George Prevost

George Prevost
Governor General of the Canadas
In office
1812–1815
MonarchGeorge III
Preceded bySir James Henry Craig
Succeeded bySir Gordon Drummond
Governor of Nova Scotia
In office
1808–1811
MonarchGeorge III
Preceded bySir John Wentworth
Succeeded bySir John Coape Sherbrooke
Personal details
Born(1767-05-19)19 May 1767
New Barbadoes Township, Province of New Jersey, British America (now Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S.)
Died5 January 1816(1816-01-05) (aged 48)
London, England
Cause of deathDropsy
Resting placeChurch of St Mary the Virgin, East Barnet, London, England
NationalityBritish
SpouseCatherine Anne Phipps
Children5
Parent(s)Augustine Prévost and Anne Francoise Marguerite Grand [1]
Military service
AllegianceKingdom of Great Britain
United Kingdom
Branch/service British Army
Years of service1779–1816
RankLieutenant-General
CommandsThe Canadas
Battles/warsFrench Revolutionary Wars
War of 1812

Sir George Prevost, 1st Baronet (19 May 1767 – 5 January 1816) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who is most well known as the "Defender of Canada" during the War of 1812.[2] Born in New Jersey, the eldest son of Genevan Augustine Prévost, he joined the British Army as a youth and became a captain in 1784. Prevost served in the West Indies during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, and was commander of St. Vincent from 1794 to 1796. He became Lieutenant-Governor of Saint Lucia from 1798 to 1802 and Governor of Dominica from 1802 to 1805. He is best known to history for serving as both the civilian Governor General and the military Commander in Chief in British North America (now part of Canada) during the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference DCB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Grodzinski 2013