Edward Mathew (1729 – 25 December 1805) began his military career in the British Army as a commissioned officer. By the time of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

he had risen to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. Promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, he was assigned to command the elite

Brigade of Guards The Brigade of Guards was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1856 to 1968. It was commanded by the Major-General commanding the Brigade of Guards and was responsible for administering the guards regiments. After the Second Wor ...

in the American campaign. In 1776 he led the Guards at

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

Kip's Bay Kips Bay, or Kip's Bay, is a neighborhood on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by East 34th Street to the north, the East River to the east, East 27th and/or 23rd Streets to the south, and Third Avenu ...

, and Fort Washington where he spearheaded one of the assault forces. In the

Philadelphia Campaign The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British effort in the American Revolutionary War to gain control of Philadelphia, which was then the seat of the Second Continental Congress. British General William Howe, after failing to draw ...

, he commanded his brigade at

Brandywine Brandywine may refer to: Food and drink *Brandy, a spirit produced by distilling wine *Brandywine tomato, a variety of heirloom tomato Geographic locations Canada *Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, British Columbia *Brandywine Mountain, British C ...

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ger ...

, White Marsh, and

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

. As a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, he took part in the highly successful

Chesapeake raid The Chesapeake Raid was an American Revolutionary War campaign by British naval forces under the command of Commodore Sir George Collier and land forces led by Major General Edward Mathew. Between 10 May and 24 May 1779 these forces raided econ ...

on Virginia ports in 1779. He led one of the columns in action at

Battle of Springfield The Battle of Springfield was fought during the American Revolutionary War on June 23, 1780, in Union County, New Jersey. After the Battle of Connecticut Farms, on June 7, 1780, had foiled Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, Wilhelm, B ...

in 1780. He commanded in the West Indies in 1782 and became a full general in 1797. His beloved daughter Anna predeceased him in 1795. Mathew is likely to have been the model for a character in one of

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

's novels.

Early career

Born in 1729, Mathew became an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the Regiment of Coldstream Guards (2nd Foot Guards) in 1746.Boatner, 685 In 1760 he married Lady Jane Bertie (d. 21 August 1793), daughter of

Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven (29 April 16861 January 1742), styled The Honourable Peregrine Bertie between 1686 and 1704, Lord Willoughby de Eresby between 1704 and 1715 and Marquess of Lindsey between 1715 and 1723, was ...

.archive.org ''Royal Lineage'' By the year 1775 he was a

and aide de camp to

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. He was appointed commander of the brigade of Guards in America with the rank of

. Mathew is described as "generous, full of honors, kind". However, he had a darker side that had a "bitter, stiff, and dictatorial presence". Though he dearly loved his daughter Anna, he could also erupt into a despotic rage. Because he was father-in-law to

's brother James, he is supposed to have inspired the character General Tilney in her novel ''

Northanger Abbey ''Northanger Abbey'' () is a coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the ...

''.First Foot Guards

American Revolutionary War

The British Army formed the 1,000-strong

by selecting the men by lottery from the 1st,

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

, and

3rd Foot Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

Regiments. The brigade was split into two battalions of about 500 troops each. Other regiments of foot assigned their light and grenadier companies to converged elite battalions, leaving only the eight line companies to fight with the parent unit. The Guards Brigade, however, retained its two flank companies.McGuire (2006), 33 The grenadier company and the line companies of Hyde, Wrottesley, Cox, and Garth became the 1st Guards Battalion, while the light company and the line companies of Stephen, Murray, O'Hara, and Martin were assigned to the 2nd Guards Battalion. A detailed organization down to the company level can be found in the

Brandywine order of battle At the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777 a colonial American army led by General George Washington fought a British-Hessian army commanded by General William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe. Washington drew up his troops in a defensive position b ...

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Sir George Osborn, 4th Baronet Sir George Osborn, 4th Baronet (10 May 1742 – 29 June 1818) was born into the British aristocracy. He fought in the American Revolutionary War as a British officer. He served in the House of Commons from 1769 to 1784 - before, during, and after ...

commanded the grenadier company while Captain Thomas Twistleton led the light company. The Guards Brigade landed on Long Island on 22 August 1776 and was present in the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yo ...

five days later.Burke & Bass, ''Guards in the American service'' On 15 September the Guards Brigade took part in the

Battle of Kip's Bay The Landing at Kip's Bay was a British amphibious landing during the New York Campaign in the American Revolutionary War on September 15, 1776. It occurred on the East River shore of Manhattan north of what then constituted New York City. Heavy ...

