Phineas Riall
Sir Phineas Riall | |
|---|---|
Knight Commander of the Royal Guelphic Order |
Military career
Riall was born at Clonmel, Ireland, into a wealthy Protestant landowning family. He was the third son of Phineas Riall (1737–1797) of Heywood, County Tipperary, whose father had founded the Riall Bank of Clonmel. His mother, Catherine, was the daughter of Charles Caldwell of Dublin and a sister of Admiral Sir Benjamin Caldwell. He was a cousin and from 1790 the brother-in-law of the traveller, author and collector General Sir George Cockburn of Shanganagh Castle, County Dublin.[1]
Riall entered the army as an
Over the next two years, he received promotion to
On arrival, Drummond immediately halted all withdrawals and mounted an attack on the American side of the
On 30 December, Riall again crossed the Niagara River further south, and repeated the deliberate destruction at
On 5 July 1814, Riall commanded the "Right Division" of the British Army in Upper Canada, on the Niagara river. At the Battle of Chippawa, he ordered them to attack Winfield Scott's advancing American brigade. The result was a bloody defeat for the British. Riall's tactics might have been correct had he faced American militia, as he thought, but were disastrous against Scott's well-trained regulars.[2]
On 25 July, Riall's troops once again engaged Scott at the Battle of Lundy's Lane. Riall was severely wounded in the arm early in the battle, and while riding to the rear, was captured by American infantry. While he was a prisoner, a fellow captive (Canadian militia dragoon officer William Hamilton Merritt) described him as "very brave, near sighted, rather short, but stout." He was allowed to sail for England on parole in December.[2]
On 18 February 1816, he was appointed Governor of Grenada, a post he held until 1823. Thereafter, he appears to have seen very little service, although he was knighted in 1833 and eventually became full general on 23 November 1841. He was also successively Colonel of the 74th Regiment of Foot (1835 –1846) and the 15th (Yorkshire East Riding) Regiment of Foot (1846 to his death)
Compensation received by him in 1836 in the name of his wife for slaves freed in Jamaica. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/claim/view/19278
He died peacefully in Paris in 1850.[2]
References
- ^ George Cockburn – An Irish Traveller and Collector
- ^ a b c d e f g Riall, Sir Phineas Dictionary of Canadian Biography