William Phillips (General)

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William Phillips

William Phillips (* 1731 - May 13, 1781 in Petersburg , Virginia , colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain ) was an artillery officer in the British Army , who served as major general in the American Revolutionary War.

Life

Phillips came from a family of Welsh officers and entered the Royal Artillery Academy in Woolwich , England as a cadet on August 1, 1746 . He was born on April 1, 1750 quartermaster of the first Artilleriebattalions, on March 1, 1755 Second Lieutenant , on April 1, 1756 lieutenant and on May 12, 1756 Captain .

Seven Years War

As commander of an artillery brigade, he was a member of the British expeditionary force in the Seven Years' War in Germany. In the Battle of Warburg he performed an unprecedented maneuver by galloping eight kilometers with his heavy cannons, thus cutting off the path of the French army. At the end of the war he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and founded a musical brigade that goes back to today's Royal Artillery Band . After the Seven Years' War, Phillips became Inspector General of Artillery in the Mediterranean and then Artillery Commander at the Royal Artillery Academy in Woolwich. In 1772 he was promoted to Colonel and named Lieutenant Governor of Windsor Castle . After his promotion to Brigadier-General in 1774 he was elected to the British House of Commons as a member of the House of Commons for Boroughbridge , Yorkshire . He held this mandate until 1780.

American War of Independence

Following the outbreak of hostilities between the colonists and England in North America, William Phillips was appointed major general and assigned to command all artillery forces in the Canadian colonies. Then he was subordinate to John Burgoyne for the Saratoga campaign as wing commander. Phillips is described as a brave and brilliant officer. On October 17, 1777, Burgoyne surrendered and his entire army, henceforth called the Convention Army , marched to Boston to await an exchange.

Phillips was that shortly after Burgoyne's departure for Albemarle Barracks in after Burgoyne's return to England, commander of the Convention Army Charlottesville ( Virginia was moved). Conditions for the British prisoners of war were appalling and Phillips made constant efforts to find food, clothing and shelter for his men. At the end of 1779 he and his staff were finally brought to New York City and in 1780 exchanged for the American General Benjamin Lincoln .

On January 1, 1781, the British sent an expedition to Chesapeake Bay in Virginia under the command of their new Brigadier-General Benedict Arnold . Arnold led a relief attack up the James River to Richmond and damaged and substantially destroyed American supply routes and industrial support. Then he returned to Chesapeake and fortified his army in Portsmouth, Virginia .

Knowing that the armed forces were too weak for further operations in Virginia, Sir Henry Clinton , the British commander in chief in New York City, sent Phillips to Portsmouth with strong relief forces. He arrived in March 1781. On April 18, a major assault began up the James River towards Yorktown , Williamsburg , Virginia's marine docks on the Chickahominy River and the farm grounds to the west. After a brief respite for his troops, Phillips marched his troops and fleet to City Point, where he landed on April 24th. On the morning of April 25th, his army marched towards Petersburg . Under the command of Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben , there was only a small army of just over 1,000 militiamen against Phillips 2,500 experienced men. Despite the overwhelming odds, the Virginia militia halted the British attack for three hours before retreating into town. Two days after that battle, Phillip's army marched north and burned down military facilities in Chesterfield , several war and cargo ships at Osborne's Landing, and a foundry and several warehouses in Westham . At the same time, American regular troops under Major General Lafayette arrived in Richmond to prevent Phillips from attacking the capital. Phillips decided, however, that his campaign would have been a complete success and ordered his army to move down the James to Portsmouth . During the march, he fell seriously ill with a fever, either malaria or typhoid .

A few days later, orders came in from North Carolina , Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis , calling Phillips and his army to Petersburg. When they arrived on May 9, Phillips was so ill that General Benedict Arnold had to take command. On May 10, Lafayette's army arrived and bombed British troops in Petersburg from the heights to the north. William Phillips died on the morning of May 13, 1781. On the same evening he was buried in a secret location in the Blandford church cemetery.

Literature and web links

personal data
SURNAME Phillips, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Artillery officer in the British Army who served as major general in the American Revolutionary War
DATE OF BIRTH 1731
DATE OF DEATH May 13, 1781
Place of death Petersburg , Virginia , colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain