Brigadier-General Sir Charles MacCarthy KCMG (15 February 1764–21 January 1824) was an Irish-born soldier who served in the French, Dutch and British armies, and was a governor of various British territories in West Africa. The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George Prince Regent (later George Events 590 - Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor Year 1764 ( MDCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade. Year 1824 ( MDCCCXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent.
He was born in Cork in Ireland, the son of the French emigré Jean Gabriel Guérault and his wife Charlotte Michelle; he changed his name at an early age to MacCarthy, his mother's maiden name, on the advice of his uncle Thaddeus MacCarthy, a colonel in the Life Guards of Louis XV and later a captain in the 9th Regiment of Foot. County Cork (Contae Chorcaí is the most southerly and the largest of the modern counties of Ireland. For the New Zealand judge see Thaddeus McCarthy (jurist Blessed Thaddeus McCarthy (c The Garde du Corps ( English: Life Guards or Body Guards) was the senior formation of the King of France 's Household Cavalry within the The 9th Regiment of Foot was a Regiment of the British Army from 1751 to 1881. He married Antoinette Carpot in 1812, and had one son, Charles; he would be adopted by his uncle, the Comte de Mervé after his father's death, and succeed to that title on his uncle's death as a naturalised French citizen.
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Military career
At the age of 21, in 1785, he joined the Irish Brigade of the French army, as a sub-lieutenant in the Régiment de Berwick; by 1791 he had attained the rank of Captain, and was serving with the emigré royalist army under Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé in Germany. For other uses see Irish Brigade. The Irish Brigade was a Brigade in the French army composed of Irish Louis Joseph of Bourbon-Condé (Louis V Prince of Condé ( August 9 1736 – May 13 1818) was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death He later served with the army of the Dutch Republic as a volunteer, in Damas' Regiment, from 1793 to 1794, and was wounded in the leg during an action outside Louvain on July 15, 1794. "United Netherlands" redirects here For the "Kingdom of the United Netherlands" see United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Leuven ( French: Louvain, often used in English German: Löwen) is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a
He subsequently saw service in the Duc de Castries's Regiment of the emigré army, and when the Irish Brigade was reorganised in British pay in late 1794, he was appointed an ensign in the Regiment of Le Comte de Conway (the 6th Regiment of the Brigade), and saw service in the West Indies with the Regiment of Le Comte de Walsh-Serrant (the 2nd Regiment) from 1796 to 1798. Returning from Honduras on the transport Calypso in June 1798 with the grenadier company of that regiment, he was wounded whilst in a day-long action fighting off a French privateer. A number of ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Calypso after Calypso, a sea Nymph in Greek mythology. A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping The Irish Brigade was disbanded as a whole in late 1798.
He received his first British commission on the 17 October 1799, when he was appointed to command a company of the 11th West India Regiment, and transferred to a captaincy in the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot on March 15, 1800. Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost Year 1799 ( MDCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The 52nd (Oxfordshire Regiment of Foot was a Light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year -of the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar until Friday, but 12 days ahead since Saturday. He was appointed a Major in the New Brunswick Fencible Infantry (later the 104th Foot) on April 14, 1804 and remained with them until 1811, when he received a Lieutenant-Colonelcy in the Royal African Corps. Events 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar 's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in Year 1804 ( MDCCCIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a
West African governor
In 1812 he was appointed the Governor of Senegal and Goree. Senegal (le Sénégal officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Île de Gorée (ie "Gorée Island" (pronounced /goʀe/ is one of the 19 communes d'arrondissement (i When these territories were returned to France by the Treaty of Paris he was appointed the Governor of Sierra Leone. The Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814 ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition. Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa.
As governor, he took a strong interest in the welfare of the colony, actively encouraging the building of housing and schools. He was a correspondent of William Wilberforce, and founded many settlements for liberated slaves. William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833 was a British Politician, a Philanthropist In addition, he arranged for the support and education of native children whose parents had been captured by slavers, in schools run by the Church Missionary Society. The Church Mission Society, known as the Church Missionary Society in Australia and New Zealand is a group of evangelistic societies working with the Anglican Church As a result of this involvement, he became a campaigner for the complete suppression of the slave trade - whilst slavery itself was abolished in the United Kingdom and its territories, the slave trade was still active in West African waters, using ships nominally flagged in countries which had not yet abolished it. The history of slavery uncovers many different forms of human exploitation across many cultures throughout history
He was knighted on 21st November 1820, and on 19th July 1821 was promoted to the rank of Colonel with the temporary rank of Brigadier-General in West Africa. Colonel ( RP ˈkɜnəl GA ˈkɜrnəl is a Military rank of a Commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.
