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 ...
Robert Sedgwick (c. 1611 – 1656) was an
English
English usually refers to:
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* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
colonist, born 1611 in
Woburn, Bedfordshire
Woburn (, meaning twisted or crooked stream) is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is situated about southeast of the centre of Milton Keynes, and about south of junction 13 of the M1 motorway. At the 2011 census, it had a po ...
,
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 ...
, and baptised on 6 May 1613.
Biography
He was the son of William Sedgwick of London, and brother of English priest
William Sedgwick.
He has been identified with the Sedgwick who came over to New England in 1635, in the ship ''Truelove'', aged 24, although in the record of the custom house his name is written 'Jo.' instead of 'Ro.' Sedgwick.
He was made a freeman of Massachusetts on 9 March 1637.
Sedgwick, who had some military training, and is said by Edward Johnson to have been 'nurst up in London's Artillery garden,' was chosen captain of the Charlestown trained band, and was, in 1638, one of the founders of 'The Military Company of Massachusetts.'
His name is the third in the foundation charter.
He was commander of the Castle in Boston Harbour in 1641, and was major-general of the Massachusetts forces in 1652.
He ordered the building of
Castle William, the first fort at
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
.
In 1653, Sedgwick was in England, and Cromwell selected him to command an expedition intended to drive the Dutch from
New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...
, giving him the rank of major in the army.
He raised, in spite of various obstructions, a few hundred men in the New England colonies, and was about to set out against the Dutch (June 1654), when news of the peace with Holland put a stop to his proceedings.
On this, Sedgwick turned his forces against the French in
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17t ...
, captured their forts of
St. John's and
Port Royal, and a settlement at
Penobscot
The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic ...
, and added Acadia to the British dominions.
In the summer of 1655, after the conquest of
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, the Protector appointed Sedgwick one of the civil commissioners for the government of his new acquisition.
The instructions describe him still merely as 'Major Sedgwick,' but it is evident that Cromwell relied much on his experience of colonial life and his influence in New England.
In October 1655, when Sedgwick arrived at Jamaica, he found the troops dying fast, everything in disorder, and necessaries of every kind wanting.
"You must in a manner begin the work over again" was his message to Cromwell; but, though inwardly desponding of the future of the colony, he kept a brave front to the public, and under his energetic and judicious administration things slowly mended.
Cromwell rewarded his zeal by sending him a commission as major-general and commander-in-chief, which reached Jamaica early in May 1656.
But Sedgwick never took up the command, died on 24 May 1656, and was buried halfway up the canyon to
Spanish Town from
Ocho Rios
Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as ''Ochi'' by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth in the ...
in a small
Christopher Wren-styled chapel.
Assessment
According to his secretary, the new responsibility imposed upon him aggravated his illness and brought him to his grave.
'There is so much expected of me,' said he, 'and I, conscious of my own disabilities, having besides so untoward a people to deal with, am able to perform so little, that I shall never overcome it; it will break my heart'.
The secretary describes Sedgwick as being 'generally beloved and esteemed by all sorts of people,' and Carlyle characterises him as 'a very brave, zealous, and pious man, whose letters in Thurloe are, of all others, the best worth reading on this subject.'
Family
Sedgwick left a widow, Joanna, and five children.
The Protector granted her a pension of £100 per annum, and ordered her husband's arrears to be paid to her.
Sedgwick, Maine
Sedgwick is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,202 at the 2020 census. The town includes the village of ''Sargentville''.
The countryside around Sedgwick is a haven for birdwatchers, as well as an out-of-the-wa ...
, was named in his honour.
References
;Attribution
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sedgwick, Robert
Kingdom of England emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony
17th-century American businesspeople
English generals
Governors of Jamaica
Sedgwick family
1610s births
1656 deaths
People from Woburn, Bedfordshire
Members of the colonial Massachusetts House of Representatives
Military personnel from Bedfordshire