George Prévost Sir George Prévost , 1st Baronet ( 19 May 1767 – 5 January 1816 ) was a British soldier and colonial administrator . Born in Hackensack , New Jersey , the eldest son of Swiss French Augustine Prévost , he joined the British Army as a youth and became a captain in 1784 . Prévost served in the West Indies during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars , and was commander of St . Vincent from 1794 to 1796 . He became lieutenant - governor of St . Lucia from 1798 to 1802 and governor of Dominica from 1802 to 1805 . He is best known to history for serving as both the civilian Governor General and the military Commander in Chief in British North America ( now part of Canada ) during the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States of America . Early life . George Prévost was born on 19 May 1767 , in the Province of New Jersey . His father was Augustin Prévost , a French - speaking Swiss Protestant , and a lieutenant - colonel in the British Army . His mother was Nanette ( Ann ) Grand . George Prévost was educated at schools in England and in the North American continent . Early military career . 1779 - 1790 . On 3 May 1779 , Prévost was commissioned at the age of eleven , as an ensign in the 60th Regiment of Foot , in which his father was a senior officer . In 1782 , he transferred to the 47th Regiment of Foot , as a lieutenant , followed in 1784 by a move to the 25th Regiment of Foot as a captain . He then returned to the 60th Foot on 18 November 1790 with the rank of major , at the age of 23 . Prévost ' s maternal grandfather was a wealthy banker in Amsterdam , and his money is considered to have certainly been responsible for his grandson ' s quick advancement up the chain of command in the British Army , as promotion could then be obtained " by purchase " . 1791 - mid - 1802 . While serving in the 60th , Prévost was promoted to lieutenant - colonel on 6 August 1794 . He was stationed in St Vincent from 1794 - 1795 . During fighting on 20 January 1796 , he was wounded twice , and he returned to England shortly after , where he was appointed to become an inspecting field officer . On 1 January 1798 , Prévost became a colonel , and on 8 March he became a brigadier - general , at the age of 30 . In May he was appointed to be the lieutenant governor of St Lucia , where his fluency in French and conciliatory administration won him the respect of the French planters living there . In 1802 , he returned to Britain as a result of ill health . Late 1802 - 1806 . On 27 September 1802 , soon after fighting against France resumed , Prévost was chosen to be the governor of Dominica . In 1803 , the French attempted to seize the island , and Prévost fought against them . He would also fight against the French in an effort to reclaim St Lucia . On 1 January 1805 , at the age of 37 , Prévost was promoted to major - general , and soon after he was granted leave to return to England , where he became a commander of the Portsmouth district , and where he was appointed to be a baronet . In 1806 , Prévost became a colonel commandant of his regiment . Service as Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia . On 15 January 1808 , Prévost was appointed to become the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia , and he was also promoted to lieutenant - general , although this was a rank that he held only in Nova Scotia . He was tasked with improving the military defences of the Atlantic colonies . He arrived at Halifax on 7 April 1808 and by the end of April he had taken steps to increase opposition in New England to the American government ' s hostile attitude towards Britain . The President of the United States of America in 1808 , Thomas Jefferson , had placed an embargo on American trading with Britain . From 1808 , to the beginning of the War of 1812 , Prévost tried to encourage New England to trade with Britain by setting up " free ports " in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick , where American goods could be landed without a need to pay customs duties . This led to a substantial increase in Nova Scotia ' s trade not only with New England , but also with the West Indies . Prévost could do little to improve the sub - standard fortifications in Nova Scotia , but was able to secure the approval of the legislature in Nova Scotia to amend a militia law , which lead to Prévost ' s ability to mobilize a small , effective militia force to work with the regular garrison during an emergency . The amendment of the law is considered to be a good achievement by Prévost , because his predecessor as lieutenant governor , John Wentworth , had been responsible for relations between the executive and legislative bodies of Nova Scotia weakening . Wentworth had tried to increase his own executive power at the expense of the legislative House of Assembly . When Prévost arrived , the House of Assembly , led by William Cottnam Tonge , was struggling to control government expenditures . In an effort to appease Tonge , Prévost appointed him to be his second - in - command during an expedition against Martinique . They departed from Halifax on 6 December 1808 . Unfortunately , Tonge ’ s departure did not lead to a peaceful relationship between the House of Assembly and the executive body as Prévost ’ s replacement during his absence , Alexander Croke , fought with the Assembly over a supply bill . Eventually , Croke rejected the bill on the basis that it did not fit in with royal prerogatives , and then could not reach an agreement with the Legislative Council over how to settle the dispute between himself and the Assembly . Martinique was captured , and Prévost returned to Halifax on 15 April 1809 . Tonge did not return , as he decided to stay in the West Indies . Prévost opposed Croke ’ s actions , restored " good understanding " with the Legislative Council , and then calmed the Assembly by deciding not to follow the constitution of Nova Scotia down to the letter . On 10 June 1808 , the House of Assembly passed the supply bill , and also voted to use 200 guineas to purchase a sword for Prévost as a sign of their approval for Prévost ' s conduct during the expedition against Martinique . Prévost believed he had successfully maintained the crown ' s prerogative . In 1809 , using his good relationship with the Assembly , he was able to secure a tax on distilled liquors , with the proceeds of which he could pay the cost of equipment for the provincial militia . For the rest of his term as lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia , Prévost ensured he did not make an executive act that the Assembly would oppose to a great degree . Prévost had become a popular lieutenant governor , but this was threatened by his attempts , beginning in 1810 , to strengthen the Church of England in Nova Scotia , since that might alienate other religious groups . He persuaded the British government to allow him to use surplus arms funds to develop Anglican churches , and to enlarge King ' s College in Windsor . He also appointed Anglican clergy to be