James Pattison (1723-1805) was a distinguished officer in the Royal Artillery who made important contributions inter alia at the Battle of Fontenoy, in the American War of Independence, and as military commandant of New York City. He had been Chief Firemaster at Woolwich and ended his career as Colonel Commanding, Royal Artillery.
James Pattison was born in 1723, the second of three sons of James Pattison, a merchant, and Mary Maxey. His two siblings, Nathaniel (c.1714–1784) and Samuel (1726–1756), went on to play important roles in the silk industry in Cheshire, especially in Congleton. [1]
James married Mary, daughter of Albert Borgard, [2] the man of Danish origin who was instrumental in the establishment of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Mary was baptised in 1724 and was buried at St. Nicholas, Plumstead, Kent on 1 July 1792, aged 72. They had a son Nathaniel, born on 8 February 1754 in Perth, Scotland. He died the following year and was also buried at St. Nicholas on 9 December 1755. General Pattison died on 1 March 1805, at his house in Hill Street, Berkeley Square. [3] He was buried on the 9th with his family in Plumstead.
Rank | Date |
---|---|
Colonel Commandant | 25 Apr 1777 |
Chief Firemaster | 1746-48 |
General | 26 Jan 1797 |
Lieutenant General | 28 Sep 1787 |
Major General | 19 Feb 1779 |
Colonel | 29 Sep 1775 |
Lieutenant Colonel | 23 Oct 1761 |
Major | 1 Jan 1759 |
Captain | 1 Aug 1747 |
Captain Lieutenant | 1 Sep 1743 |
1st Lieutenant | 2 Apr 1742 |
2nd Lieutenant | 1 Sep 1741 |
Lieut. Fireworker | 1 Apr 1740 |
Pattison was appointed the first lieutenant-governor of the Royal Military Academy in 1764, and was given a free hand to make changes to the regime of the academy as he saw fit. He "entered on his new duties with great zeal" and introduced a complete set of new rules and regulations. [4]
Pattison “served with distinction in Flanders (Battle of Fontenoy); later, at the end of the Seven Years' War, he was chosen to command the companies selected for service in Portugal." [5] His detachment in 1762 consisted of eight artillery companies. [6] When so employed, he won the respect of all by his dignified firmness and courtesy, and laid the foundation of an affection towards himself from the officers serving under him which never even waned.” [5] Lieutenant Stephen Payne Adye (1743-1794) was on Pattison's staff in Portugal [7] and later, as Captain-Lieutenant, was aide-de-camp to General Pattison in New York (see below). He had three sons, the third of whom was born in 1783 and named James Pattison Adye, presumably as a token of respect for the General.
In 1769 Colonel Pattison was sent to Venice to superintend the organisation of the Venetian Artillery, where his task was made difficult not so much by the Artillerymen but by the authorities. [5] He remained until 1772.
In 1777 James Pattison became colonel commandant of the 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Artillery. He arrived in New York to take command of the Royal Artillery in America with the rank of brigadier-general. He was involved in the capture of Verplank Point [8] and of Forts Clinton and Montgomery on the Hudson River in October 1777. [9] Pattison remained in command of the artillery in the field until Sir Henry Clinton, the British Commander-in-Chief, withdrew the army to New York the following year.
Amongst Pattison's duties in New York was his appointment as military commandant of the city, making him responsible for its fortifications and the militia. He lived at No. 1 Broadway, on Bowling Green. The house had been occupied first by Sir Henry Clinton and then - immediately before Pattison - by General Robertson, also Commandant of New York. [5]
In September 1780, James Pattison returned to England because of ill health and did not return to active service. [9] [10] He twice served as Commandant of the Woolwich Garrison.
During his time in Venice Pattison became interested in pictures. Letters to his brother show that he knew Consul Smith and Sir James Wright and that, with them, he was one of the few admitted to the circle of the self-exiled Lord Bute. [11]
The sale of the contents of Pattison's house on Hill Street was handled by Christie's on 24 May 1805. Included were a number of Venetian paintings, with works by Bellini, Titian, Bassano, and five by Gaudi.
General Pattison sat "for one of the more remarkable of Lawrence's early portraits, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1790." [11] [12]
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises thirteen Regular Army regiments, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and five Army Reserve regiments.
Woolwich is a town in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Signals and other technical corps. RMA Woolwich was commonly known as "The Shop" because its first building was a converted workshop of the Woolwich Arsenal.
The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was originally known as the Woolwich Warren, having begun on land previously used as a domestic warren in the grounds of a mid-16th century Tudor house, Tower Place. Much of the initial history of the site is linked with that of the Office of Ordnance, which purchased the Warren in the late 17th century in order to expand an earlier base at Gun Wharf in Woolwich Dockyard.
Woolwich Common is a common in Woolwich in southeast London, England. It is partly used as military land and partly as an urban park. Woolwich Common is a conservation area. It is part of the South East London Green Chain. It is also the name of a street on the east side of the common, as well as an electoral ward of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 17,499.
General Sir John Miller Adye was a British soldier and amateur artist.
The Royal Irish Artillery was an Irish regiment of the British army in the 18th century. It was formed in 1755 as The Artillery Company of Ireland. The name was changed in 1760 to The Royal Regiment of Irish Artillery.
John Doughty was an American military officer who briefly served as the senior officer of the United States Army in 1784. Holding the rank of major at the time, he bears the distinction of being the lowest ranked individual ever to serve as the senior most United States Army officer.
Field Marshal Sir Richard James Dacres, was a British Army officer during the nineteenth century. Born into a substantial naval dynasty, he would achieve similar status in the military, commanding three troops of Royal Horse Artillery at the Battles of Alma in September 1854, Balaclava in October 1854 and Inkerman in November 1854, and throughout the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War and eventually rising to the rank of field marshal.
General Sir John Smith was a British army general. In his early career as a Royal Artillery officer he fought in the American War of Independence, being twice captured and imprisoned by the Americans. In his later career Smith was involved in expanding the British Empire in the West Indies by protecting its trade routes, helped keep control of the islands of Gibraltar and Madeira and commanded various artillery regiments.
Stephen Payne Adye was an English brevet-major of the Royal Artillery.
Lieutenant-General Sir William Brereton was a British Army officer of the nineteenth century who served as colonel-commandant of the 4th Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery in the 1860s.
General Sir Anthony Farrington, 1st Baronet DCL was a British Army officer of the Royal Artillery. He served in Gibraltar and in the American War of Independence.
General William Belford was a British artillery officer who began his career in 1726. He was part of the first generation of artillery officers selected and promoted on merit, rather than connections.
General Sir William Green, 1st Baronet, of Marass, Kent was an officer in the British Army.
Albert Borgard was a Danish artillery and engineer officer.
Major-General James Murray Hadden was a British Army officer and surveyor-general of the ordnance.
Lieutenant-General Thomas Desaguliers was a British Army general and a Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery.
The Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers was a British Army corps founded in 1793 and disbanded in 1822. It was established to provide trained and disciplined drivers for the Royal Artillery, a service that had previously relied upon civilian contractors. Though closely associated with the Royal Regiment of Artillery the corps was listed separately from it in the London Gazette until at least 1815. By 1814 the corps numbered more than 7,400 men and fielded more than 2,600 men at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo. The unit was reduced in size after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and disbanded in 1822 by the Duke of Wellington.
Gother Mann was an English army officer and military engineer in the Royal Engineers. He commanded a body of militia on Dominica when the island was captured by the French in September 1778, and his small garrison, outnumbered, surrendered on terms.