Background
Robert was born in 1727 and reared in Glasgow, United Kingdom, the sole heir of William Stobo, a merchant. His mother was the daughter of James Mitchell of Balmore, descended from the family of the earls of Montrose.
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Memoirs of Major Robert Stobo of the Virginia Regiment (Classic Reprint)
(Ferincrs, well deferve the attention of every lover of hi...)
Ferincrs, well deferve the attention of every lover of his country; was born at Glafgow, Anno 1727. His father, William Stobo, was a merchant and citizen of that place, and the firft who brought its manu Fa6lures up to England, whence Glafgow has fince received fuch vafl yearly returns; his mother was daughter of James Mitchell, of Balmore, near Glafgow, remarkable for nothing more than his eminent piety, and a fmail inheritance of his family, who was commonly diftinguifhed by the appellation of the gentleman of Balmore, which courtefy he probably enjoyed as being nearly related, by his mother, to the noble and ancient family of Montrofe. (Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.) About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology. Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org
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Memoirs of Major Robert Stobo: Of the Virginia Regiment (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from Memoirs of Major Robert Stobo: Of the Virgin...)
Excerpt from Memoirs of Major Robert Stobo: Of the Virginia Regiment On the third day of July, A. D. 1754, almost one hundred years ago, that great man who was afterwards to act so grand and glorious a part in the history of our country, and whose fame is now spread and reigns unparalleled throughout the globe we inhabit, the great and good George Washington, then an obscure and undistinguished Colonel of an incomplete Virginia Regiment of one hundred and fifty "self-willed and ungovernable" men, was beleaguered by French and Indians in Fort Necessity, in an adjoining county. The enemy had a formidable force; the hastily constructed work was very defective, and of hopes of relief there were none. For nine hours, the enemy, concealed and protected by the surrounding trees, poured in an incessant fire upon the besieged; already thirty of the garrison were killed, and only three of the enemy. Terms of surrender were, at length, proposed by the besiegers and accepted. Hostages were to be delivered for the faithful performance of the stipulations on the part of the English Colonies. These hostages were Captain Van Braam, a Dutchman, and the subject of the following memoirs. On that day, third of July, 1754, the English garrison withdrew from the basin of the Ohio, and then, in the eloquent language of Bancroft: "In the whole valley of the Mississippi to its head springs in the Alleghenies, no standard floated but that of France." Such was the condition of affairs in this region when Stobo and Van Braam were conveyed as prisoners and hostages to Fort Du Quesne, within the site of our present city. Truly the prospects of poor Stobo were then gloomy and discouraging, indeed. Of Van Braam's fidelity, some doubts have, perhaps unjustly, been entertained. These doubts, whether well or ill founded, must always blunt the keenness of our conviction of his feelings. But of Stobo's feeling, no doubt can exist.
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Robert Stobo
Edit ProfileEducation
Stobo is said to have entered the University of Glasgow, but after a brief time emigrated to Virginia where, as a merchant, he enjoyed the patronage of Governor Dinwiddie, and as a genial member of society gained considerable personal popularity.
Career
A captain in the Virginia militia, he fought with Washington at Fort Necessity, July 3, 1754, and was held as a hostage by the French under the terms of capitulation which were later violated by both parties. Convinced that he was no longer on parole, he dispatched secretly by Indians two letters to Washington containing a map and a description of Fort DuQuesne and urging immediate attack.
The letters were carelessly circulated, and the French, hearing of their contents, refused to release Stobo and confined him in Quebec. One of his letters was captured by the French in Braddock's baggage, whereupon Stobo was tried for treason and on November 8, 1755, sentenced to be executed. This sentence was never confirmed, however, and after several unsuccessful attempts he succeeded in escaping, with Lieutenant Simon Stevens and others.
After a hazardous thirty-eight days' flight down the Saint Lawrence River during April, May, and June 1759, he reached the British forces at Louisbourg. He immediately joined the expedition against Quebec, and from July 10 until September 7, when he returned to General Amherst with dispatches, he ably assisted Wolfe, leading the attack on Pointe aux Trembles, and pointing out the Foulon where Wolfe later landed for the ascent to the Plains of Abraham.
In November he returned to Virginia, there to receive a vote of thanks of the House of Burgesses, a gift of $1, 000, and his back pay as a major - a commission voted him while he was a prisoner in Canada.
After a brief visit to England, he returned to join Amherst, who on Pitt's recommendation commissioned him a captain in the 15th Regiment of Foot with which he served until 1770 in Canada, the West Indies, the Lake region, and England.
On June 4, 1767, he purchased land on Lake Champlain apparently with the intention of settling there. He returned with his regiment to England, however, in July 1768, and before the end of August had made the acquaintance of Tobias Smollett, who wrote a very generous letter recommending him to David Hume. After 1770 his name disappeared from the Army List.
About this time, Washington made repeated efforts to find him, in order to purchase his claim to 9, 000 acres of land on the Ohio River, due him as land bounty for military services. In the absence of records, it may be conjectured either that Stobo died in England or that he returned to America, settling on Lake Champlain or on the Little Kanawha River in what is now West Virginia.
In November 1771 George Washington wrote a letter to Stobo concerning land claims under Governor Dinwiddie; however Stobo had committed suicide on 19 June 1770.
Achievements
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Although Robert Stobo played no large role in the events in which he participated, his adventurous career has formed a basis for romantic narrative. He was probably the model for Tobias Smollett's great Scotch character Lismahago in The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771). His memoirs were kept in the British Museum for nearly a century until 1854 when the manuscript was published in Pittsburgh in part to efforts by Liverpool merchant James McHenry.
Works
book
-
Memoirs of Major Robert Stobo of the Virginia Regiment (Classic Reprint)
(Ferincrs, well deferve the attention of every lover of hi...)
-
Memoirs of Major Robert Stobo: Of the Virginia Regiment (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from Memoirs of Major Robert Stobo: Of the Virgin...)
-
Memoirs of Major Robert Stobo of the Virginia Regiment (Classic Reprint)
