Roger Hale Sheaffe
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General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, 1st Baronet (15 July 1763 – 17 July 1851) was a
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer who served in the
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,
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
and
Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...
. He was created a
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
in 1813 and afterwards served as Commander and acting Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. There is conflicting information to statements regarding his military accomplishments (1812) in the "Letters of Veritas" in and around page 50.


Early life

Roger Hale Sheaffe was born in
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,
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, the third son and eighth child of Susannah Child (1730–1811), daughter of Susannah Hatch and Thomas Child and William Sheaffe (1705–1771), a graduate of
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who became Deputy Collector of Customs at Boston. Her father was an Englishman of the same family as Richard Child, 1st Earl Tylney. He owned considerable property in his native
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but emigrated to Boston where he co-founded Trinity Church, in 1733. One of Sheafe's sisters, Margaret, married John Robert Livingston brother of Robert Livingston, of
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, one of the
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. Another sister, Susanna, married Captain Ponsonby Molesworth, grandson of
Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth (7 September 1656 – 22 May 1725) was an Anglo-Irish politician and writer. Molesworth came from an old Northamptonshire family. He married Hon. Letitia Coote, daughter of Richard Coote, 1st Baron ...
. A third sister married Benjamin Clarke Cutler, brother of Mrs Samuel Ward. Sheaffe was educated at the
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with his cousin Sir Isaac Coffin. His father died penniless in 1771 and his mother opened a boarding house to support her 10 children. One of the residents there was Lord Percy, later the 2nd
Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...
, the leader of the British forces in Boston during the
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. Lord Percy greatly aided the family during the War and was so struck by the qualities and the leadership potential of Sheaffe that he sent him to a military academy in
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. Lord Percy became Sheaffe's lifelong friend and benefactor, purchasing his first commission as
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in 1778 in the 5th Regiment of Foot. He later purchased a lieutenancy.


Military career

Sheaffe served with his regiment in Ireland from 1781 until 1787, when it was posted to Canada. In Detroit and at Fort Niagara, he served under Lieutenant Governor
John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...
, who had a high opinion of him. He was commissioned Captain in 1795. He first served under Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Brock in the 49th Regiment of Foot in 1798; they served together in the campaign against the
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in 1799 and in the
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in 1801. The 49th was posted to Canada in 1802. As Lieutenant Colonel, Sheaffe commanded the garrison at Fort George, where he faced an attempted mutiny. Despite his own notable achievements, Sheaffe was often compared unfavourably with the popular and charismatic Brock. Sheaffe had been Brock's second in command prior to their time in Canada, and continued in that role upon their arrival. Shortly after arriving at their new station, a mutiny was attempted by some of Sheaffe's men. Brock hurriedly came to the aid of his subordinate, ended the mutiny without conflict, and arrested the perpetrators. They claimed they took their actions directly as a result of Sheaffe's belligerence, but were subsequently executed after a court-martial. Brock warned Sheaffe to stop working the men too hard and to stop punishing men harshly for small infractions. Sheaffe nevertheless attained the rank of Colonel in 1808, and Major General in 1811. This last promotion actually hurt Sheaffe financially, as he transferred from a full-pay commission as Colonel of the 49th to half pay as an unassigned general officer on the staff.


