George Richard John Macdonell (15 August 1780 – 6 May 1870), commonly known as ''Red George'', was an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

who played a conspicuous part in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

Biography

He was born at St. John's, Newfoundland, the son of John Macdonell (Leek), commandant of Fort Townshend and his wife Elizabeth Duguid. Returning with his family to England, he was commissioned an

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in the

55th Foot The 55th Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment, raised in 1755. After 1782 it had a county designation added, becoming known as the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 34th (Cu ...

in 1796, becoming a captain in the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1805. Three years later, the 8th were posted to

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, and subsequently to

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. In addition to his regimental duties, Macdonell undertook several staff duties which made him familiar with many parts of Canada and its inhabitants. Shortly before the war with the United States broke out, the settlers of the Glengarry district, many of them discharged soldiers, petitioned the governor general, Sir

George Prevost George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

, to be re-embodied as a unit. Prevost appointed Macdonell as major in the unit, the

Glengarry Light Infantry The Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles were a light infantry unit, raised chiefly in the Glengarry District of Upper Canada shortly before the outbreak of the Anglo-American War of 1812. The unit fought throughout the war, and was disbanded shor ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 8 February 1813, and appointed to command the garrison at Prescott on the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. Although Prevost cautioned him on 20 February to remain on the defensive, Macdonell launched an attack two days later using detachments of reinforcements which were passing through Prescott to bolster his militia. The resulting Battle of Ogdensburg largely cleared the Saint Lawrence for use as a British supply line for the rest of the war. Macdonell was slightly wounded in the attack. He recovered to lead the ''ad hoc'' 1st Light Battalion, composed of flank companies from regular infantry units and Select Embodied Militia battalions. In October he was ordered to move to reinforce Lieutenant Colonel

Charles de Salaberry Lieutenant Colonel Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry, Order of the Bath, CB (November 19, 1778 – February 27, 1829) was a Canadian military officer and statesman of the seigneurial class who served in various campaigns for the British A ...

's troops south of

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. He was effectively second-in-command to de Salaberry at the Battle of Chateauguay. Later on, Macdonell used his experience as commander on the Prescott section of the Lawrence to recommend the use of the Rideau River as an alternate supply line should the Americans attempt to block the Saint Lawrence. However, he received no financial reward for his work, as the Colonial Office claimed there had been an earlier survey. Macdonell returned to England in 1816, but saw no further active service. He became increasingly embittered and apparently unbalanced over what he saw as lack of recognition of his services, although he became a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in 1817.

References

External links

Red George Public House, Prescott, Ontario
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonell, George 1780 births 1870 deaths British Army personnel of the War of 1812 Companions of the Order of the Bath King's Regiment (Liverpool) officers Newfoundland Colony people British people of the War of 1812 British military personnel of the War of 1812 Battle of the Châteaugay veterans Canadian people of the War of 1812