Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester
| General The Right Honourable Lord Dorchester KB | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor of the Province of Quebec | |
| In office 1768–1778 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Preceded by | James Murray |
| Succeeded by | Sir Frederick Haldimand |
| Governor General of The Canadas | |
| In office 1786–1796 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Preceded by | Sir Frederick Haldimand |
| Succeeded by | Robert Prescott |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 September 1724 Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland |
| Died | November 10, 1808 aoremovetag(aged 84) Maidenhead, Berkshire, England |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1742 – 1796 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Commands | America Quebec The Canadas |
| Battles/wars | War of the Austrian Succession Seven Years' War American War of Independence |
| Awards | KB |
Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB (Strabane, Co. Tyrone, Ireland, September 3, 1724 – November 10, 1808 Stubbings, Maidenhead, Berkshire), known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier and administrator. He twice served as Governor of the Province of Quebec, from 1768 to 1778, concurrently serving as Governor General of British North America in that time, and from 1785 to 1795.
He commanded British troops in the American War of Independence, first leading the defence of Quebec during the 1775 rebel invasion and the 1776 counteroffensive that drove the rebels from the province. In 1782 and 1783 he led as the commander-in-chief of all British forces in North America. In this capacity he was notable for carrying out the Crown's promise of freedom to slaves who joined the British, and he oversaw the evacuation of British forces, Loyalists and more than 3,000 freedmen from New York in 1783 to transport them to a British colony.
The military and political career of his younger brother Thomas Carleton was interwoven with his own, and Thomas served under him in Canada.
Early career
Guy Carleton was born to a Protestant military family that had lived in Ireland since the 17th century, and was one of four brothers that served in the British military. When he was fourteen his father, died, and his mother remarried. He received a limited education.
In 1742, at the age of 17, he was commissioned as an Ensign in the 25th Regiment of Foot and in which in 1745 he was made a Lieutenant. During this period he became a friend of James Wolfe; he may also have served with Wolfe at the Battle of Culloden during the Jacobite Rebellion. Two of his brothers, William and Thomas, also joined the army.
Seven Years War
Germany
Canada
France and Havana
Governor of Quebec
Marriage and family
On May 22, 1772, at the age of nearly 48, Carleton married Maria Howard. Twenty-nine years his junior, she was the daughter of the second Earl of Effingham.
Later career
Carleton was promoted to Major-General on May 25, 1772. While he was in London, the Parliament passed the Quebec Act of 1774, based upon his recommendations. It determined how the province was to be administered and was part of a continuing effort to respect some French traditions while ensuring rights of citizens as understood by the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Carleton and Maria returned to Quebec on September 18, 1774, where he began implementing the provisions of the act. While the clergy and the seigneurs (landowners) were happy with provisions favorable to them, British merchants and migrants from the Thirteen Colonies objected to a number of the provisions, which they thought were undemocratic and pro-Catholic. Many of the habitants were unhappy with the provisions reinstating the tithe in support of the Catholic Church, as well as seigneurial obligations, such as the corvée (a labor requirement).
In late 1774, the First Continental Congress sent letters to Montreal denouncing the Quebec Act for being undemocratic and for promoting Catholicism by allowing Catholics to hold civil service positions and reinstating the tithe. John Brown, an agent for the Boston Committee of Correspondence, arrived in Montreal in early 1775 as part of an effort to persuade citizens to send delegates to the Second Continental Congress, scheduled to meet in May 1775. Carleton, while aware of this activity, did nothing to prevent it, beyond discouraging publication of the Congressional letter in the province's only newspaper.
American War of Independence
Defence of Canada
Evacuation of New York
Post-war years
Upon his return to England Carleton recommended the creation of a position of Governor General of all the provinces in British North America. Instead he was appointed "Governor-in-chief", with simultaneous appointments as governor of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and St. John's Island (present-day Prince Edward Island). He arrived in Quebec on October 23, 1786. His position as Governor-in-chief was mostly ignored. He found quickly that his authority in any of the provinces other than Quebec was effective only while he was present in person.
He was raised to the Peerage in August 1786 as Lord Dorchester, Baron of Dorchester in the County of Oxford.
The Constitutional Act of 1791 split the large territory of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada, corresponding roughly to areas settled by ethnic British and ethnic French, respectively. Sir Alured Clarke was named as the lieutenant governor of Lower Canada and John Graves Simcoe the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. In August 1791 Carleton left for Britain and on February 7, 1792 took his seat in the House of Lords. He left for Canada again on August 18, 1793 to resume his duties there. His replacement, Robert Prescott, arrived in May 1796. On July 9, 1796 Carleton sailed from Canada to Britain, never to return.
In retirement Carleton lived mostly at Greywell Hill, adjoining Nately Scures, in Hampshire. After about 1805 he moved to Stubbings House at Burchett's Green, near Maidenhead, in Berkshire. On November 10, 1808, he died suddenly at Stubbings. He was buried in the parish church of St Swithun's, Nately Scures.
Legacy and honors
See also
References
Bibliography
External links
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