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Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in America from 1756 to 1758
“…passionately zealous for the subordination and inferiority of the Colonies, utterly wanting in the qualities of a military officer, or of a statesman, or a man in any sort of business."His past military undertakings show from the very outset he was an officer utterly lacking in initiative, ability, courage or intelligence, and only a short sighted monarch would have dreamed of centering on him the powers and prerogatives which he was soon to assume. Even Benjamin Franklin, that great statesman, shook his head in wonder over the appointment, and later wrote in his autobiography -- ” On the whole I then wonder’d much, how such a Man came to be entrusted with so important a Business as the Conduct of a great Army; but having since seen more of the great World, and the means of obtaining & Motives for giving Places, & Employments, my Wonder is diminished. General Shirley, on whom the Command of the Army devolved upon the Death of Braddock, would in my opinion if continued in Place, have made a much better Campaign than that of Loudoun in 1757, which was frivolous, expensive, and disgraceful to our Nation beyond Conception….”Franklin summed up Loudoun's character as one of which "...Indecision was one of the Strongest Features." But Loudoun was aristocratically oblivious to all his own shortcomings, and in order to bolster up his dignity and importance, his Commission (which was prepared by a friend of his, Chancellor Hardwick) described him as “…Governor of the central, ancient, and populous dominion of Virginia”; -- a position that conferred on him powers which made him independent of any and all other Colonial Governors, and superior to them. The Governors of the several colonies were "ex officio" civil and military representatives of the King, but they could only take the initiative even in their own respective provinces in the absence of the "Governor-General," or "Continental Commander," or his representatives. This Commission, which was certainly contrary to the spirit of the British Constitution, was renewed successively and without change until the period of Independence, and was one of the contributing causes of the dissatisfaction which resulted in the overthrow of British domination. Interestingly enough, and a point frequently raised as a black mark against him, during his entire tenure Loudoun never set foot in the colony he was supposed to govern. In all fairness, however, that precedent had been set by a number of former "absentee governors" who accepted this plum political position without ever leaving England. However, none managed to initiate such chaotic havoc in such a short amount of time as did Lord Loudoun. According to Bancroft “…Loudoun came to America under the impression that "he would unite the Colonies by military rule, sway the magistrates by authority, and compel its assemblies distinctly and precisely to understand that the King required of them a general fund to be issued and applied as the Commander-in-Chief should direct, and to provide all such charges as might arise from furnishing quarters.". He arrived in New York on July 23, 1756, already several months overdue, with (according to historian and biographer Stanley Pargellis) "...a 'matter de hotel', a 'vallet de chamber', a cook, a groom, a coachman, a postillion, a footman, two mistresses (only one, Jean Masson, being specifically named), wine, plate, silverware, two secretaries, a surgeon, seventeen personal servants, loads of furniture, nineteen horses with their housings of green velevet and glack and gold, his traveling coach, his chariot, and his street coach." War with France had been declared by England in May, 1756, so that military activities had been under way in New England for some time. The leader of this mobilization was Governor Shirley of Massachusetts. He and Loudoun immediately clashed, for Loudoun did not consider himself a "leader, among equals" but undertook at once to put into operation the unusual powers bestowed upon him. He dismissed Shirley for incompetence and ordered him to return to England. The entire entourage then proceeded to Albany where Loudoun immediately assumed command of the forces assembled there. The settlement at Oswego had been threatened by the French forces, strongly reinforced by the Indians, and colonists appeals for help had been answered by Governor Shirley who had gathered here the regiments of New England, New Jersey, and New York, amounting to some 7000. The presence of the British regulars brought this number up to 10,000 not counting the garrison at Oswego. With such a force as this, under a competent leader, the situation might easily have been saved, but Loudoun procrastinated and did nothing. The result was that on August 12, 1756 the undermanned Fort at Oswego was attacked, and on the 14th it capitulated to the French General Montcalm. Many of the 1600 American