James Grant ( British Army officer ) James Grant , Laird of Ballindalloch ( 1720 – 1806 ) was a major general in the British Army during the American War of Independence . He served as Governor of East Florida from 1763 to 1771 . Early career . Grant was born on the family estate of Ballindalloch in Banffshire in the Northeast of Scotland . He began his military career by purchasing a commission as captain in the Royal Scots on October 24 , 1744 . The regiment was shipped to the Continent and Grant fought with them in the Battle of Fontenoy ( 1745 ) . Seven Years War . By 1757 , Grant was a major of the 77th Regiment of Foot ( Montgomerie ' s Highlanders ) , fighting in the French and Indian War . In 1758 , he led part of the regiment in an expedition led by General John Forbes . On this expedition , he became acquainted with others who would also play larger parts in the American Revolutionary War : George Washington , Francis Marion , and Hugh Mercer , among others . He also gained a contempt for the colonial or militia troops that would colour his later views . In September , Grant was assigned to lead an advance part of around 800 men to determine the French strength at Fort Duquesne . The force was mainly made up of militia , but he took along a number of officers from the regulars , since he had little respect for the colonial troops . He then decided to split his force hoping to encourage a French attack that he could surprise and overwhelm . Having no wilderness experience , he was ambushed himself by Indians and French on September 14 , 1758 . At this engagement , the Battle of Fort Duquesne , the British force was repelled with 342 men killed , wounded or captured . The prisoners consisted of Major Grant and 18 of his men . He was paroled soon after , and tried to blame his defeat on the failure of the colonial militia to follow orders . In 1761 , he commanded an expedition against the Cherokee during the Anglo - Cherokee War . After being briefly stationed at Fort Ticonderoga , his regiment was moved to the Caribbean Theatre of the Seven Years ' War . They fought at the Siege of Havana , held by Spanish forces , which ended in the surrender of the city . When the war was over , the regiment was disbanded in America in 1763 . Governor of Florida . With the Treaty of Paris ( 1763 ) , Britain gained control of Florida from the Spanish . They divided it into two colonies , and James Grant was named governor of East Florida in 1764 . He move to his capital at St . Augustine , established the Florida - Georgia border , stopped Indian raids with the Treaty of Fort Picolata , and encouraged new settlement in his colony . Grant ' s ventures were ultimately profitable , but most attempts failed to produce results . He encouraged new agriculture , setting up trade in cotton , indigo , timber , and cochineal . He personally gained and developed several plantations as grants . Then , in 1771 , illness forced him to return to England . Patrick Tonyn replaced him as governor . Grant appointed Dr . David Yeats , the Secretary of the Colony , to manage his plantations in his absence . Yeats ' letters to Grant concerning the properties have long interested Florida colonial historians . Back home in Scotland , Grant was elected to Parliament as an MP for Tain Burghs . In the period leading up to the American Revolutionary War , he became one of the most outspoken of the anti - American members . In a speech early in 1775 , he remarked that the colonists " . . . could not fight . . . " , and declared that he could " go from one end of America to other and geld all the males . " American War of Independence . By the summer of 1775 , he was returned to active service , and Colonel Grant was ordered to America . He arrived in Boston on July 30 . In the aftermath of the Battle of Bunker Hill , he urged General Gage to move the troops to New York City , to have room to manoeuvre . His advice was ignored at the time , and he remained as a supernumerary until December , when he was made colonel and commander of the 55th Regiment of Foot . He would hold that command until 1791 . His prediction that Boston was an untenable position was proved correct the following spring , and , on March 17 , 1776 , he accompanied the general withdrawal to Halifax , Nova Scotia . By the summer of 1776 , General William Howe had replaced Gage as commander , and took Grant ' s advice about New York . Grant was given the provisional rank of major - general , and played several key parts in Howe ' s movements . Fortunately for the Americans , Howe refused advice from Grant , who proposed burning Boston , Marblehead , New York , and Philadelphia . Battle for New York . As the New York Campaign sought to give the British control of New York City , Grant had become Howe ' s primary planning officer . He developed two plans , each of which was designed to both gain control of territory and to deal a serious or fatal blow to the American