civil magistrates , protected the Anglican ownership of land and their influence over the education of children , and placed an Anglican bishop in the Legislative Council . On the condition that the bishop resided in Halifax , Prévost was able to increase the salary of the bishop . In an effort to appease other religious groups , he appointed a number of Roman Catholic and Presbyterian clergy to be magistrates , and he authorized a grant of money for the Church of Scotland . During May 1811 , when Prévost was preparing to oppose the Assembly over its policy of compensating its members for their expenses , feeling that it was irregular , open to abuse , and " an evil highly dangerous to the prerogative of the Crown " , he was ordered to move to Lower Canada to replace Governor Craig . Service as Governor - in - Chief of British North America . On 4 July 1811 , Prévost became a lieutenant - general outside of Nova Scotia , and was appointed as commander - in - chief of British forces in North America . On 21 October , he was appointed to be the governor - in - chief of British North America . As commander - in - chief , he took over the presidency and administration of Lower Canada from Thomas Dunn on 14 September . He would remain the president of Lower Canada until 15 July 1812 . During his time as commander - in - chief , he was focused on ensuring the military security of the Atlantic colonies . Prévost was worried about the disposition of Canadians if a war started involving British North America and tried to conciliate Canadian political leaders , who had been disappointed by the partisan alliance between Craig and the British oligarchy . The leader of the Canadian party , Pierre - Stanislas Bédard , was opposed by several people trying to gain his position , and Prévost exploited the rivalry . In 1812 , Bédard , losing his motivation for continuing as leader , was given a judgeship in an area of British North America from which he could not have a major influence over the general political system . Prévost worked with the moderate Louis - Joseph Papineau , treating him as the leader . Prévost also nominated five Canadians to be appointed to the Legislative Council between 1811 and 1815 , an unusual move as Canadians had usually been excluded from being appointed since 1798 . In a report to the Colonial Office , Prévost said that he wanted to create a Legislative Council " possessed of the consideration of the country , from a majority of its members being independent of the government " , in order to transfer to it " the political altercations which have been hitherto carried on by the governor in person . " War of 1812 . For most of the War , Prévost ' s strategy was defensive and cautious . Learning in August 1812 that the British government had repealed some of the Orders in Council ( 1807 ) which the United States regarded as a cause of war , he negotiated an armistice , but peace did not result and the war resumed . During the early months of 1813 , Prévost twice visited Upper Canada where the military and civil situation was unsatisfactory after the Governor and Commander there ( Major General Isaac Brock ) had been killed in action . As a result , he was present in Kingston in May , and took personal charge of an attack on the main American naval base on Lake Ontario . A victory here could have been decisive but the expedition was hastily mounted and at the Battle of Sackett ' s Harbor both Prévost and the naval commander , Commodore James Lucas Yeo , attacked hesitantly . After meeting stiff resistance , they withdrew . In 1814 , large reinforcements became available after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte . Prévost planned an attack along Lake Champlain and the Hudson River , but the army which he led personally was driven back at the Battle of Plattsburgh after the British naval squadron on Lake Champlain was defeated . Commodore Yeo considered that the British ships under Captain George Downie ( who was killed in the action ) had been ordered into action prematurely by Prévost , and that Prévost had failed to order an attack by his own troops until it was too late to avert the defeat of Downie ' s squadron . Prévost had also made himself unpopular among some of the Army officers under his command who were veterans of the Peninsular War ( such as Manley Power , Thomas Brisbane , and Frederick Philipse Robinson ) by his perceived over - caution , and his niggling insistence on correct dress and uniform . He had also alienated several successful Canadian officers ( such as Charles de Salaberry ) by seeming to claim their successes for himself and failing to reward them properly . However , it was the complaints by the Navy and Peninsular veterans which prompted his recall . Although the Duke of Wellington accepted that Prévost ' s strategy was correct , he wrote on 30 October 1814 , It is very obvious to me that you must remove Sir George Prevost . I see he has gone to war about trifles with the general officers I sent him , which are certainly the best of their rank in the army ; and his subsequent failure and distresses will be aggravated by that circumstance ; and will probably with the usual fairness of the public be attributed to it . In December , Wellington ' s former Quartermaster General , Sir George Murray , was sent to Canada with the local rank of Lieutenant General specifically to order Prévost to return to London to explain his conduct of the Plattsburg campaign . He delivered the order on 2 March 1815 , by coincidence only a day or so after news of the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent , which ended the war , arrived in Quebec . Prévost felt himself publicly humiliated by the manner and timing of his succession . After ordering hostilities to cease and disbanding the militia , he left Quebec on 3 April . He was given a hasty vote of thanks by the Assembly in Quebec . Later life . On his return to England , the Government and Army authorities at first accepted Prévost ' s explanations for his conduct at Plattsburgh and during the War generally . Soon afterwards , the official naval despatch on the Battle of Plattsburgh was published , together with Yeo ' s complaints . Both these accounts blamed Prévost for the defeat at Plattsburgh . Prévost requested a court martial to clear his name . The trial was set for 12 January 1816 , the delay being necessary to allow witnesses to travel from Canada , but Prévost was already in ill health and died a week before it was due to convene . His widow declined the offer of a peerage in honour of her husband , as she did not consider herself and her family to have sufficient means to support the dignity . Later historians judge Prévost ' s preparations for defending the Canadas with limited means to be energetic , well conceived , and comprehensive , and against the odds he had achieved the primary objective of preventing an American conquest . Prévost is buried in East Barnet , near London , England . Honours . A schooner HMS Sir George Prevost was named in his honour in 1813 .