George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville
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Major general George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, PC (26 January 1716 – 26 August 1785) was a
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer, politician, and peer who served as
Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...
from 1775 to 1782. Serving in the North ministry during the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, he received significant blame for Britain's defeat in the conflict; Sackville's issuance of confusing instructions to British commanders in North America coupled with his failure to understand either the geography of Britain's American colonies or the determination of the rebels' resolve have led historians to support such arguments. Sackville served in the British army in the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...
and in
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
, including at the decisive Battle of Minden, after which he was court-martialled. His political career ended with the fall of the North ministry in March 1782.


Early life and education

Sackville was the third son of
Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (18 January 168810 October 1765) was a British politician who served as Lord President of the Council from 1745 to 1751. He also twice served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1730 to 1737 and aga ...
, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Lieutenant-General Walter Philip Colyear. His Godfather George I attended his
baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
. He was educated at
Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and graduated from Trinity College in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
in 1737. Between 1730 and 1737 and again from 1750 to 1755, his father held the post of
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
. While in Dublin he befriended the celebrated writer
Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...
. He also encountered Lord Ligonier who would later assist his career in the military. He then entered the army. Sackville was elected Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland in 1751 and served for two years.


Family

He married Diana Sambrooke, daughter of John Sambrook and Elizabeth Forester, on 3 September 1754. They had two sons and two daughters, including: *Diana Sackville (8 July 1756 – 29 August 1814), married John Crosbie, 2nd Earl of Glandore * Charles Sackville (27 August 1767 – 29 July 1843), later changed his name to Charles Sackville-Germain. *George Sackville (7 December 1770 – 31 May 1836) *Elizabeth, married Henry Herbert, MP He was known to be gay.


Early military career

Sackville started as a captain in the 7th Horse (later the 6th Dragoon Guards). In 1740, he transferred to the Gloucestershire Regiment of Foot as a lieutenant colonel. The regiment was sent to
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
to participate in the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...
. In 1743. Sackville was advanced to brevet colonel.


Battle of Fontenoy

He saw his first battle, leading the charge of the
Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom w ...
's infantry in the
Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then in the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Maurice, comte de Saxe, Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Ar ...
in 1745. He led his regiment so deep into the French lines that when he was wounded and captured he was taken to the tent of
Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
. When he was released and returned home, it was to duty in
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as the Colonel of the 20th Foot Regiment. In 1747 and 1748, he again joined the
Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom w ...
. He became colonel of the 7th Irish horse and served in
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
. There was a break in his military career between wars (1750–1755) when he served as first secretary to his father. During the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
, Sackville returned to active military service. He had been considered for the post of Commander-in-Chief in North America, which eventually went to
Edward Braddock Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe and Canada as ...
, who led his force to disaster during the Braddock Campaign. In 1755, he was promoted to major general and returned to active service to oversee ordnance. In 1758, he was given a fourth regiment and joined the Duke of Marlborough as a lieutenant general. He was sworn of the Privy Council in January 1758.


Raid on St Malo

In June 1758 Sackville was second in command of a British expedition, led by Marlborough, which attempted an amphibious Raid on St Malo. While it failed to take the town as instructed, the raid was still considered to have been largely successful as a diversion. Follow-up raids were considered against
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
,
Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...
and other targets in
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, but no further landings were attempted, and the force returned home. Later in 1758 they joined the allied forces of Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick in Germany, with the first detachment of British troops sent to the Continent. When Marlborough died, Sackville became Commander of the British contingent of the army, although still under the overall command of the Duke of Brunswick.


Battle of Minden

In the Battle of Minden on 1 August 1759, British and Hanoverian infantry of the centre made an advance on the French cavalry and artillery in that sector. They apparently went in without orders and their attacking line formation even repulsed repeated French cavalry charges, holding until the last moment then firing a massive volley when the charge came within ten yards. As the disrupted French began to fall back on
Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...
, Ferdinand called for a British cavalry charge to complete the victory, but Sackville withheld permission for their advance. Ferdinand sent his order several times, but Sackville was estranged from Lord Granby, the force commander. He continued to withhold permission for Granby to "gain glory" through an attack. For that action, he was cashiered and sent home. Granby replaced him as commander of the British contingent for the remainder of the war.


Court martial

Sackville refused to accept responsibility for refusing to obey orders. Back in England, he demanded a
court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...
, and made it a large enough issue that he obtained his demand in 1760. The court found him guilty, and imposed one of the strangest and strongest verdicts ever rendered against a general officer. The court's verdict not only upheld his discharge but also ruled that he was "unfit to serve His Majesty in any military Capacity whatever", then ordered that their verdict be read to and entered in the orderly book of every regiment in the army. The King had his name struck from the Privy Council rolls.


