James Robertson (1717 – 4 March 1788) was a British

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

and

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official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

who served as the 40th Governor of New York from 1779 to 1783. He was a stage actor in his early adulthood.

Life

Robertson was born in Newbigging, Fife,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

where he was baptized on 29 June 1717.WH Auden
/ref> He came to the American colonies in 1756 as a Major of the royal American troops under the command of the

Earl of Loudoun Earl of Loudoun (pronounced "loud-on" ), named after Loudoun in Ayrshire, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for John Campbell, 2nd Lord Campbell of Loudoun, along with the subsidiary title Lord Tarrinzean and Mauchli ...

. He became a lieutenant colonel in the 55th Regiment of Foot on 8 July 1758.Roster of St Andrew's Society of the State of New York
/ref> After his service in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

, he was influential in getting Parliament to establish the Quartering Act of 1765, which also gave Robertson the role of Barrackmaster General for the colonies, making him responsible for 27 barrackmasters from

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

Louisbourg, Nova Scotia Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, ...

and

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Michigan. Robertson was promoted colonel and was the commander of the

60th Regiment of Foot 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

in January 1776. He was commissioned Major General on 1 January 1776. He commanded the 6th brigade at 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 ...

. He was instrumental in fighting and stopping the Great Fire in 1776, which destroyed 500 homes and about 1/4 of Manhattan in September 1776. He returned to England in February 1777. He was appointed civil governor of New York in 1779, and arrived in New York City in March 1780, and was appointed Governor on 23 March 1780. He was commissioned Commander in Chief in North America on 4 February 1782. He was made a Lieutenant General on 20 November 1782. He issued a proclamation of Thanksgiving on 14 January 1783. On 5 May 1783, he met with General Guy Carleton, General Henry Clinton, and Admiral Robert Digby, about the planning for the evacuation of New York City. Leaving for England, Robertson was replaced as commandant of New York City by Major General James Pattison, and as governor by Lt. Gov. Andrew Elliot since 17 April 1783. Robertson died in London on 4 March 1788.

Sources

* Ronald W. Howard (ed) ''The twilight of British rule in revolutionary America: the New York letter book of General James Robertson, 1780–1783'', New York State Historical Association, 1983;

References

External links

"Historic Home"
''Lodge Dunearn 400'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, James 1717 births 1788 deaths Military personnel from Fife 55th Regiment of Foot officers Governors of the Province of New York British Army generals British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War British officials in the American Revolution Date of birth unknown Royal American Regiment officers