Career
In November 1811, at the age of 17, Le Couteur was promoted from Ensign in the 96th Regiment (on Jersey) to a Lieutenant in the 104th Regiment of Foot and was ordered to join his regiment in New Brunswick. The march of the 104th, of which Le Couteur"s journal provides a detailed account, lasted from 21 February to 12 April 1813. The men marched across difficult terrain in extreme winter conditions and, with temperatures dropping as low as 27° below zero, few escaped frostbite.
Le Couteur later took part in the Siege of Fort Erie, the battles of Sackett"s Harbour and Lundy"s Lane and thirty-three skirmishes.
After the war, in 1816, Le Couteur was appointed Aide-de-camp to his father, Lieutenant-General John Le Couteur, in Curaçao before returning to Canada the following year. He became Colonel of the West Regiment of the Militia in 1829.
In Jersey, Le Couteur held a number of official posts: he was elected Connétable of Saint Brélade in 1826 and Jurat in 1835. He was appointed Aide-de-camp in 1831 to William IV and this position was renewed when Victoria came to the throne in 1837 (Victoria visited the island in 1846).
Le Couteur held the position of Aide-de-camp until 1872 and he was knighted in the same year.
Le Couteur had many interests and was a competent artist. He undertook a sustained scientific study of wheat and produced several books on agriculture: On the Varieties, Properties, and Classification of Wheat (1836). On the Use of the Jersey Trench Plough (1842).
On the Rise, Progress and State of Agriculture in Jersey (1852).
In recognition of his enquiries, Le Couteur was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1843.
