James Grant (British Army officer, born 1720)

James Grant, 4th of Ballindalloch (1720–1806)

By 1757, Grant was a major of the 77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomerie's Highlanders), fighting in the French and Indian War in the British Thirteen Colonies. In 1758, he led part of the regiment in an expedition led by General John Forbes. On this expedition, he became acquainted with others who would also play larger parts in the American Revolutionary War: George Washington, Francis Marion, and Hugh Mercer, among others. He also gained a contempt for the colonial or militia troops that would colour his later views.

In September, Grant was assigned to lead an advance party of around 800 men to determine the French strength at

In 1761, Grant commanded an expedition against the Cherokee during the Anglo-Cherokee War.^[3]

After being briefly stationed at Fort Ticonderoga, his regiment was moved to the Caribbean Theatre of the Seven Years' War. They fought at the Siege of Havana, held by Spanish forces in Cuba, which ended in the surrender of the city to the British. When the war was over, the regiment was disbanded in America in 1763.

Governor of Florida

With the Treaty of Paris, Britain gained control of Florida from the Spanish. They divided it into two colonies, and James Grant was named governor of East Florida in 1764. He moved to the capital of East Florida at St. Augustine and resided in the Governor's House. He ended Indian raids with the Treaty of Fort Picolata, an attempt to maintain peaceful relations between American Indian groups and Florida colonists and to entice future immigrants to his colony. During the Anglo-Cherokee War of 1759–1761, Grant had become familiar with systems of gift exchange and reciprocity used by Southeast Indian groups, which he sought to implement in Florida.^[4] Grant also established the Florida-Georgia border.

Grant's ventures were ultimately profitable, but numerous efforts failed to produce results. He encouraged new agriculture, setting up trade in the commodities of cotton, indigo, timber, and cochineal. He personally gained and developed several plantations as grants.

Then, in 1771, illness forced him to return to Scotland. Grant was succeeded as Governor by General Patrick Tonyn, brother-in-law of English merchant and planter Francis Levett.

Grant left his overseer Alexander Skinner in charge of his enslaved Africans and his plantation Grant's Villa, seven miles north of St. Augustine. Skinner kept Grant informed of activities on the plantation through many letters from April 1771 until his death in March 1779.^[5] After Skinner's death, Grant appointed Dr. David Yeats, the Secretary of the East Florida Colony, as his agent to manage his plantations in his absence. As with Skinner's letters, Yeats' letters to Grant concerning the properties have long interested Florida colonial historians.^[6] Yeats named his son Grant David Yeats after Grant. Grant D. Yeats (1773–1836) became a noted English physician, author and mayor of Bedford.^[7]

Back home in Scotland, Grant was elected to Parliament in 1773 as an MP for Tain Burghs.^[8] In the period leading up to the American Revolutionary War, he became one of the most outspoken of the anti-American members in Parliament. In a speech early in 1775, he remarked that the colonists "...could not fight...", and declared that he could "go from one end of America to other and geld all the males."^[9]

American War of Independence

By the summer of 1775, Grant returned to active service with the rank of colonel. He was ordered to return to North America. He arrived in

His prediction that Boston was an untenable position was proved correct the following spring. On 17 March 1776, he accompanied the general withdrawal of British troops to

After the event, Grant was unfairly criticised by some for allowing the escape of most of this force. He had almost 7,000 men in ten regiments opposing Alexander's 1,600 Continentals, but there were factors at play other than troop strength. First, Grant stopped his advance according to the British plan, awaiting Howe's attack on the American rear, rather than attacking the Americans who were dug in on the Brooklyn heights. Second, he was running low on ammunition. Boats and logistic support were busy ferrying and supplying the Hessian units on the right and the main body that was landing at Gravesend, Brooklyn.

Grant quick-marched his battalion to the Battle of White Plains, but he arrived too late. In 1777, Grant devised the battle plans for the

Philadelphia and the West Indies

Grant was unsuccessful in trapping

Finally, Grant was shipped off to the West Indies. On 27 October 1778 he led a successful expeditionary force to capture the French West Indian island of St. Lucia. A superior French garrison, surrendered on 28 December, at the Battle of La Vigie.^[11]

On 1 April 1779,

In 1780, he was defeated in parliamentary elections. In 1782, he was appointed a lieutenant general. In 1787, he was re-elected to Parliament, this time for Sutherland. He held the seat until 1802.^[8]

In 1789, he was appointed governor of

His papers are at the National Archives of Scotland and have been copied for the Library of Congress.^[13]

References