Henry Bouquet

1719 (age 46)

Rolle, Canton Vaud, Switzerland

In 1736, Bouquet entered the service of the States General of Holland as a cadet in the regiment of Constant, and two years later was commissioned as lieutenant. In 1748, he accompanied the officers who received from the French the evacuated forts in the Low Countries, and shortly after traveled through France and Italy with Lord Middleton, from whom he acquired the foundations of his excellent knowledge of English, which he wrote with grace and precision. In the fall of 1755, James Prevost, supported by the urging of Joseph Yorke, British minister at The Hague, succeeded in gaining Bouquet's consent to take the lieutenant-colonelcy of the first battalion in the newly-planned Royal American Regiment (later the King's Royal Rifle Corps), and in the spring of 1756, Bouquet left for North America, where he contributed to the remarkable recruiting success the regiment enjoyed in 1756 among the Germans of Pennsylvania, and had his first experiences of the unwarlike but obstinate temper of the Quakers, which he never ceased to impugn. The center of the quartering dispute in Philadelphia in the winter of 1756, he met greater resistance in quartering regulars in 1757, in Charleston, South Carolina, where he commanded a small force of provincials, Royal Americans, and, later, Montgomery's Highlanders. This was the only independent command assigned him by a commander-in-chief during the war. Promoted to be colonel in America only in January 1758, he served as second under Brigadier John Forbes in the weary expedition against Fort Duquesne, and his rare patience and tact were largely responsible for overcoming the delays of provincials and the uncertainties of transportation, for building new forts, and for cutting through western Pennsylvania the great highway known as "Forbes' Road, " which resulted in the evacuation of Fort Duquesne by the French. His foreign birth prevented Amherst from giving him the command in the west at Forbes's death, and he served for the remainder of the war under Stanwix and Monckton, occupied chiefly in the supervision and strengthening of the western forts, Pitt, Venango, and Presque Isle. He was commissioned colonel by brevet in 1762, and was naturalized by Maryland and by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Neither the attractions of domestic life upon his estate at Long Meadow, Maryland, nor the importunities of his many warm American friends could lure him from the army during the war, and leave of absence was denied him in 1761. He continued, therefore, to exploit to the full his long experience on the frontier, by adapting the discipline of European armies to the exigencies of wilderness warfare, and by drilling his own first battalion in the principles of open-order combat and extreme mobility of action. In Pontiac's conspiracy he proved the worth of his methods. In 1763, he marched a small army of Royal Americans and Highlanders towards Fort Pitt, and at Edgehill, within a short distance of Braddock's fatal field, repulsed a considerable number of Delawares and Shawnees. The following day, August 6, the Indians again attacked at Bushy Run, and Bouquet, drawing up his troops in circle to protect his convoy, lured them from cover by the feigned retreat of one segment, and crushed them by a bayonet charge when they rushed into the gap. Henceforth the Indians respected him, perceiving, as not many contemporaries did, that he was the most brilliant leader of light infantry the war produced, and incomparably in advance of the military practise of the day. The following year, he commanded the southern of the two expeditions sent to pacify the Indians, led a small force of provincials and regulars to the forks of the Muskingum, and, by an admirable mixture of firmness and justice, forced the surrender of all prisoners in Indian hands and concluded a general peace. Publicly thanked by the king in general orders, and by the assemblies of the southern provinces, he received the unexpected rank of brigadier in 1765, and the command of the southern district. At Pensacola, the same year, fever carried him away prematurely.

Henry Louis Bouquet

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also known as Henry Louis Bouquet

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Background

Henry Louis Bouquet was born in 1719 of a good French Protestant family at Rolle, Canton Vaud, Switzerland.

Education

Bouquet devoted himself to a thorough study of his chosen profession of arms, especially in the mathematical branches, and throughout his career continued to enjoy scientific discussion.

Career

In 1736, Bouquet entered the service of the States General of Holland as a cadet in the regiment of Constant, and two years later was commissioned as lieutenant.

In 1748, he accompanied the officers who received from the French the evacuated forts in the Low Countries, and shortly after traveled through France and Italy with Lord Middleton, from whom he acquired the foundations of his excellent knowledge of English, which he wrote with grace and precision.

