General Sir George Prevost

Prevost served in the West Indies during the Napoleonic Wars serving as commander of St. Vincent from 1794 to 1796. He became lieutenant-governor of St. Lucia from 1798 to 1802 and governor of Dominica from 1802 to 1805. In 1808 he became governor of Nova Scotia and in May of 1811 he was advised that he would be replacing Governor James Craig and was sent to Quebec. On July 4, 1811 he was officially made lieutenant-general and on October 21st commissioned as governor-in-chief of British North America and made commander of British forces in North America.
He was the commander of British forces during the War of 1812 but was recalled after failing to capture Plattsburgh, New York in 1814. He returned to England for an inquiry in 1815 but died before it could be held.

1811-commander-in-chief North America
1812-1815 Governor General of British North America
Married on  May 19, 1789 to Catherine Anne Phipps. They had 5 children, one of whom died in infancy
After education at schools in England and on the Continent, George was commissioned an ensign in his father’s regiment on 3 May 1779. He transferred to the 47th Foot as lieutenant in 1782 and to the 25th Foot as captain in 1784, and then rejoined the 60th on 18 Nov. 1790 with the rank of major. During the opening years of the war with revolutionary France, he saw service in the West Indies, commanding on St Vincent in 1794 and 1795; on 6 Aug. 1794 he was promoted lieutenant-colonel in the 60th Foot. Wounded twice on 20 Jan. 1796, he returned to England and received an appointment as an inspecting field officer. He was raised to the rank of colonel on 1 Jan. 1798, then brigadier-general on 8 March. In May he became lieutenant governor of St Lucia, where his fluency in French and conciliatory administration won him the respect of the French planters. In 1802 ill health compelled him to return to Britain, but on 27 September, after the resumption of war with France, he was chosen governor of Dominica. In 1803 he fought against the French to retain possession of that island and to recapture St Lucia. Promoted major-general on 1 Jan. 1805, he obtained leave to visit England, where he was placed in command of the Portsmouth district and created a baronet. The following year he became a colonel commandant in his regiment.
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Prevost was born in New Jersey, in 1767. The eldest son of a Swiss-born officer in the British Army, he was educated in England and North America with the a goal of a future military career.
Prevost served extensively in the Caribbean before taking command of the British forces in North America on July 4, 1811. He was shortly thereafter sworn in as the head colonial administrator of Canada. The bilingual Prevost promptly won the support of French-Canadian leaders and the Catholic Church hierarchy with his conciliatory policies. But this approach alienated some of Quebec’s English-speaking elite. These political enemies would have plenty of opportunity to attack Prevost after his disastrous retreat from Plattsburg. At the beginning of the war, the British forces found themselves tremendously outnumbered. To defend thousands of square miles of territory, Prevost had to rely on fewer than nine thousand regular troops. The total population of Canada was a little over three hundred thousand, while the United States counted almost eight million inhabitants. Prevost could expect little support from Britain itself, which was preoccupied with the Duke of Wellington’s war against Napoleon in Europe. This situation led Prevost to adopt a defensive strategy. One of his first moves after the outbreak of the war, was to negotiate a truce with the American commander-in-chief, Major General Henry Dearborn. The armistice was typical of Prevost. He was a talented diplomat but a much less skilled military commander. Prevost’s policy was to consistently strengthen defenses, wait for the enemy, delay the war when possible, and always avoid serious mistakes. Until 1814, this approach was very successful but the American dream of conquering Canada was no closer to reality than it had been before the war. Once Napoleon however, was defeated in Europe, Wellington’s troops began pouring into North America. British troops now outnumbered American soldiers and London instructed Prevost to become more aggressive. Prevost however, had trouble shedding his old instincts. Ordered to take Plattsburg, Prevost invaded the United States with an army of close to 10,000 men in September of 1814. He stopped short of the lightly- defended town, unable to bring himself to order the final assault. Instead, he goaded his Lake Champlain fleet commander, Captain George Downie, into attacking the American Navy anchored in Plattsburg Bay. The battle ended in disaster for the British. The Americans, fighting in the manner and place of their own choosing, destroyed the British fleet. Prevost had promised Downie a simultaneous land attack, but didn’t order the assault until the naval battle was almost over. As soon as he learned the British fleet had lost, Prevost ordered a general retreat. He withdrew against the advice of his senior officers, who felt Plattsburg was still within easy grasp.
Prevost’s career in Canada ended in a shroud of disappointment. He was recalled to England and a naval court of inquiry blamed him for the defeat at Plattsburg. Hoping to clear his name, he asked for another hearing. Prevost died in 1816, shortly before it was to convene.