defenders suffered death at the hands of the Indians, and many were taken prisoners. Webb, who commanded the garrison, fled to Albany in terror. Even after the fall of Oswego, Loudoun might have proceeded to carry the war into the enemy's country, and invade Canada; instead he disbanded the provincial soldiers, and then forcibly quartered the regular British troops - comprised mostly of the worst dredges of society, including hardened prisoners - upon the good people of New York and Philadelphia. In spite of their bitter protests to such an action, Loudoun turned a sour ear, compelling the populace by force to give food and shelter to the troops who had done nothing for their protection, or the safety of the frontier. In 1757 the Governors of Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and Pennsylvania met in Philadelphia to discuss holding the existing boundaries and possibly extending their territory. In writing to the Prime Minister, William Pitt, Loudoun declares that At this critical juncture Benjamin Franklin was chosen to go to England and act as spokesman and representative of the colonists, but the House of Commons had already declared that "the colonists had no right to question the levies, nor to neglect the orders from the Crown."With the announced intention of besieging the French colony of Louisburg in Nova Scotia, Loudoun proceeded to Halifax, with 10,000 men and 16 ships of the line, and several frigates. Having arrived he laid out parade grounds, and established barracks, and went so far as to plant gardens so that the troops would be provided with vegetables in order to ward off scurvy. Here he conducted sham battles, mock skirmishes, and showy parades, sapping the fighting spirit of the men until mutiny began to smolder among the troops. Loudoun then gave orders to embark as though he would proceed to Louisburg, but before they could leave the harbor, news came that the French fleet was sighted and that it outnumbered that of the British by one ship. He immediately retreated back to New York without firing a shot or striking a blow. At this juncture Loudoun decided that Long Island be fortified and made the central point of defense of the Continent. In spite of the vast troops at his heel, he made no positive move to carry reinforcements to the colonists whose very lives were threatened. Meanwhile the men who were holding the frontier lines found no support or comfort either from Albany or from New York. News of the pitiful state of things was not slow in reaching England and the Parliament, and although Lord Sackville attempted to defend the conduct of Loudoun in failing to bring his military operations to a successful issue, William Pitt exploded in a rage. "Nothing is done. Nothing is attempted." He roared to Parliament. "We have lost all the waters. There is not a boat on the lakes. Every door is open to France." Benjamin Franklin was in England during this time, and wrote in his diary "...I understood that Mr. Pitt gave ... as one Reason for Removing this General, and sending Amherst & Wolf, that the Ministers never heard from [Loudoun] and could not know what he was doing." Parliament also had had enough, and ordered Loudoun to return home. Oblivious of his disgrace, Loudoun packed up his belongings and sailed back to Great Britain a month later in 1758, leaving behind a "trail of debris" of such proportions that the festering anger and resentment of the American people never healed. His abuses became instead a rallying cry for a full fledged revolt less than twenty years later. As fate would have it, the county which bears his name garnered the honor of sending the most men of any county in Virginia to fight for freedom in the Revolutionary War. In retrospect Loudoun never seemed to understand the spirit of the men who were founding the new nation, but sought to impose upon them the magisterial exercise of British authority. His vote in Parliament that the crown's authority in America "...should be sustained by fire and sword .." was badly misplaced, and during his short tenure as Commander in Chief, he never looked beyond his own misconceptions to see the true value and noble spirit of the people who proudly called themselves "American". Footnote: Loudoun went on to serve in the British army in Spain in 1762, as second in command, before returning home to Scotland for good a few years later. He died, unmarried, at his home in Scotland on April 27, 1782, a year before the British General Cornwallis surrendered to the American General George Washington at Yorktown. The title of Lord passed to his cousin John Mure Campbell, the third son of the second Earl of Loudoun. The family motto “I Byde My Time” remains today with Loudoun County, Virginia as an almost forgotten legacy. Photograph of etching of the Ramsey portrait of John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun, is courtesy of the Balch Library, Leesburg, VA. Owned by the Loudoun County Historical Society. Continential Soldiers | Contact | Home |