In the fall of 1755, James Prevost, supported by the urging of Joseph Yorke, British minister at The Hague, succeeded in gaining Bouquet's consent to take the lieutenant-colonelcy of the first battalion in the newly-planned Royal American Regiment (later the King's Royal Rifle Corps), and in the spring of 1756, Bouquet left for North America, where he contributed to the remarkable recruiting success the regiment enjoyed in 1756 among the Germans of Pennsylvania, and had his first experiences of the unwarlike but obstinate temper of the Quakers, which he never ceased to impugn.

The center of the quartering dispute in Philadelphia in the winter of 1756, he met greater resistance in quartering regulars in 1757, in Charleston, South Carolina, where he commanded a small force of provincials, Royal Americans, and, later, Montgomery's Highlanders. This was the only independent command assigned him by a commander-in-chief during the war.

Promoted to be colonel in America only in January 1758, he served as second under Brigadier John Forbes in the weary expedition against Fort Duquesne, and his rare patience and tact were largely responsible for overcoming the delays of provincials and the uncertainties of transportation, for building new forts, and for cutting through western Pennsylvania the great highway known as "Forbes' Road, " which resulted in the evacuation of Fort Duquesne by the French.

His foreign birth prevented Amherst from giving him the command in the west at Forbes's death, and he served for the remainder of the war under Stanwix and Monckton, occupied chiefly in the supervision and strengthening of the western forts, Pitt, Venango, and Presque Isle. He was commissioned colonel by brevet in 1762, and was naturalized by Maryland and by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Neither the attractions of domestic life upon his estate at Long Meadow, Maryland, nor the importunities of his many warm American friends could lure him from the army during the war, and leave of absence was denied him in 1761.

He continued, therefore, to exploit to the full his long experience on the frontier, by adapting the discipline of European armies to the exigencies of wilderness warfare, and by drilling his own first battalion in the principles of open-order combat and extreme mobility of action. In Pontiac's conspiracy he proved the worth of his methods.

In 1763, he marched a small army of Royal Americans and Highlanders towards Fort Pitt, and at Edgehill, within a short distance of Braddock's fatal field, repulsed a considerable number of Delawares and Shawnees. The following day, August 6, the Indians again attacked at Bushy Run, and Bouquet, drawing up his troops in circle to protect his convoy, lured them from cover by the feigned retreat of one segment, and crushed them by a bayonet charge when they rushed into the gap.

Henceforth the Indians respected him, perceiving, as not many contemporaries did, that he was the most brilliant leader of light infantry the war produced, and incomparably in advance of the military practise of the day. The following year, he commanded the southern of the two expeditions sent to pacify the Indians, led a small force of provincials and regulars to the forks of the Muskingum, and, by an admirable mixture of firmness and justice, forced the surrender of all prisoners in Indian hands and concluded a general peace.

Publicly thanked by the king in general orders, and by the assemblies of the southern provinces, he received the unexpected rank of brigadier in 1765, and the command of the southern district. At Pensacola, the same year, fever carried him away prematurely.

Achievements

Henry Bouquet displayed some remarkable accomplishments even at the beginning of his military career. While serving the King of Sardinia during the war of the Austrian Succession, he demonstrated such coolness and resourcefulness in action that the Prince of Orange engaged him as captain-commandant, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, in a newly-formed regiment of Swiss Guards. Having left for North America in 1756, Bouquet contributed to the remarkable recruiting success the regiment enjoyed in 1756 among the Germans of Pennsylvania there. He achieved a promotion to the rank of colonel in America in 1758, and served as second under Brigadier John Forbes in the weary expedition against Fort Duquesne. He became largely responsible for overcoming the delays of provincials and the uncertainties of transportation, for building new forts, and for cutting through western Pennsylvania the great highway known as "Forbes' Road, " which resulted in the evacuation of Fort Duquesne by the French. But overall, he will be best remembered for his victory over a Native American force at the Battle of Bushy Run, lifting the siege of Fort Pitt during Pontiac's War. Bouquet gained his respect from the Indians, who perceived him as the most brilliant leader of light infantry the war produced, and incomparably in advance of the military practise of the day.

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Henry Louis Bouquet

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