, landing in the first wave. Mathew played a significant role at the

Battle of Fort Washington The Battle of Fort Washington was fought in New York on November 16, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. It was a British victory that gained the surrender of the remnant of the garrison of ...

on 16 November. With two light infantry battalions under his leadership, he boated across the

Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York, United States, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the New York mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyte ...

near what is now 200th Street and established a bridgehead. This effort was followed up by

Lord Charles Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army General officer, general and official ...

with the Guards Brigade, two grenadier battalions, and the

33rd Foot The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

. The advance of this and other columns resulted in a resounding British victory including the capture of 2,818 Americans. After the American victory at Trenton, the 1st Guards Battalion was assigned to Cornwallis for the Princeton Campaign in early January 1777. However, Mathew stayed behind with the 2nd Battalion in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Forage War The Forage War was a partisan campaign consisting of numerous small skirmishes that took place in New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War between January and March 1777, following the battles of Trenton and Princeton. After both Briti ...

. The grenadier and light companies of the Guards were in action at the

Battle of Short Hills The Battle of Short Hills (also known as the Battle of Metuchen Meetinghouse and other names) was a conflict between a Continental Army force commanded by Brigadier General William Alexander (American general), William Alexander ("Lord Stirling" ...

on 26 June 1777 where one of their officers was mortally wounded. On the 29th, the British Army abruptly abandoned New Jersey.

Sir William Howe William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...

sailed with his army from New York on 23 July. At the end of August, the British troops landed at

Head of Elk, Maryland Elkton is a town in and the county seat of Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,443 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It was formerly called Head of Elk because it sits at the head of na ...

at the north end of

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

. Among the Guards officers present during the subsequent

were Captain-lieutenant

Richard FitzPatrick General Richard FitzPatrick (24 January 174825 April 1813), styled The Honourable from birth, was an Anglo-Irish soldier, wit, poet, and Whig politician. He sat in the British House of Commons for 39 years from 1774 to 1813, and was a "sworn b ...

of the 1st Foot Guards, Colonel

Charles O'Hara General Charles O'Hara (1740 – 25 February 1802) was a British Army officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary War and later served as governor of Gibraltar. He served with di ...

of the 2nd Foot Guards, and Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Wrottesley. On 11 September 1777 at the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...

, Mathew's brigade joined the flanking column under Howe and Cornwallis. This body of troops reached a position behind the American right flank before it was discovered. The Guards Brigade deployed on the right of the first line around 4:00 PM. Osborn commanded both the grenadier company on the right and the light company which deployed as skirmishers in front. The Guards faced two Maryland brigades under the command of Major General John Sullivan. Because Sullivan was also the American right-wing commander, he left the Marylanders in charge of the senior officer, Brigadier General

Philippe Hubert Preudhomme de Borre Philippe Hubert, Chevalier de Preudhomme de Borre (17 September 1717 in Liège – 30 May 1789 in Brussels) joined the French Army in 1740 and served in the War of the Austrian Succession. During the American Revolutionary War he traveled to Ameri ...

. Attempting to shift the troops to the right, de Borre bungled his assignment, throwing his lines into disarray. The attack of the Guards brushed aside their confused opponents. The brigade reported only one killed, five wounded, and two missing, including one casualty from the grenadiers and three from the light company. The evening before the

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Con ...

on 4 October 1777, Howe alerted Osborn of a possible attack and ordered the Guard Brigade's grenadier and light companies to support the

Queen's Rangers The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War. Formed in 1776, they were named for Queen Charlotte, consort of George III. The Queen' ...

on the right flank. In the morning they were attacked by a force of Maryland and New Jersey

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. The militia effort quickly collapsed, allowing the British to wheel to their left to outflank a brigade of Connecticut continentals. At some point in the action, Mathew led forward the line companies of the Guards Brigade to reinforce Osborn's flank companies. During the

Battle of White Marsh The Battle of White Marsh or Battle of Edge Hill was a battle of the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought December 5–8, 1777, in the area surrounding Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania. The battle, which took the form ...

in December 1777, the Guards light company under Captain Twistleton fought with the army's vanguard at Edge Hill. In early 1778 Mathew was promoted to the "local rank" of

. Mathew led his brigade at the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, co ...

on 28 June 1778. At Monmouth, Colonel

Harry Trelawny Lieutenant-General Harry Trelawny (1726 – 28 January 1800) was a British Army officer who served with the Coldstream Guards during the American Revolutionary War. He was wounded while leading a battalion of the Guards during the war and later ...

led the 502-man 1st Guards Battalion while Lieutenant Colonel James Ogilvie commanded the 480-strong 2nd Guards Battalion. Trelawny was wounded and about 40 casualties were inflicted when some of

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

's troops under Lieutenant Colonels Walter Stewart and

Nathaniel Ramsey Nathaniel Ramsey (May 1, 1741– October 23, 1817) was an American lawyer and soldier from Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County, Maryland. Ramsey fought in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, and was a member of the Congress of ...

fired on the Guards while concealed in a wood. Joined by the 1st Grenadier Battalion, the Guards quickly flushed the Americans out of the trees. General Henry Clinton fitted out a joint navy and army expedition in the spring of 1779. Under

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

Sir

George Collier Vice Admiral Sir George Collier (11 May 1732 – 6 April 1795) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the fourth-rate shi ...

and Mathew, the force sailed from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on 5 May and reached

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

four days later.Boatner, 1149 When the expedition approached Fort Nelson near

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, its 100-man American garrison under Major Thomas Matthews immediately decamped and retreated toward the

Great Dismal Swamp The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It is located in parts of the southern Virginia inde ...

