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 ...

Sir John Le Couteur (21 October 1794 – 24 December 1875) was a

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 ...

officer and Aide-de-camp for Jersey to

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Son of Lieutenant General

John Le Couteur Colonel Sir John Le Couteur (21 October 1794 – 24 December 1875) was a British Army officer and Aide-de-camp for Jersey to William IV and Victoria. Son of Lieutenant General John Le Couteur (1761–1835), he is best known for his War of 1 ...

(1761–1835), he is best known for his

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

memoirs of his service as a lieutenant in the 104th Foot, published in 1993 as ''Merry Hearts Make Light Days''.

War of 1812

In November 1811, at the age of 17, Le Couteur was promoted from Ensign in the 96th Regiment (on Jersey) to a Lieutenant in the

104th Regiment of Foot The 104th Regiment of Foot (Bengal Fusiliers) was a regiment of the British Army, raised by the Honourable East India Company in 1765. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Bengal Fusiliers) to form th ...

and was ordered to join his regiment in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. During the Anglo-American War of 1812, the 104th was ordered to march 700 miles from

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

, in the less vulnerable region of New Brunswick, to defend

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

in the threatened area of Upper Canada. This was necessary because the Commander-in-Chief in Canada,

Sir George Prevost ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, found himself with only 3000 troops to defend 1100 miles of frontier. The march of the 104th, of which Le Couteur's journal provides a detailed account, lasted from 21 February to 12 April 1813. The men marched across difficult terrain in extreme winter conditions and, with temperatures dropping as low as −27 °F (−32 °C), few escaped frostbite. JohnLeCouteur1811

Le Couteur later took part in the

Siege of Fort Erie The siege of Fort Erie, also known as the Battle of Erie, from 4 August to 21 September 1814, was one of the last engagements of the War of 1812, between British and American forces. It took place during the Niagara campaign, and the Americans su ...

, the battles of Sackett's Harbour and

Lundy's Lane King's Highway 20, commonly referred to as Highway 20, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Presently, it is a short stub between Highway 58 and Niagara Regional Road 70 in the City of Thorold, b ...

and thirty-three skirmishes. In his journal, Le Couteur expresses admiration for the bravery of the

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

allies, but considers them 'very savage' and cruel to prisoners. After the war, in 1816, Le Couteur was appointed Aide-de-camp to his father, Lieutenant-General John Le Couteur, in

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

before returning to Canada the following year.

Life and work in Jersey

When the 104th Regiment was disbanded in 1818, Le Couteur returned to Jersey as a captain and married his cousin, Harriet Janvrin. He had two sons and three daughters. He became Colonel of the West Regiment of the Militia in 1829. In Jersey, Le Couteur held a number of official posts: he was elected Connétable of

Saint Brélade St. Brelade ( French: ''Saint Brélade'') is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is around west of St Helier. Its population was 10,568 as of 2011. The parish is the second-largest parish by surface area, covering ...

in 1826 and

Jurat The ''jurats'' () are lay people in Guernsey and Jersey who act as judges of fact rather than law, though they preside over land conveyances and liquor licensing. In Alderney, however, the jurats are judges of both fact and law (assisted by thei ...

in 1835. He was appointed Aide-de-camp in 1831 to William IV and this position was renewed when Victoria came to the throne in 1837 (Victoria visited the island in 1846). Le Couteur held the position of Aide-de-camp until 1872 and he was knighted in the same year.Balleine, p.382

Agricultural science

Le Couteur had many interests and was a competent artist. He undertook a sustained scientific study of wheat and produced several books on agriculture: ''On the Varieties, Properties, and Classification of Wheat'' (1836); ''On the Use of the Jersey Trench Plough'' (1842); ''On the Rise, Progress and State of Agriculture in Jersey'' (1852). In recognition of his enquiries, Le Couteur was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1843.

Historiography and legacy

Le Couteur was a prolific writer; his voluminous papers are held by the Société Jersiaise in

Saint Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; french: Saint-Hélier) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – ...

. Selections were published in 1969 in Joan Steven's ''Victorian voices: An introduction to the papers of Sir John Le Couteur''. His War of 1812 memoirs, edited by Canadian historian Donald E. Graves, were published in 1993 as ''Merry Hearts Make Light Days''. Le Couteur also gained renewed public attention in both Canada and Jersey when his account of the 104th Regiment's 1813 trek from

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

to Kingston, Upper Canada was adapted into a short film, ''The Winter March'', in 2013. The project won the

Historica-Dominion Institute Historica Canada is a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to promoting the country's history and citizenship. All of its programs are offered bilingually and reach more than 28 million Canadians annually. A registered national charitabl ...

's War of 1812 bicentennial

Heritage Minute ''The Heritage Minutes'' is a series of sixty-second short films, each illustrating an important moment in Canadian history. The ''Minutes'' integrate Canadian history, folklore and myths into dramatic storylines. Like the Canada Vignettes of t ...

student contest and was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival's Next Wave showcase.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

John Le Couteur's Papers in the Societe JersiaiseThe Winter March (2013) short film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couteur, John Le 1794 births 1875 deaths British Army personnel of the War of 1812 Jersey military personnel Constables of Jersey Fellows of the Royal Society British people of the War of 1812 British military personnel of the War of 1812