War of 1812

Sheaffe returned to Canada from a visit to England in July 1812. The next month, the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
broke out. Sir George Prevost, the Governor General of Canada and commander in chief of the forces there, appointed Sheaffe to command the troops at Fort George on the
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. While Brock was absent, dealing with an American army at the siege of Detroit, Sheaffe was required by Prevost to negotiate an armistice with the American forces on the opposite side of the river. Prevost may have believed that peace could be negotiated quickly, but by the time the armistice ended, the Americans had been substantially reinforced. Early on 13 October the Americans began crossing the Niagara at
Queenston Queenston is a compact rural community and unincorporated place north of Niagara Falls in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Highway 405 to the south and the Niagara River to the east; its location at the eponym ...
, a few miles south of Fort George. Brock galloped from Fort George to Queenston, arriving just in time to see the Americans capture the commanding heights and a British heavy gun battery. He sent orders to Sheaffe to bring reinforcements, but before they could arrive he led two frontal assaults against the heights. During the second, he was shot dead. Sheaffe arrived on the battlefield at 2pm. In contrast to Brock's actions, he waited for reinforcements before leading his force on a wide detour to the top of the heights, so as to shield them from American artillery. He then meticulously drew up his force before attacking at 4pm. The Americans, terrified of the Mohawk who had also joined the battle, tried to flee but were trapped against the river, and surrendered. One thousand prisoners were taken, for a cost of 50 casualties. Sheaffe was appointed Lieutenant Governor and commander in Upper Canada in succession to Brock, but was unpopular with the people he was to defend, and often with his own soldiers. During the later months of 1812 he was unable to transact business with the Legislature due to illness and other military commitments, forcing Prevost to make a personal visit to Upper Canada in February 1813. In April, Sheaffe was present in
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, the provincial capital, to deal with the civil authorities. York was weakly defended and Sheaffe had only four companies of regulars, passing through en route to Fort George and other posts. On 27 April, an American force supported by gunboats and other armed vessels attacked. In the
Battle of York The Battle of York was a War of 1812 battle fought in York, Upper Canada (today's Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on April 27, 1813. An American force, supported by a naval flotilla, landed on the western lakeshore and captured the provincial capital ...
, Sheaffe's outnumbered troops were driven back to the edge of the town. Sheaffe decided to preserve his regulars and ordered a retreat to Kingston, having destroyed the fort and a
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under construction in the dockyard. The militia were left to be taken prisoner, while the town was looted by the Americans and several buildings were set on fire. Many prominent citizens of Upper Canada denounced Sheaffe's conduct at York, and Sir George Prevost relieved Sheaffe of his military and civil appointments in Upper Canada, putting him in charge of the troops in
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.


Subsequent career

Later in the year, Sheaffe was recalled to Britain. Here he subsequently had a successful military career, being promoted to Lieutenant General in 1821 and full General in 1835. He and his family lived in
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and Worcester, and when he retired he moved to
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. In the 1830s he is listed as living at 12 Inverleith Row in north Edinburgh. He died at his home in 36 Melville Street on 17 July 1851, and is buried in New Calton Cemetery, beside his daughters Frances Julia and Agnes Emily. He had been awarded a
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
cy in January 1813 as a reward for the victory at Queenston Heights, but as none of his children survived him, the title died with him but his coat of arms was also bestowed on his dead brother's children in perpetuity.Stephen has researched the family history to the 1400s - His book "SHEAFFE Family History is in numerous libraries throughout the world.


Family

In 1810, at
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, Sheaffe married Margaret, daughter of Isabella Child and John Coffin (1729–1810), a relation of his mother's from
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. Lady Sheaffe's sister was the mother of Mrs. Benjamin Joseph Frobisher, half-sister of Mrs. George Hamilton. They had six children, all of whom predeceased their parents: * Frances Julia Sheaffe, b. 1812 in Canada, d. 1834 in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
(buried beside him). * Agnes Isabella Sheaffe, b. 1814 in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, died in infancy. * Agnes Emily Sheaffe, b. 1817 in Worcester, d. 1832 in Edinburgh (buried beside him). * Percy Sheaffe, died as a young man. * Another son and daughter both died in infancy. His younger brother, William, and his wife Mary, died leaving 4 young children. Roger adopted them as his own and brought them up. The boys joined the army and William arrived in Australia as a lieutenant on a convict ship in 1834 with his wife and baby. Their 2 elder children were left in England to be cared for by Roger and Margaret. All the Australian Sheaffes are descended from William and Rosalie.


Dates of rank

*Ensign - 1 May 1778 *Lieutenant - 27 December 1780 *Captain - 6 May 1795 *Major - 13 December 1797 *Lieutenant Colonel - 22 March 1798 *Colonel - 25 April 1808 *Major General - 4 June 1811 *Lieutenant General - 19 July 1821 *General - 28 June 1838


References


External links


Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheaffe, Roger Hale 1763 births 1851 deaths British Army generals Lieutenant-governors of Upper Canada Politicians from Boston British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army personnel of the War of 1812 Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom United Empire Loyalists Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers Boston Latin School alumni