieutenant-Governor of Portsmouth and General Officer Commanding South-West District in December 1805,[3] and where he was appointed to be a baronet. In 1806, Prevost became a colonel commandant of his regiment.[1]

Prevost's monument to soldiers killed during Invasion of Martinique (1809) Monument, St. George's (Round) Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia

They departed from Halifax on 6 December 1808. Unfortunately, Tonge’s departure did not lead to a peaceful relationship between the House of Assembly and the executive body as Prevost’s replacement during his absence, Alexander Croke, fought with the Assembly over a supply bill. Eventually, Croke rejected the bill on the basis that it did not fit in with royal prerogatives, and then could not reach an agreement with the Legislative Council over how to settle the dispute between himself and the Assembly.[1]

Martinique was captured, and Prevost returned to Halifax on 15 April 1809. Tonge did not return, as he decided to stay in the West Indies. Prevost opposed Croke’s actions, restored "good understanding" with the Legislative Council, and then calmed the Assembly by deciding not to follow the constitution of Nova Scotia down to the letter. On 10 June 1808, the House of Assembly passed the supply bill, and also voted to use 200 guineas to purchase a sword for Prevost as a sign of their approval for Prevost's conduct during the expedition against Martinique. Prevost believed he had successfully maintained the crown's prerogative. In 1809, using his good relationship with the Assembly, he was able to secure a tax on distilled liquors, with the proceeds of which he could pay the cost of equipment for the provincial militia. For the rest of his term as lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, Prevost ensured he did not make an executive act that the Assembly would oppose to a great degree.[1]

Prevost had become a popular lieutenant governor, but this was threatened by his attempts, beginning in 1810, to strengthen the Church of England in Nova Scotia, since that might alienate other religious groups. He persuaded the British government to allow him to use surplus arms funds to develop Anglican churches, and to enlarge King's College in Windsor. He also appointed Anglican clergy to be civil magistrates, protected the Anglican ownership of land and their influence over the education of children, and placed an Anglican bishop in the Legislative Council. On the condition that the bishop resided in Halifax, Prevost was able to increase the salary of the bishop. In an effort to appease other religious groups, he appointed a number of Roman Catholic and Presbyterian clergy to be magistrates, and he authorized a grant of money for the Church of Scotland.[1]

During May 1811, when Prevost was preparing to oppose the Assembly over its policy of compensating its members for their expenses, feeling that it was irregular, open to abuse, and "an evil highly dangerous to the prerogative of the Crown", he was ordered to move to Lower Canada to replace Governor Craig.[1]

For most of the War, Prevost's strategy was defensive and cautious. Learning in August 1812 that the British government had repealed some of the Orders in Council (1807) which the United States regarded as a cause of war, he negotiated an armistice with commanding General Henry Dearborn, but President James Madison soon repudiated Dearborn's agreement and the war resumed.[5] During the early months of 1813, Prevost twice visited Upper Canada where the military and civil situation was unsatisfactory after the Governor and Commander there (Major General Isaac Brock) had been killed in action. As a result, he was present in Kingston in May, and took personal charge of an attack on the main American naval base on Lake Ontario. A victory here could have been decisive but the expedition was hastily mounted and at the Battle of Sackett's Harbor both Prevost and the naval commander, Commodore James Lucas Yeo, attacked hesitantly. After meeting stiff resistance, they withdrew.

In 1814, large reinforcements became available after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. Prevost was appointed Colonel of the 16th, Bedfordshire Regiment in April. He planned an attack along Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, but the army which he led personally was driven back at the Battle of Plattsburgh after the British naval squadron on Lake Champlain was defeated. Commodore Yeo considered that the British ships under Captain George Downie (who was killed in the action) had been ordered into action prematurely by Prevost, and that Prevost had failed to order an attack by his own troops until it was too late to avert the defeat of Downie's squadron.

Prevost had also made himself unpopular among some of the Army officers under his command who were veterans of the Peninsular War (such as Manley Power, Thomas Brisbane, and Frederick Philipse Robinson) by his perceived over-caution, and his niggling insistence on correct dress and uniform.[6] He had also alienated several successful Canadian officers (such as Charles de Salaberry) by seeming to claim their successes for himself and failing to reward them properly. However, it was the complaints by the Navy and Peninsular veterans which prompted his recall. Although the Duke of Wellington accepted that Prevost's strategy was correct, he wrote on 30 October 1814,

It is very obvious to me that you must remove Sir George Prevost. I see he has gone to war about trifles with the general officers I sent him, which are certainly the best of their rank in the army; and his subsequent failure and distresses will be aggravated by that circumstance; and will probably with the usual fairness of the public be attributed to it.[7]

In December, Wellington's former Quartermaster General, Sir George Murray, was sent to Canada with the local rank of Lieutenant General specifically to order Prevost to return to London to explain his conduct of the Plattsburg campaign. He delivered the order on 2 March 1815, by coincidence only a day or so after news of the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, arrived in Quebec. Prevost felt himself publicly humiliated by the manner and timing of his succession. After ordering hostilities to cease and disbanding the militia, he left Quebec on 3 April. He was given a hasty vote of thanks by the Assembly in Quebec.

• Burroughs, Peter (1983). "Prevost, Sir George". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. V (1801–1820) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
• Grodzinski, John R. (2013). Defender of Canada: Sir George Prevost and the War of 1812. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-4387-3.
• Hitsman, J. Mackay (1999). The Incredible War of 1812. Toronto: Robin Brass Studio. ISBN 1-896941-13-3. (updated by Donald E. Graves)
• Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David, eds. (1990). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. New York: St Martin's Press.
• Latimer, Jon (2007). 1812: War with America. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-02584-4.