John Stanwix (born about 1690,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

; died at sea, 29 October 1766) was a British soldier and politician.

Background

He was born John Roos, the son of Rev. John Roos, rector of

Widmerpool Widmerpool is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, about 10 miles south-south-east of Nottingham and some 7.5 miles north-east of Loughborough. It is one of Nottinghamshire's oldest settlements and is just over a mile west of the A46 ...

, Nottinghamshire. In 1725 he succeeded to the estates of his uncle

Thomas Stanwix Brigadier General Thomas Stanwix (1670 – 14 March 1725) was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1702 to 1725. He served as Governor of Gibraltar. Career Stanwix joined the Army and had become a captain-lie ...

MP and adopted the name of Stanwix. Stanwix entered the army in 1706, rose to a captain of the grenadiers in 1739, major of marines in 1741, and lieutenant-colonel in 1745, and was appointed equerry to

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...

, in 1749. In 1750, he was appointed

Governor of Carlisle Carlisle Castle is a medieval stone keep castle that stands within the English city of Carlisle near the ruins of Hadrian's Wall. First built during the reign of William II in 1093 and rebuilt in stone under Henry I in 1122, the castle is o ...

, and also represented the town in the

British parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

(1741–42 and 1746–61). In 1754 he became deputy

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

-general of the forces, and on 1 January 1756 he was made colonel-commandant of the 1st battalion of the 60th or

Royal American Regiment The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

. On his arrival in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

he was given the command of the southern district. During 1757 his headquarters were at

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

, and he was appointed brigadier-general on 27 December of that year. Fost areal image007

After his relief by

General John Forbes John Forbes (5 September 1707 – 11 March 1759) was a Scottish professional soldier who served in the British Army from 1729 until his death in 1759. During the 1754 to 1763 French and Indian War, he commanded the 1758 Forbes Expedition t ...

in 1758, General Stanwix went to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, whence he was ordered to the Oneida carrying-place, to secure that important position by the erection of a work which was called

Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was built ...

in his honor. This was later the location of the signing of the

Treaty of Fort Stanwix The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was a treaty signed between representatives from the Iroquois and Great Britain (accompanied by negotiators from New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania) in 1768 at Fort Stanwix. It was negotiated between Sir William J ...

in 1768. In 1759 Stanwix returned to Pennsylvania, built and named Fort Pitt, and surmounted the works with cannon. He worked with

George Croghan George Croghan (c. 1718 – August 31, 1782) was an Irish-born fur trader in the Ohio Country of North America (current United States) who became a key early figure in the region. In 1746 he was appointed to the Onondaga Council, the governin ...

, the deputy superintendent of Indian affairs, to secure the good will of the Indians.

Final years and disappearance

On 19 June 1759, Stanwix was appointed major-general, but he was relieved by General

Robert Monckton Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton (24 June 1726 – 21 May 1782) was an officer of the British Army and colonial administrator in British North America. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in command to General J ...

on 4 May 1760, and became lieutenant-general on 19 January 1761. After his return to England he was appointed lieutenant-governor of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

and made colonel successively of the 49th Regiment of Foot (1761–1764) and the

8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot The 8th (King's) Regiment of Foot, also referred to in short as the 8th Foot and the King's, was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1685 and retitled the King's (Liverpool Regiment) on 1 July 1881. As infantry of the line, the ...

(1764–1766). He was also

for Appleby in

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

from 1761 to 1766. He was lost at sea while crossing from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland, to

Holyhead, Wales Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

, in a

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

''The Eagle''.

External links

John Stanwix
at the Probert Encyclopedia *John Brooke
STANWIX, John (1693-1766), of Carlisle, Cumb.
at

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

*Romney R. Sedgwick
STANWIX, John (1693-1766), of Carlisle, Cumb.
at The History of Parliament , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanwix, John 1690s births 1760s missing person cases 1766 deaths British Army generals British Army personnel of the French and Indian War British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Appleby Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Carlisle People lost at sea Royal American Regiment officers Royal Marines officers

Background

Final years and disappearance

See also

External links