After the African Company of Merchants was abolished in 1821, for its failure to suppress the slave trade efficiently, the Gold Coast was taken on as a crown colony, and placed under the government of Sierra Leone; he became the governor of both. The African Company of Merchants was a Chartered Company in the Gold Coast area of modern Ghana, in the coastal area where the Fante people lived This article is about the British colony in west Africa 1821-1957 MacCarthy Island in the Gambia was named in his honour whilst governor. MacCarthy Island, also known as Lemain Island or Janjanbureh Island, is an island located approximately 170 miles (272 km upriver from the mouth of the Gambia
Ashanti War and the Battle of Nsamankow
In late 1823, following the oppression of the Fanti by the Ashanti, he declared war on the king of the Ashanti; after organising the defences of Cape Coast, he set out with an expedition of some 80 men of the Royal African Colonial Corps, 170 men of the Cape Coast Militia, and 240 Fanti tribesmen under their local chiefs. For the writer see John Fante. Fante can also refer to the Fante language. Ashanti, or Asante, are a major Ethnic group of Ashanti Region in Ghana. Cape Coast, or Cabo Corso, is the capital of the Central Region of Ghana and is also the capital city of the Fante (Fanti people or He was accompanied by a captain and an ensign of the 2nd West India Regiment, as aides-de-camp, a surgeon of the same regiment, and J. The West India Regiment (WIR was an infantry unit of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927 T. Williams, his colonial secretary. This was not the only part of his force; three other groups of infantry were in the region, one of 600 regulars of the RACC and 3000 native levies, one of 100 regulars and militia and 2000 levies (under Major Alexander Gordon Laing), and a third of 300 regulars and militia and 6000 levies. Major Alexander Gordon Laing (27 December 1793&ndash26 September 1826 was a Scottish explorer and the first European to reach Timbuktu. The plan was for the four groups to converge and then engage the enemy with overwhelming force.
On the night of the 20th, still without having joined forces with the other three groups, his force camped by a tributary of the Pra River. The Pra River is a river in Ghana. The Pra is the easternmost and the largest of the three principal rivers that drain the area south of the Volta divide The next day, at around 2pm, they encountered a large enemy force of around ten thousand men; in the belief that the Ashanti army contained several disaffected groups whose chiefs were willing to defect, MacCarthy instructed the band to play the National Anthem loudly. The Ashanti responded by approaching closer, beating war drums, and his beliefs were swiftly dispelled.
Fighting started shortly thereafter; the two sides were separated by a sixty foot wide stream, which the Ashanti made no major attempt to ford, both sides contenting themselves with staying firm and keeping up a continual musket fire. However, the British forces were lightly supplied; the bearers bringing the supplies up in the rear, which included most of the gunpowder and ammunition, mostly fled after hearing the firing in the distance and encountering deserters straggling back. Only one additional barrel of powder and one of shot were brought up, and ammunition ran out around 4pm; the Ashanti then made a determined attempt to cross the river, and quickly broke into the camp.
Almost all the British force were killed immediately; only around 20 managed to escape. MacCarthy, along with the ensign and his secretary, attempted to fall back; he was wounded by gunfire, however, and killed by a second shot shortly thereafter. Ensign Wetherell was killed whilst trying to defend MacCarthy's body and Williams taken prisoner. On his return, he related that he had only survived through being recognised by an Ashanti chief for whom he had done a small favour, and was spared; he was held prisoner for several months, locked in a hut which he shared with the decapitated heads of MacCarthy and Wetherell, kept as trophies of war. McCarthy's gold-rimmed skull was later used as a drinking-cup by the Ashanti rulers.
References
- Brigadier General Sir Charles MacCarthy, Kt. . Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, vol. 9.
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