Sir Charles Hastings Doyle (10 April 1803 – 19 March 1883) was a British military officer and he was the second

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

post Confederation and the first Lieutenant Governor of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

Military career

Born in London, England, the eldest son of Lieutenant-General Sir

Charles William Doyle Lieutenant-General Sir Charles William Doyle, GCH, CB (1770 – 25 October 1842) was a British Army officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. Biography Doyle was born in 1770, the eldest son of William Doyle of Bramblestown, County ...

and Sophia Cramer Coghill, he attended the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

, and joined the army as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

of the 24th (The 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot on 23 December 1819. He was promoted to the ranks of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 27 September 1822 and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 16 June 1825. He received a

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 28 June 1838. Rising through the ranks (Lieutenant Colonel in 1846,), he reached

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 a ...

in 1860. He was Colonel of the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot from 1868 to 1870. Charles Hastings Doyle Province House Nova Scotia Canada

After service in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

, he was stationed in Nova Scotia and, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, resolved the

Chesapeake Affair The ''Chesapeake'' Affair was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War. On December 7, 1863, Confederate sympathizers from the Maritime Provinces captured the American steamer ''Chesapeake'' off the coa ...

, which took place in Halifax. He then countered the threat of the Fenian Raid on Canada's Maritime Provinces by ending the Campobello Island Raid. By April 1866 the menace of a Fenian invasion of New Brunswick was at its most serious, and Doyle quickly responded to Lieutenant Governor Gordon's request for military aid. On 17 April 1866, he left Halifax with Royal Navy warships carrying over 700 British regulars and proceeded to Passamaquoddy Bay, where the Fenian force was concentrated, under the command of

John O'Mahony John Francis O'Mahony (1815 – 7 February 1877) was a Gaelic scholar and the founding member of the Fenian Brotherhood in the United States, sister organisation to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Despite coming from a reasonably wealthy fa ...

. This show of British armed might discouraged the Fenians, and the invaders dispersed. He was appointed the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick in 1867, the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick The lieutenant governor of New Brunswick (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the viceregal representative in New Brunswick of the , who operates distinctly wit ...

after

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. From 1867 to 1873, he was the

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia The lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia () is the viceregal representative in Nova Scotia of the , who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as the other Commonwealt ...

post-Confederation. In 1869 he was appointed a Knight Commander of St Michael and St George, and in 1870 he was promoted to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. He became

Commander of the British Troops in Canada This is a list of officers who commanded the Regular Troops of the British Army in Canada until 1906, when the last British garrison was withdrawn. From 1875 there was a separate commander of the Canadian Militia. This officer was responsible to ...

in 1870 and general officer commanding Southern District in April 1874. He was promoted full

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 ...

in 1877. There is a full-length portrait of him by Adolphus Robert Venables in

Province House (Nova Scotia) Province House ( gd, Taigh na Roinne) in Halifax is where the Nova Scotia legislative assembly, known officially as the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, has met every year since 1819, making it the longest serving legislative building in Canada. T ...

. He is the namesake of

Port Hastings, Nova Scotia Port Hastings is a unincorporated settlement on Cape Breton Island, within the Municipality of the County of Inverness, Canada. The population in 2021 was 90. The community is located at the eastern end of the Canso Causeway on Cape Breton Isla ...

References

Sources

*Hart, H.G. 1841. The New Army List. London. *Paton, G. 1892. Historical Records of the 24th Regiment. London. , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Charles 1804 births 1883 deaths Military personnel from London British Army generals Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Lieutenant Governors of New Brunswick Lieutenant Governors of Nova Scotia Governors of the Colony of Nova Scotia Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army personnel of the Crimean War Military history of Nova Scotia South Wales Borderers officers

Military career

See also

References

Sources