Early political career


Member of Parliament

Sackville had been a Member of Parliament at intervals since 1733. He had served terms in both the Dublin and the Westminster bodies, sometimes simultaneously, but had not taken sides in political wrangles. Between 1750 and 1755 he served as
Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...
, during his father's second term as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. When
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
ascended to the British throne in 1760, Sackville began his political rehabilitation. There did not seem to be negative repercussions to the European stalemate of the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
. The victories over the French within the colonial empire provided a chance for events of the war to be forgotten. The difficulty of repaying the debts incurred to fight the war caused a period of unstable ministries and shifting political alliances. In 1765, King George quietly returned him to the rolls of the Privy Council. Initially he was a follower of
George Grenville George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, during the early reign of the young George III. He served for only two years (1763-1765), and attempted to solv ...
's faction, but he increasingly lined up as a supporter of Lord North and, in 1769, he made the alliance formal. Then, in 1769, Lady Elizabeth Germain died without natural heirs, and left her estates, including Drayton, Northamptonshire, to him. That not only improved his finances but also gave him the chance to take that name formally. After 1770, he was known as Lord George Germain.


Secretary of State


Appointment

On 10 November 1775, Germain was appointed Secretary of State for the American Department replacing Lord Dartmouth in the post. At that time, North's cabinet had three secretaries of state; one each for Europe (the Northern Department), America, and the rest of the world (the Southern Department). Besides
international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
, the secretaries were responsible for a great deal of Colonial administration and for military operations within their area. That made Germain the primary minister responsible for suppressing the rebellion that had broken out in 1775 in the colonies. He promoted or relieved generals, took care of provisions and supplies and became involved with the strategic planning of the war.


American War of Independence

In 1776, he worked with General
John Burgoyne General (United Kingdom), General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British Army officer, playwright and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1792. He first saw acti ...
to plan, support and issue orders for the Saratoga campaign. However, his unclear orders to General William Howe contributed to the campaign's failure. Following the entry of France, Spain and the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
into the conflict, British emphasis shifted to focus increasingly on their colonial territories in the Caribbean and India. British troops were withdrawn from
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
and reinforcements were sent to the
British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...
. In 1779 one of Germain's associates, Richard Cumberland, was sent to
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for failed talks designed to reach a separate peace settlement with Spain.


Yorktown

In 1781, the confusion involving orders sent to
Charles Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading Britis ...
from Henry Clinton contributed to the loss at the
Siege of Yorktown The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Ma ...
. The news of Yorktown reached London on 25 November 1781, and the messenger went first to Germain's residence at Pall Mall. Germain then went to tell other ministers. Together they went to Lord North, who reportedly cried out "Oh God – It's all over". It was agreed that Germain, rather than North, should take the news to the King who was at
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. The King's Speech two days later had to be re-written in light of Yorktown. News of the surrender galvanised the opposition, and the government majorities began to shrink over the following months with calls for resignations of senior ministers. Germain drew up a plan to continue the war by using the existing British bases in Charleston, New York,
Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
, and Canada to harass the American coastline and frontiers. He also advocated re-occupying Newport in
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
to give a foothold in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
.


Departure from office

Germain became a target for the opposition and was eventually persuaded to step down in exchange for a peerage, and in February 1782, he was made Baron Bolebrooke, in the County of Sussex, and Viscount Sackville, of Drayton in the County of Northampton. That was considered essential if the North government was to survive by bringing in factions of the opposition to which Germain was personally objectionable. He was replaced by Welbore Ellis. In spite of Germain's departure, the North government fell shortly afterwards in February 1782 and was followed by a period of political instability. Shortly after the fall of the North government, news arrived of the decisive British naval victory at the
Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...
in the Caribbean, which would have boosted the government if it had still been in power and British successes late in the war came partly thanks to the strategic dispositions made by North and Germain. The Shelburne government agreed to the Peace of Paris, which brought an end to the war in 1783 and recognised the independence of the United States.


