Frederick Haldimand Sir Frederick Haldimand , KB ( August 11 , 1718 – June 5 , 1791 ) was a military officer best known for his service in the British Army in North America during the Seven Years ' War and the American Revolutionary War . From 1778 to 1786 he served as Governor of the Province of Quebec , during which time he oversaw military operations against the northern frontiers in the war , and engaged in ultimately fruitless negotiations to establish the independent Vermont Republic as a new British province . His administration of Quebec was at times harsh , with the detention of numerous political dissidents and agitators . Early life . Haldimand was born in Yverdon , Switzerland . Baptized François - Louis - Frédéric Haldimand , he was the son of a civil servant . He became interested in the military at an early age , and the poor prospects for advancement in Switzerland led him to join foreign armies . His first service appears to have been in the army of Prussia during the War of the Austrian Succession , with whom he fought at Mollwitz and probably also at Hohenfriedberg and Kesselsdorf . He next joined the Swiss Guards of the Dutch Republic , where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel . There he formed a friendship with Henry Bouquet , another Swiss military man , with whom he would serve in North America . Seven Years ' War . In 1755 , as the Seven Years ' War ( whose North American theater is also known as the French and Indian War ) was in its early stages , Haldimand and Bouquet joined a British regiment composed of German and Swiss men recruited at first from the armies of Europe , but then also from German - speaking settlers in North America . Formation of the regiment , known as the Royal American , took two years , and was beset by culture clashes with the rest of the British Army . In spite of this , Haldimand and Bouquet both earned the respect of the British military establishment with their dedicated professionalism . While Haldimand ' s battalion was sent to Louisbourg in 1758 , Haldimand himself served under General James Abercrombie at the disastrous Battle of Carillon , where he suffered minor wounds . After spending the winter in command of the forward British position at Fort Edward , he was made second in command on the 1759 expedition of John Prideaux against Fort Niagara ; he was placed in charge of the key supply and communication point at Oswego , New York , where he oversaw the construction of Fort Ontario . When Prideaux was killed early during the Battle of Fort Niagara , Haldimand went to assume command of the operation , but William Johnson , the Indian agent on the expedition who took over , refused to relinquish control . Haldimand returned to Oswego , where he remained throughout the winter . In 1760 he joined General Jeffrey Amherst ' s army as it descended the Saint Lawrence River , and was the officer who formally took control of Montreal on September 8 following the French surrender . He was given the responsibility for working with the outgoing French leadership as they prepared to depart for France , serving first under Amherst and then under General Thomas Gage . In 1762 Amherst promoted him to colonel , and temporarily gave him the military governorship of Trois - Rivières while its governor , Ralph Burton was called to serve in the Caribbean . At Trois - Rivières he oversaw the development of the ironworks at nearby Saint Maurice , and arranged for his nephew ( also named Frederick ) to serve under James Murray , then the military governor of Quebec City . In 1764 the province of Quebec was turned over to a civil administration , and Haldimand ' s role was reduced to that of a troop commander . Denied leave to return to Europe , he remained in Quebec until 1765 , when his command was merged into another . He traveled to New York with the intention of returning to Europe , but the death of his friend Bouquet led to his promotion to brigadier general and assignment to Bouquet ' s post as military head of the Southern Department , with responsibility for military affairs in East and West Florida . He remained in this post , which he characterized as " the most disagreeable " of his life , until 1773 . Despite good relations with the civil governors , he had ongoing problems with supply and funding , and the high cost of living there put him into debt . He was promoted to colonel commandant of the Royal American in 1772 , and received a pro forma promotion to major general later that year . He also undertook in 1772 the steps necessary to become a British subject . General Gage called Haldimand to New York in 1773 to temporarily act as commander - in - chief of North America while he went to England on leave . While Haldimand ' s command was uneventful , the political climate in the provinces noticeably declined , and he carefully resisted bringing troops in conflict with the population , refusing to get involved in the jurisdictional disputes over the New Hampshire Grants , and refusing to protect tea shipments after the Boston Tea Party unless specifically requested to do so . When Gage returned to Boston in 1774 , Haldimand remained in command of the troops in New York , which Gage ordered to Boston in September 1774 in the wake of the colonial uprising known as the Powder Alarm . While Gage was primarily occupied with his duties as Governor of Massachusetts , Haldimand commanded the army in Boston , although Gage did not notify him of the expedition that led to the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19 , 1775 . With the arrival additional military leadership in Boston after that event , Haldimand was advised that , due to his status as a foreigner , it was inappropriate for him to exercise command in what was viewed as an internal civil conflict . He sailed from Boston in June 1775 ( one day before the Battle of Bunker Hill ) , and arrived in London in August . Governor of Quebec . He became Governor of the Province of Quebec ( which at the time included what is now Ontario ) in 1778 , serving through the American Revolution . Haldimand built up Quebec ' s defenses in reaction to repeated rumors of American plans to again invade the province , limiting offensive actions to raiding parties such as the 1778 raid by Christopher Carleton and the 1780 " Burning of the Valleys " into the rebellious American colonies . As an administrator he at times dealt harshly with political activists , arresting Fleury Mesplet and Valentin Jautard , publishers of a literary journal that often featured political commentary , and Pierre du Calvet , an agitator for judicial reforms . In 1781 Haldimand ' s efforts on behalf of the British cause included engaging in negotiations with political representatives of the Vermont Republic , which had declared its independence from the state of New York in 1777 after long - standing disputes over jurisdiction . These negotiations , which are sometimes called the Haldimand Affair because of his participation , involved brothers Ira and Ethan Allen , and were promoted to see if Vermont could be convinced to become a new British province , which would then provide a new avenue for attack against the southern portions of New York and New England . These negotiations reached a point where Haldimand believed Vermont was almost ready to admit British troops when news of the surrender at Yorktown arrived . As the revolution came to an end Haldimand helped settle American Loyalist refugees who became known as United Empire Loyalists , many in territories that are now in New Brunswick and Ontario . He also helped settle the Six Nations that had been driven out of New York during the war , issuing what is now known as the Haldimand Proclamation , awarding them a tract of land on the Grand River in what is now southern Ontario . In the summer of 1784 Haldimand returned to England on leave , but he was not to return to Quebec , as he was eventually formally replaced by General Carleton . In 1785 he was awarded the Order of the Bath . He settled in London , but made regular visits to his boyhood home , where he died while on one of those visits . He never married , and his diaries show no evidence of romantic interests . Legacy . Haldimand created and preserved a great deal of written correspondence , especially during his time in North America . As his military and administrative assignments ranged from Pensacola to Quebec and covered the years 1755 to 1784 , this correspondence , much of it deposited in the Haldimand Collection at the British Museum ( with copies at the Library and Archives Canada ) , provides a unique view into the colonial history leading to United States independence . Haldimand has been memorialized with several place names in North America :