Captain Sir Rupert George, 1st Baronet (16 January 1749,

St. Stephen’s Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by L ...

, Dublin, Ireland – 25 January 1823, Willesden, London Borough of Brent, Greater London, England) was a British naval officer in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, became the Commodore for the Royal Navy's North America Station (1792-1794). He then returned to England and became the first Commissioner of the Transport Service, where he stayed for 22 years. He was the eldest son of Denis George and Sarah Young. In addition to their house at St. Stephen's Green, the family had a country estate at Clophook near Stradbally,

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

Denis George Denis George (c.1751 – 1821) was an Irish barrister and judge who held office as Recorder of Dublin, and then as Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). He enjoyed a high reputation among his contemporaries for integrity and benevolence.Ball, ...

, Recorder of Dublin and later one of the Barons of the

Court of Exchequer (Ireland) The Court of Exchequer (Ireland) or the Irish Exchequer of Pleas, was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was the mirror image of the equivalent court in England. The Court of Exchequer was one of the four royal courts of justic ...

, was his younger brother.

American Revolution

Capture of La Prevoyante and La Raison, May 17th

George became a Lieutenant serving on the

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

(1770),

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

(1775) and Robust (1779). In the

, he fought on HMS ''Quebec'' with Captain George Farmer in the action of 6 October 1779. The following year he sailed on HMS ''Griffin'' and captured the French Privateer 'Le Général Villepatoux'. In February 1781, he commanded HMS ''Avenger''. In 1781, he was the captain of HMS ''Vulture'', where he fought in the action of 21 July 1781. On 12 August 1781, while commanding HMS ''Charlestown'', George captured the privateer ''Harlequin''. In November he was promoted to post-captain. While in command of ''Charleston'', on 21 February 1782 took over Nararro and Philadelphia. In March he captured the ''de la Floride-Orientale'' and ''de la Georgie''. He later joined HMS ''Thisbe'' (1790), which he sailed out of Nova Scotia.

French Revolutionary Wars

From 1792 to 1794, during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

, George served as the Commodore of the North America Station, commanding His Majesty's Naval Force on the Coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. He commanded the only ship of war attached to the North America Station. He sailed the

Hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

(1792) out of the Mediterranean for

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. In March 1792 he captured two privateers, ''Republicaine'' and ''Jou-Jou''. On 12 May, he arrived with the new Governor, John Wentworth after a five week crossing from Falmouth. In May 1793, he captured the ''St. Pierre''. The first press warrant granted in Nova Scotia was in April 1793, when Wentworth granted a warrant to Commander Rupert George of HMS ''Hussar''. George sent press gangs from ''Hussar'' into Halifax. In one night they detained 50 to 60 men, including several Liverpool mariners, and brought them aboard ''Hussar''. He was promoted to Chairman of the Transport Board (1795). He served in the position for 22 years, through seven administrations (until 1817). During this time he was responsible for the "care and custody" of the French prisoners of war held in the

Norman Cross Prison Norman Cross Prison in Huntingdonshire, England, was the world's first purpose-built prisoner-of-war camp or "depot", built in 1796–97 to hold prisoners of war from France and its allies during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic War ...

. He was knighted in 1803 and created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1809.

Family

He was buried in a vault at the centre of the plot in front of the

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

St Mary's Church, Battersea St Mary's Church, Battersea, is the oldest of the churches in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth, in the inner south-west of the UK's capital city. Its parish shared by three Anglican churches is in the diocese of Southwark. Christian ...

, England. (Also buried in the vault are Nova Scotians John Inglis and George's wife Margaret Cochran, daughter of Thomas Cochran by his first marriage. Bishop Inglis also has a monument in the north gallery of the church.) His oldest son Samuel Hood George was sent to Nova Scotia (where his mother's family still lived) with the new Governor Sir George Prevost to become the Provincial Secretary (1808-1812), after which he returned to England and died (1813). His second oldest son Rupert Dennis George then departed for Nova Scotia to take his older brother's position as Provincial Secretary (1813-1827). He also became the second and last Baronet (1813). He also was the Aide-de-camp during Lieutenant Governor Sir Peregrine Maitland's command of the Nova Scotia militia. Joseph Howe was the next Provincial Secretary and complained about George's handling of the position.Joseph Howe - Amherst
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Links

Rupert George - 3 Decks

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Rupert 1747 births 1823 deaths History of Nova Scotia Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War British naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars

American Revolution

French Revolutionary Wars

Family

Links

See also

References