Charles O'Hara
Charles O'Hara (* 1740 in Lisbon , † February 25, 1802 in Gibraltar ) was a British officer. He played a role in the final phase of the American War of Independence and completed the surrender of Yorktown with the delivery of his sword . During the First Coalition War , he commanded the British troops in Toulon and was captured by Napoleon Bonaparte. From 1792 until his death he was Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar .
Early years
He was the illegitimate son of James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley, from a relationship he had entered into during his time in Portugal. He brought his lovers and children with him to England. Charles O'Hara attended Westminster School .
His father was a Colonel in the Coldstream Guards and had his son join the British Army in 1751 . After serving in other units, he rose to lieutenant and captain in the Coldstream Guards until 1756. During the Seven Years' War he served with the rank of lieutenant colonel after the Battle of Minden as aide-de-camp to John Manners, Marquess of Granby . As quartermaster he took part in the campaign in Portugal in 1762 under the command of James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley .
He was a strict officer but was popular because of his addiction to alcohol, gambling and woman affairs. Without losing his position in the Guard, O'Hara was appointed commander of British troops in 1766 in the newly acquired area in what is now Senegal and Gambia . There he commanded a punitive unit of convicted soldiers who served with the prospect of pardons in Africa. He rose to lieutenant colonel by 1769 and to (titular) colonel by 1777.
American War of Independence
Since 1778 he took part in the American War of Independence. He first served under William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe near Philadelphia . He was temporarily responsible for the exchange of prisoners. He also participated in the capture of Philadelphia. After Henry Clinton took command, he was ordered to prepare the defense of Sandy Hook against an impending attack by the French fleet. Otherwise he served on the commander's staff. In February 1779 he returned to England.
He returned with the rank of brigadier general in October 1780. He criticized the previous cautious approach and pleaded for a ruthless course. He was dispatched to the southern theater of war with General Alexander Leslie in support of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis . He commanded the Guard Brigade from battalions of the Grenadier Guards , the Coldstream Guards and the Scots Guards .
O'Hara fought several times against the American troops under Nathanael Greene . He was wounded several times in the Battle of Guilford Court House in 1781. In October he was promoted to major general. He was deputy from Cornwallis when he had to surrender on October 19, 1781 at Yorktown. Cornwallis did not take part in the actual surrender. O'Hara wanted to hand over his sword to the French general Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau , as his deputy . But the French referred him to the Americans. George Washington refused to accept the sword from anyone other than Cornwallis. Ultimately, O'Hara was able to hand the gun over to Benjamin Lincoln as Washington's representative. After a few months in captivity, it was exchanged. In April 1782 he received the 22nd foot regiment and strengthened the troops in Jamaica with the rank of major general .
Gibraltar and Toulon
He returned to England in 1784. He fled to Italy because of gambling debts. There he had a relationship with the writer Mary Berry . With the help of Cornwallis, he was able to solve his debt problem and return to England in 1785.
Between 1787 and 1789 he commanded the troops in Gibraltar. There he became deputy governor in 1792. In 1791 he was given the 74th Highlander Regiment in place of his old regiment.
O'Hara was promoted to lieutenant general in 1793. He commanded the British troops in the counter-revolutionary Toulon . Shortly after he took command, the French revolutionary forces began to siege the city. He relied on an offensive reaction and attacked the main French position with 2,300 soldiers, had it destroyed and the guns made unusable. During the action he was wounded and taken prisoner by the artillery captain Napoleon Bonaparte . He was a prisoner of war until 1795 when he was exchanged for Rochambeau's son.
After his release, he returned to England and resumed his relationship with Mary Betty. A short time later he became governor of Gibraltar. He was a popular governor, celebrated lavish parties, and his nickname was Old Cock of the Rock . In 1798 he was promoted to general. During his time as governor, he built an observation tower and an artillery position on the highest point of the Rock of Gibraltar . This position is called O'Hara's Battery.
He was never married, but had two mistresses in Gibraltar. With each of them he had two children. He left a considerable fortune to his mistresses and illegitimate children. He is one of two British governors buried in Gibraltar. There is also a street named after him
literature
- Stephen Conway: O'Hara, Charles (c.1740-1802). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; Accessed online on August 13, 2013
- John C. Fredriksen: Revolutionary War Almanac . New York, 2006. pp. 549 f.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | O'Hara, Charles |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British military |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1740 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lisbon |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 25, 1802 |
| Place of death | Gibraltar |