Montfort Browne was a
British ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer and
ToryLoyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
, and a major landowner and developer of British
West FloridaWest Florida was a region on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico, which underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. West Florida was first established in 1763 by the British government; as its name suggests it largely consisted of the western portion of the region...
in the 1760s and 1770s. He commanded the Prince of Wales' American Regiment, a
LoyalistLoyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
regiment, in the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. He served as lieutenant governor of West Florida from 1766 to 1769, acting as governor from 1767, and then as governor of the Bahamas from 1774 to 1780.
Life
Montfort Browne was from an Irish family. According to his own writings, he served in the 35th Regiment of Foot during the
Seven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, where he saw much action in the West Indies, and was twice wounded. In 1763 a complaint was lodged against him that resulted in an unfavourable court of inquiry against him. When the British took control of
West FloridaWest Florida was a region on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico, which underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. West Florida was first established in 1763 by the British government; as its name suggests it largely consisted of the western portion of the region...
after the war, Browne sponsored French
HuguenotThe Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
and Irish immigrants to the area. Through a patronage connection with the colonial secretary, the
Earl of HillsboroughWills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire PC , known as the Viscount Hillsborough from 1742 to 1751 and as the Earl of Hillsborough from 1751 to 1789, was a British politician of the Georgian era...
, he secured the lieutenant governorship of the new province in November 1764. Accompanied by his Irish recruits, he arrived at the provincial capital,
PensacolaPensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
in January 1766.
West Florida
His first year as lieutenant governor was turbulent. Some of his land claims were contested, and the property he owned on
Dauphin IslandDauphin Island is a town in Mobile County, Alabama , on a barrier island also named Dauphin Island , at the Gulf of Mexico. The population was 1,371 at the 2000 census. The town is included in the Mobile metropolitan statistical area...
was found to be unsuitable for the population he had planned to settle there. His relationship with Governor George Johnstone was strained when Browne sided with the military in disputes between them and the governor. Johnstone left West Florida in January 1767, leaving Browne in command of the province.
Browne in 1768 led a successful expedition out to the
NatchezNatchez is a village in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 583 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Natchitoches Micropolitan Statistical Area....
area, bringing back a report of the fertility and emptiness of that area and suggesting that the area be developed. For his services in the war he had been awarded 20000 acres (8,093.7 ha) in the province, and he used the trip to stake out large parcels of land on the eastern banks of the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
just north of present-day
Baton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
. Irregularities in Browne's bookkeepping in 1768 drew criticism from his patron Hillsborough, and Browne formally requested that his books be audited when Johnstone's successor
John EliotJohn Eliot was a Royal Navy captain. He was appointed Governor of West Florida in 1767, and committed suicide shortly after his arrival in Pensacola in 1769.-Life:...
arrived in April 1769. Unfortunately, Eliot committed suicide a month after his arrival, and Browne reluctantly retook the reins of power. He sent the provincial surveyor,
Elias DurnfordElias Durnford was a British army officer and civil engineer who is best known for surveying the town of Pensacola and laying out a city plan based on two public places ....
to London in May 1769 to answer ongoing complaints that colonists were making against him, but Durnford returned that December with orders removing Browne from power and granting Durnford an acting governorship.
As Browne was preparing to leave the province he was involved in a duel with a Pensacolan trader. The man was wounded, and Browne would have faced criminal charges had the man died. Fortunately for Browne he recovered, and Browne sailed for England in February 1770. He spent much of the next two years in England, having his finances scrutinized by the colonial office, and continuing to drum up interest in settlements on the Mississippi. There was public speculation on both sides of the Atlantic that the Mississippi lands would eventually be separated into their own province, with Browne as its governor. Hillsborough was apparently supportive of the idea, and resigned as colonial secretary when it was rejected. Browne continued to lobby Hillsborough's successor, the
Earl of DarthmouthWilliam Legge 2nd Earl of Dartmouth PC, FRS , styled as Viscount Lewisham from 1732 to 1750, was a British statesman who is most remembered for his part in the government before and during the American Revolution....
, for the establishment of a province on the Mississippi, but was unsuccessful. He was instead eventually granted the governorship of
The BahamasThe Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
in March 1774.
Bahamas and Revolutionary War service
While governor of the Bahamas, Browne continued to promote land on the Mississippi. At one point he advertised for sale tracts of land as large as 150000 acres (60,702.9 ha), suggesting that he had acquired more land while in England. He made several trips from the Bahamas to West Florida to pursue his interests in 1774 and 1775.
After the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
broke out in 1775 he took some precautions to secure
NassauNassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
. He had had ample warning that the Americans might make an attack there, but was caught off guard when
American ships arrivedThe Battle of Nassau was a naval action and amphibious assault by American forces against the British port of Nassau, Bahamas during the American Revolutionary War...
off Nassau's sandbar on the morning of 3 March 1776. He rushed to Government House in his nightshirt to order the firing of cannon to summon the militia. Though he managed to get most of the island's gunpowder stores away to
St. Augustine, FloridaSt. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
, he failed to hold the island and was taken prisoner. With 12 other high-ranking hostages from the island he was taken back to the
Chesapeake BayThe Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
by the American fleet, and was released soon afterwards in exchange for William Alexander.
He then formed the Loyalist Prince of Wales' American Regiment, served at the
siege of Rhode IslandThe Battle of Rhode Island, also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill and the Siege of Newport, took place on August 29, 1778. Continental Army and militia forces under the command of General John Sullivan were withdrawing to the northern part of Aquidneck Island after abandoning their siege of...
, and spent some time in Florida before finally returning to the Bahamas to resume his post there in July 1778. He then faced accusations of cowardice and incompetence for his conduct of the battle and, after dismissing his council in an attempt to scotch the rumours (an unprecedented move), he was replaced by John Robert Maxwell two years later in 1780.
External links