- William Phillips (British Army officer)
Infobox Military Person
name=Major-General William Phillips
caption=
born=1731
died=13 May 1781
placeofbirth=England
placeofdeath=Petersburg, Virginia, USA
allegiance=Great Britain
branch=British Army (Artillery)
serviceyears=1747-1781
rank=Major-General
battles=Battle of Minden, Seven Years War, American Revolution (Valcour Island, Saratoga)
awards=
relations=William Phillips (1731 - 1781) was a renowned artilleryman and general officer in the
British Army who served as a major-general in theAmerican Revolutionary War .Early career
Phillips entered the academy at
Woolwich and eventually joined the Royal Artillery. His service at theBattle of Minden led to a reputation as an excellent officer. By the time of theAmerican Revolution , he had risen to the rank of colonel in the British Army. He served as the Commander of Artillery at Woolwich and Lieutenant Governor ofWindsor Castle , and was eventually elected as MP for Borough-Bridge.American Revolutionary War years
Phillips was promoted to the rank of Major-General and sent to
Quebec in 1776, along with his friend GeneralHenry Clinton and GeneralJohn Burgoyne , to be the commander of all artillery inCanada . Governor SirGuy Carleton put him in charge of the shipyard at St. John's where, along with CaptainSir Charles Douglas , he supervised the building of the small fleet of ships that fought the Americans underBenedict Arnold at theBattle of Valcour Island . He later took part in the recapture ofFort Ticonderoga , where he stated, "Where a goat can go, a man can go. And where a man can go, he can drag a gun."As part of Burgoyne's army, he was captured at Saratoga in 1777. He is depicted in the painting of the "Surrender of General Burgoyne" at Saratoga by
John Trumbull . [ [http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/rotunda/surrender_burgoyne.cfm Surrender of General Burgoyne ] ] [citeweb |title=Key to the Surrender of General Burgoyne |url=http://americanrevolution.org/burgkey.html|accessdate=2008-01-20] He was then a part of theConvention Army until he was exchanged for American GeneralBenjamin Lincoln in 1780. While a prisoner in Virginia, he was one of the British officers who was entertained at the home ofThomas Jefferson . After the exchange he was able to fight once again, and was sent by Clinton fromNew York to meet up with Brigadier GeneralBenedict Arnold (who was now on the British side) inVirginia .While on his way to link up with General Cornwallis, he contracted either
typhus ormalaria , and became so ill that Arnold had to lead his men. He died on 13 May, 1781 atPetersburg, Virginia , just a week before Yorktown, and was buried there near Blanford Church.References
* "The American Revolution, Garrison Life in French Canada and New York: Journal of an Officer in the Prinz Friedrich Regiment, 1776-1783", translated by Helga Doblin (1993)
* Davis, Robert P., "Where a Man Can Go: Major General William Phillips, British Royal Artillery, 1731-1781" (1999)
* Nelson, Paul David, "General Sir Guy Carleton, Lord Dorchester" (2000)
* Pearson, Michael, "Those Damned Rebels: The American Revolution as Seen Through British Eyes" (1972)Footnotes
External links
*
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.