Later life

The controversy over Lord Sackville's handling of the war continued. Some members were opposed to his taking a seat in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, an almost unprecedented incident. However, he was admitted to the Lords, where he was staunchly defended by Lord Thurlow, and his declining health soon made the issue irrelevant. He retired to his country home at Stoneland Lodge and died there in 1785. He maintained to his dying day that he had not been a coward at Minden. Following his death, a defence of Sackville's reputation, ''The character of the late Viscount Sackville'', was written by Richard Cumberland. A trove of the subject's letters were published by the Historical Records Commission beginning in 1904 under the title ''Report on the manuscripts of Mrs. Stopford-Sackville, of Drayton House, Northhamptonshire / with a new introduction and preface by George Athan Billias''.Great Britain. Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts; Sackville, George Germain, Viscount; Stopford-Sackville, Caroline Harriet Sackville Germain; Hewlett, William Oxenham, ed; Lomas, S. C. (Sophia Crawford). ''Report on the Manuscripts of Mrs. Stopford-Sackville, of Drayton house''
The Internet Archive website
Retrieved 30 December 2021.
The Drayton House estate passed to his son Charles, who later became the 5th (and last) Duke of Dorset. The Stoneland estate (or Buckhurst Park as it came to be known) passed via the wife of the late 3rd Duke of Dorset to her daughter Countess de la Warr on the Dowager Duchess's death in 1825.


Legacy

* Namesake of Fort Sackville (Nova Scotia), Canada *
Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia Lower Sackville is a suburban community of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. History Before European colonization in 1749, the Mi'kmaq lived in this area for thousands of years. In August 1749, Captain John Gorham, act ...
and Upper Sackville, Nova Scotia * Germain Street,
Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...
* Sackville, New South Wales * Town of
Sackville, New Brunswick Sackville is a former town in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It held town status prior to 2023 and is now part of the town of Tantramar, New Brunswick, Tantramar. Sackville is home to Mount Allison University, a primarily undergraduate libe ...
. Established in 1762 by settlers ("New England planters") from Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts, the Sackville Township, named for Viscount Sackville, was formally created in 1765; by 1772 it was sufficiently populated to send a representative to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It became part of the Province of New Brunswick in 1784. The Town was incorporated in 1903.


References


Further reading

* Brown, Gerald S. "The Court Martial of Lord George Sackville, Whipping Boy of the Revolutionary War." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1952): 317–33
online
* * Clark, Jane. "Responsibility for the Failure of the Burgoyne Campaign." ''American Historical Review'' (1930): 542–55
online
* Guttridge, George H. "Lord George Germain in Office, 1775–1782." ''American Historical Review'' 33.1 (1927): 23–43
online
* Gruber, Ira D. "Lord Howe and Lord George Germain, British Politics and the Winning of American Independence." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1965): 225–243
in JSTOR
* Jones, Robert W. "9 "Unfit to Serve": Honour, Masculinity, and the Fate of Lord George Sackville." in ''The Culture of the Seven Years' War: Empire, Identity, and the Arts in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World'' (2014): 213
online
* Kyte, George W. "Plans for Reconquest of the Rebellious Colonies in America." ''Historian'' 10.2 (1948): 101–117. * Mackesy, Piers. ''Coward of Minden: The Affair of Lord George Sackville'' (1979). * Nelson, Paul David. "British Conduct of the American Revolutionary War: A Review of Interpretations." ''Journal of American History'' 65.3 (1978): 623–653
online
* O'Shaughnessy, Andrew Jackson. ''The Men who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire'' (Yale UP, 2014). * Robson, Eric. "Lord George Germain and the American Colonies." ''History Today'' (Feb 1953) 3#2 pp 115–121. * Valentine, Alan, '' Lord George Germain '' (1962), full biography * Weddle, Kevin J. "A Change of Both Men and Measures": British Reassessment of Military Strategy after Saratoga, 1777–1778." ''Journal of Military History'' 77.3 (2013). * Willcox, William B. "British Strategy in America, 1778." ''Journal of Modern History ''(1947): 97–121
in JSTOR
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sackville, George Germain, 1st Viscount 1716 births 1785 deaths 12th Royal Lancers officers 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) officers British Army lieutenant generals British Army personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745 British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession British Army personnel who were court-martialled British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British officials in the American Revolution Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers Irish MPs 1727–1760 Lancashire Fusiliers officers Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kilkenny constituencies Germain, George, Germain, George Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Members of the Privy Council of Ireland People educated at Westminster School, London People expelled from the Privy Council of Great Britain Viscounts in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George III Younger sons of dukes George Chief secretaries for Ireland Secretaries of State for the Colonies Presidents of the Board of Trade British people of the American Revolution Alumni of Trinity College Dublin British duellists LGBTQ peers LGBTQ members of the Parliament of Great Britain 18th-century English LGBTQ people