army . These resulted in the Battle of Brooklyn , and Battle of White Plains . Both of these were British victories , as was the overall campaign , but General Washington avoided the death blow each time . In the Battle of Long Island on August 26 and 27 , Major General Grant led the division that landed on the left wing . He was to engage the American right and divert attention from Howe ' s flanking manoeuvre with the main body . An advance unit of his troops engaged the Americans at the Red Lion Inn , which was the first engagement of the battle . Grant completed his mission , and severely defeated the American General William Alexander ' s division . After the event , Grant was unfairly criticised by some for allowing the escape of most of this force . It is true that he had almost 7 , 000 men in ten regiments opposing Alexander ' s 1 , 600 Continentals , but there are two factors that mitigate this criticism . First , he stopped according to the plan , awaiting Howe ' s attack on the American rear , rather that attack to Americans dug in on the heights . Second , he was running low on ammunition , since the boats and logistic support were busy ferrying and supplying the Hessian units on the right and the main body that was landing at Gravesend . Grant quick - marched his battalion to the battle of White Plains , but he arrived too late . In 1777 , Grant devised the battle plans for the battle of Brandywine Creek . Philadelphia and the West Indies . Grant was unsuccessful in trapping Gilbert du Motier , marquis de Lafayette , at the Battle of Barren Hill , on 20 May 1778 . Lafayette held the position along the Schuylkill River with 2 , 200 troops and five guns . His front was picketed by 150 light infantry and 50 Oneida Indians under Allen McLane and his left was held by James Potter and 600 Pennsylvania militia . The bulk of his command was formed by a veteran brigade under Enoch Poor . Sir William Howe sent Grant with 6 , 000 men and 15 guns to circle wide to the right and come in behind Lafayette ' s force , while he attacked in front with 4 , 000 soldiers . Charles Grey with 2 , 000 British and Hessian grenadiers was ordered to strike the American left flank . The maneuver began auspiciously when Potter ' s milita dispersed in the face of Grant ' s column . However , the capture of two of Grey ' s soldiers warned Lafayette of his danger . Meanwhile , Grant halted his troops to wait for Grey to appear and this allowed the Americans to begin moving back to Matson ' s Ford . When Grant finally lurched forward again , Lafayette sent some of Poor ' s troops forward in a feint . Grant was fooled and stopped his advance a second time . By the time he realized what was happening , most of the Americans had slipped out of his grasp via a road that the British were not aware of . Grant nevertheless unleashed his cavalry in pursuit , but they took the wrong route and only arrived in time to see the last of Lafayette ' s men crossing at Matson ' s . Finally , Grant was shipped off to the West Indies . On October 27 , 1778 , he led a successful expeditionary force to capture the French West Indian island of St . Lucia . A superior French garrison , surrendered on 28 December , at the Battle of La Vigie . On 1 April 1779 , Lord Germain instructed Grant to establish small garrisons throughout the West Indes . Grant had the moral courage to defy Germain and refused to carry out this order . In his letters of 8 and 17 July , he pointed out to the Secretary of State for America that naval superiority was paramount and that small detachments on every island would not be wise . Instead he deployed the West Indes garrisons to cover the major naval bases . He posted the 15th , 28th , and 55th Foot and 1 , 500 gunners at Saint Kitts . The 27th , 35th , and 49th Foot and 1 , 600 gunners defended Saint Lucia . Meanwhile , the royal dockyard at Antigua was held by an 800 - man garrison of the 40th and 60th Foot . Grant also reinforced the fleet with 925 soldiers . He embarked for England on 1 August 1779 , but his dispositions provided the basis for the British successes in the Caribbean during the final years of the war . Later career . In 1780 , he was defeated in parliamentary elections . In 1782 , he was appointed a Lieutenant General . In 1787 , he was re - elected to Parliament . In 1789 , he was appointed Governor of Stirling Castle , and Commanding General of the Army in Scotland . In 1791 , he was transferred from the 55th to the 11th Foot . In 1796 , he was appointed a full General , and retired from active military services . In 1802 , he retired to his estate on the Avon and Spey rivers as the Laird of Ballindalloch , after relinquishing his seat in Parliament . In 1805 , he retired from the British army . He died at 86 on 13 April 1806 . His estate went to his grandnephew , George Macpherson . His papers are at the National Archives of Scotland , and have been copied for the Library of Congress .