Francis Grose (Lieutenant-Governor)

Infobox Military Person
name= Francis Grose
lived= 1754 – 1814


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= New South Wales Corps
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rank= Lieutenant
branch= New South Wales Corps
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laterwork=Governor of New South WalesLieutenant-General Francis Grose (c. 1754–1814) was Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales.

Early life

Grose was the son of Francis Grose the well-known English antiquary. He was born in England, received a commission as an ensign in 1775, in the 52nd Foot, attaining a lieutenancy that same year. He served during the American Revolutionary War, where he was twice wounded (at the assaults on Fort Montgomery and Monmouth Court House). Returning to England in 1779 as captain of the 85th Foot, he acted as recruiting officer. He attained the rank of major in 1783, in the 96th Foot and in November 1789 was placed in command of the New South Wales Corps, and appointed lieutenant-governor of New South Wales. [B. H. Fletcher, 'Grose, Francis (1758? - 1814)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 488-489, [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010444b.htm online edition] ]

Australia

Grose did not leave England until late in 1791, and he arrived at Sydney on 14 February 1792. Grose became colonial administrator when Governor Arthur Phillip, whose health had been poor for some time, probably due to poor diet, received permission to depart. The European population of New South Wales when Grose took over was 4,221, of whom 3,099 were convicts.

Phillip had realized that unless there was some control over the sale of spirits great evils would follow, but Grose made no efforts in this direction, and great abuses such as the payment of wages in spirits became common. The custom of officers trading in spirits was almost universal, and in the interregnum before the arrival of Captain Hunter the colony was given up to drunkenness, gambling, licentiousness and crime. Officers gained control of the rum trade to form what became known as the Rum Corps. How far Grose was responsible for this state of affairs it is now impossible to say. There is, however, no reason to doubt the statements of the chaplain, the Rev. Richard Johnson, that he could get no support from the lieutenant-governor and no assistance in building a church. On the other hand the charges against Grose of making indiscriminate grants of land to his friends and fellow officers appear to be without foundation, as the grants made were in accordance with his instructions. In spite of the low state of morality, and the drinking habits of the people, the position of the colony had improved very much when Grose left for England on 17 December 1794. However, the credit for this cannot be given to him. His substitution of military for civil power was not for the good of the state, and he showed no foresight or real strength in his government. In all probability the improvement was simply the result of better farming methods, for much of which credit may be given to the two chaplains, Johnson and Samuel Marsden.

Return to England

After leaving Australia Grose filled various posts in the army. In 1798 he was on the staff in Ireland, and in 1805 was at Gibraltar with promotion to the rank of major-general. He was again on the staff in Ireland in 1809. He was promoted lieutenant-general.

His first wife died in January 1813. In April 1814 he married Elizabeth, widow of William Paterson. A month later, on 8 May 1814, he died in Croydon, Surrey, England.

Notes

References

*Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Francis |Last=Grose|Link=http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogG.html#grose1

External links

B. H. Fletcher, ' [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010444b.htm Grose, Francis (1758? - 1814)] ', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, MUP, 1966, pp 488-489