Haldimand, Sir Frederick

Person

Haldimand, Sir Frederick

1718-1791

Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Haldimand (1718-1791), a Swiss mercenary and close friend of Henry Bouquet , was born on 11 August 1718 at Yverdun, in the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He was the second of four sons of François-Louis Haldimand, the receiver for the town, and was himself baptized François-Louis-Frédéric. He entered the British Army in 1756 and served with considerable distinction through the period of upheaval in North America that included the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution.

Haldimand arrived at New York in June 1756 with a lieutenant-colonel's commission in the Royal American Regiment. In 1758, he joined Major-General James Abercromby's expedition against Canada, which failed at the cost of great bloodshed at Ticonderoga. In the following year, Haldimand conducted a distinguished defence of Oswego, and joined Major-General Jeffery Amherst's expedition against Montreal in 1760. After serving at Trois-Rivières as commander, and as acting governor, he was transferred to Florida. Recalled to England in 1775, he returned to Canada in 1778 and succeeded Sir Guy Carleton as governor and commander-in-chief. In 1784, he left for England on leave of absence, but retired in 1786 without returning to his post. He died, unmarried, at Yverdun, Switzerland, on 5 June 1791.

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