Frederick Philipse Robinson
Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson Governor of Tobago | |
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Battles/wars |
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Awards | Susannah Philipse (mother) |
Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson,
On the conclusion of peace he went to England. He subsequently took part in the
Ancestry
He was the fourth son of Colonel Beverley Robinson, son of John Robinson, President of the Council at Virginia, North America. The Robinsons were, in property and family, among the leading men in that province. John Robinson was nephew to Dr. John Robinson, Bishop of London, and went to America as secretary to government. He resided at Williamsburg and married Catherine Beverley, daughter of Robert Beverley, Esq., of Beverley, Yorkshire.
Dr. John Robinson, Bishop of London, was distinguished both as a statesman and a divine. He was ambassador to the court of Sweden during the years 1683 to 1708. In the year 1710 he was made
Colonel Beverley Robinson arrived in New York from Virginia in 1745 as captain of an independent company, raised before leaving for the purpose of defending the frontier against the Indians, which company was disbanded in 1748. He soon afterward married
America
At the earliest commencement of the American war Colonel Beverley Robinson raised the
West Indies
After serving in England and Ireland during the following nine years, Lieut. Robinson embarked with his regiment at Cork on 24 November 1793, forming part of Sir Charles Grey's expedition to the West Indies. He was present at the capture of Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadeloupe, including the storming of Fleur-de-l'Épée, and the heights of Palmonte. He was promoted to a company, 3 July 1794, and commanded the Grenadiers until after the capture of Guadeloupe, when, his health having suffered severely from the climate, he returned to England on sick certificate.
Bedford and London
On 1 September 1794, Capt. Robinson was gazetted Major of the
By 1807, the then Col. Robinson had commanded London Recruiting District, and the Pimlico battalion of the Queen's Loyal Volunteers from about 1803. Robinson was posted to London from Bedford, c 1801. On Friday 8 May 1807, he addressed a meeting at Covent Garden, London where he introduced Col. Eliot to the meeting, as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Westminster in the 1807 United Kingdom general election.
Peninsula
On 25 July 1810, he became Colonel in the army, and having from the commencement of the war in the Peninsula most earnestly desired permission to serve with the force under
- "The attack of the village of Gamarra by Major-General Robinson's brigade was justly admired by all who witnessed it. Too much praise cannot be given to Major-General Robinson and the troops of his brigade for their persevering defence of a post so gallantly won, against numerous artillery and great masses of infantry, the enemy employed to retake it, in repeated attacks."
On 21 July 1813, General Robinson took part in the first assault of St. Sebastian, and on 31 August he commanded the attacking column at the second and successful assault, and was severely wounded. On 7 October following, the Major-General was at the head of the leading column at the passage of the Bidassoa; on 9 November was at the attack of Secoa and the Heights of Cibour; on 10 December, at the battle of the Nive, was again severely wounded. He recovered to take part in the operations at the blockade of Bayonne and the repulse of the sortie on 14 April 1814, when he succeeded to the command of the fifth division.
Canada, War of 1812
In June 1814, the Duke of Wellington selected General Robinson to proceed in command of a brigade to North America, and he accordingly embarked at Bordeaux with battalions of the 27th, 39th, 76th, and 88th regiments, and arrived at Brandypots, 100 miles below Quebec, on 9 August 1814. In September he commanded two brigades intended to attack the works of Plattsburg during the War of 1812, but after having gallantly forced the passage of the Saranac, received orders from Sir George Prevost to retire. In November following, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief and Provisional Governor of the Upper Provinces in Canada, which he held until June, 1816, when he returned to England.
Tobago
He afterwards became Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Tobago from 1816 to 1828, "fulfilling the duties to the entire satisfaction of the home government and the inhabitants of the colony" although from all appearances, a "flat statement in which even his own defense exposes as being uncharacteristically flawed.[3]
Personal life
On 2 January 1815, General Robinson was nominated a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, and he was advanced to be a Grand Cross in 1838. He attained the rank of Lieut.-General 27 May 1825, and that of General 23 November 1841; and was appointed to the command of the 39th regiment on 15 June 1840. Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson lived to become the oldest soldier in the British service, his first commission being of earlier date than those of the few general officers whose names preceded his in the Army List. For the last seven years he resided at Brighton, Sussex, in the possession of good health and in the exercise of all his mental faculties, enjoying the affectionate attendance of a beloved daughter and niece, and the society of an attached circle of friends, to whom be had endeared himself by his noble and amiable qualities. He died after a very few days illness on the first day of 1852, and on 7 January his honoured remains were consigned to their last resting-place in the churchyard of Hove, near Brighton.
Sir Frederick was twice married:
Firstly, c. early 1790s, to Grace Boles, daughter of Thomas Boles, Esq., of Charleville, who died in 1806, with issue including:
- Maria Susan Robinson (born 18 November 1793, bapt 1 December 1802 St Peter, Bedford)
- Frederick Philipse Robinson (born 20 January 1797, bapt 1 December 1802 St Peter Bedford)
- Beverley George Robinson (born 31 January 1799, bapt 1 December 1802 St Peter, Bedford)
- Jane Robinson (born 28 January 1802, bapt 1 December 1802 St Peter, Bedford)
Secondly, in 1811, to Ann Fernyhough, of Stafford, who died at Tobago.
References
- Gentleman's Magazine, February 1852 pp 188–190
- ^ (William Jay, The Life of John Jay: with selection of his correspondence and miscellaneous papers. New York: J. & J Harper, 1833, p. 10). On his Bohemian aristocratic ancestry, see also: Thomas Capek, Ancestry of Frederick Philipse: First Lord and Founder of Philipse Manor at Yonkers, N. Y. New York: The Paebar Co., 1939.
- ^ Purple, Edwin R., "Contributions to the History of the Ancient Families of New York: Varleth-Varlet-Varleet-Verlet-Verleth," New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 9 (1878), pp. 120-121 [1]
- ^ "A Statement of charges made by the House of Assembly of Tobago against Sir F. P. Robinson, and his replies thereto; with some of the correspondence connected with these charges". 1830.