Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Thomas Skinner (1759 – 6 February 1818) was a British military engineer born in England at

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. He died at Le Havre, France.

Life

Skinner was born to Thomas and Hester Skinner in Berwick upon Tweed. His grandfather was Lt. Col. William Skinner who was the Chief Engineer in Scotland, Gibraltar and Great Britain. Skinner came to

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 1790 as chief engineer and spent 13 years working on fortifications and other military matters. War with France, starting in 1793, depleted the St John's garrison as they occupied the islands of Saint-Pierre and

Miquelon Miquelon-Langlade is the larger but less populated of the two communes (municipalities) making up the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, located to the south of Newfoundland in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It consists of t ...

. He recruited four companies, called the

Royal Newfoundland Volunteers The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal New ...

, to bolster the defence of St John's. Skinner later recruited and took command of the Royal Newfoundland Fencible Regiment which was disbanded with the peace of 1802. In 1803, he left Newfoundland and retired a few years later. He must be recognized as having strengthened defences in Newfoundland under difficult circumstance, serving a number of governors who were often at variance with the military authorities.

External links

* 1759 births 1818 deaths Newfoundland Colony people Royal Engineers officers British colonial army officers Royal Newfoundland Regiment officers {{Canada-mil-bio-stub

Life

See also

External links