. On 11 May, the British force occupied Norfolk,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, and the

Gosport Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the ...

. The Americans burned a 28-gun frigate and two French merchantmen to prevent their capture. Besides seizing enormous amounts of tobacco, naval cannons, and marine supplies, the British burned or captured 137 ships. The damage inflicted on the state of Virginia in the

was estimated at £2,000,000. Mathew and Collier returned to New York in triumph, having suffered no loss of life. The Guards Brigade joined

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Wilhelm von Knyphausen Wilhelm Reichsfreiherr von Innhausen und Knyphausen Some documents produced after 1806 referred to him as Reichsfreiherr Wilhelm zu Innhausen und Knyphausen while some documents after 1919 use Wilhelm Reichsfreiherr zu Innhausen und Knyphausen. ...

's 5,000 raid on New Jersey on 7 June 1780. Mathew was one of six brigade commanders employed on the expedition. After the initial attack stalled, the British-Hessian force lunged forward again on 23 June to bring on the

. While Knyphausen hammered at Springfield Bridge, he sent Mathew with half his force in a flanking move via Vauxhall Bridge. Colonel

Israel Angell Israel Angell (August 24, 1740 - May 4, 1832) was a Continental Army officer of the American Revolutionary War. Early life and education He was born to Oliver and Naomi (Smith) Angell in Providence, Rhode Island.Marquis Who's Who, Inc. ''Who ...

2nd Rhode Island Regiment The 2nd Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Hitchcock's Regiment and the 11th Continental Infantry) was authorized on 6 May 1775 under Colonel Daniel Hitchcock in the Rhode Island Army of Observation and was organized on 8 May 1775 as eight c ...

held back Knyphausen's column for 40 minutes as Brigadier General William Maxwell and Major

Light Horse Harry Lee Henry Lee III (January 29, 1756 – March 25, 1818) was an early American Patriot and U.S. politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia Representative to the United States Congress. Lee's service during the Ameri ...

delayed Mathew's envelopment. At length, Major General

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...

had to commit additional troops to block Mathew's turning movement. In the face of strong resistance, Knyphausen called off the operation in the afternoon and returned to

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

. Mathew left North America for England later in 1780.

Later career

In November 1782, Mathew was appointed commander-in-chief in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. In 1779,

Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing (24 November 1729 – 28 April 1794) was a French general and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of the B ...

's French fleet had seized

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

from the British. At the end of the conflict, the island was restored to Great Britain and its new governor Mathew reported that the local fortifications on Richmond Hill were in a "ruinous condition". The old French fortifications were completely replaced by new works called Forts Frederick, Adolphus, Lucas, and Mathew. Much of the construction labor was performed by the 300-strong Carolina Corps, a military unit formed from African-American slaves freed and recruited by the British army. A report from 1787 stated that progress on the forts was satisfactory. Mathew was promoted to full general in 1797. While on his second tour as Governor of

, King George forgot to have the Treasury approve his salary. Despite his innocence, Mathew was billed by the government in 1792 for the £11,000 that he was paid as his legitimate wage. By this time, the king was suffering from fits of madness and could not confirm details such as whether he authorized Mathew's salary. After his death the family had to pay back £23,000 to the Royal Exchequer. On 27 March 1792, James Austen married Mathew's daughter Anne. James' first wife had died, and he was anxious to remarry. Anne, then 30 years old, was considered a spinster. The couple had one child in 1793, Jane Anna Elizabeth. Though Mathew helped support the couple who lived on James' £300 yearly wage as a clergyman, the two ran through their funds quickly. The general purchased the rank of

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

in the 86th Foot Regiment so that his son-in-law could live on the salary. However, Anna died very suddenly on 3 May 1795.austenprose.com ''Jane Austen's Siblings Mathew died on 25 December 1805.

Notes

;Footnotes ;Citations

References

*
Burke, William W. & Bass, Linnea M. brigadeofguards.org ''Brigade of Guards in the American Service''
(Retrieved 14 November 2011) * * *

(Retrieved 16 November 2011)

(Retrieved 13 November 2011) * ttps://archive.org/stream/royallineageofou04fost/royallineageofou04fost_djvu.txt archive.org ''Royal Lineage''Retrieved 13 November 2011)
austenprose.com ''Jane Austen's Siblings''
(Retrieved 16 November 2011)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathew, Edward 1729 births 1805 deaths Coldstream Guards officers British Army generals British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Governors of British Grenada