John Stanwix was a British soldier and politician.

Stanwix entered the army in 1706, rose to a captain of the grenadiers in 1739, major of marines in 1741, and lieutenant-colonel in 1745, and was appointed equerry to Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...

, in 1749. In 1750, he was promoted to the government of Carlisle, for which he represented in the British parliament in 1741.

In 1754, he became deputy quartermaster-general of the forces, and on 1 January 1756, he was made colonel-commandant of the 1st battalion of the 60th or Royal American Regiment. On his arrival in America he was given the command of the southern district. During 1757 his headquarters were at Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...

, and he was appointed brigadier-general on 27 December of that year. After his relief by General John Forbes

John Forbes (General)

John Forbes was a British general in the French and Indian War. He is best known for leading the Forbes Expedition that captured the French outpost at Fort Duquesne and for naming the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania after British Secretary of State William Pitt the Elder.-Early life:Forbes was...

 in 1758, General Stanwix went to Albany, whence he was ordered to the Oneida carrying-place, to secure that important position by the erection of a work which was called Fort Stanwix

Fort Stanwix

Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction was started on August 26, 1758, by British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The fort guarded a portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place during the French and Indian War...

 in his honor. In 1759 he returned to Pennsylvania, built and named Fort Pitt

Fort Pitt (Pennsylvania)

Fort Pitt was a fort built at the location of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.-French and Indian War:The fort was built from 1759 to 1761 during the French and Indian War , next to the site of former Fort Duquesne, at the confluence the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River...

, and surmounted the works with cannon. He worked with George Croghan

George Croghan

George Croghan was an Irish-born Pennsylvania fur trader, Onondaga Council sachem, land speculator, British Indian agent in colonial America and, until accused of treason in 1777, Pittsburgh's president judge and Committee of Safety Chairman keeping the Ohio Indians neutral...

, the deputy superintendent of Indian affairs, to secure the good will of the Indians.

On 19 June 1759, Stanwix was appointed major-general, but he was relieved by General Robert Monckton

Robert Monckton

Robert Monckton was an officer of the British army and a colonial administrator in British North America. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in command to General Wolfe at the battle of Quebec and subsequently being the Governor of New York State...

 on 4 May 1760, and became lieutenant-general on 19 January 1761. After his return to England he was appointed lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, became colonel of the 8th foot, and was a member of parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Appleby

Appleby (UK Parliament constituency)

Appleby was a parliamentary constituency in the former county of Westmorland in England. It existed for two separate periods: from 1295 to 1832, and from 1885 to 1918....

 in Westmorland

Westmorland

Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...

.

He was lost at sea while crossing from Dublin, Ireland, to Holyhead, Wales, in The Eagle, a packet.

External links

• John Stanwix at the Probert Encyclopedia