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{{Other people|James Craig}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| name =Sir James Craig
| image =James Henry Craig 2.jpg
| caption =Sir James Craig by Schipper
| birth_date =1748
| death_date =12 January 1812 (aged 63)
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial =
| birth_place =[[Gibraltar]]
| death_place =[[London]]
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| nickname =
| allegiance ={{UK}}
| branch =[[File:Flag of the British Army.svg|23px]] [[British Army]]
| serviceyears =
| rank =[[General (United Kingdom)|General]]
| unit =
| commands =[[Indian Army]]
| battles ='''[[American Revolutionary War]]''' [[Battle of Bunker Hill]] [[Battle of Quebec (1775)|Battle of Quebec]] [[Battle of Trois-Rivières]] '''[[Saratoga Campaign]]''' [[Battle of Ticonderoga (1777)|Battle of Ticonderoga]] [[Battle of Hubbardton]] [[Battles of Saratoga|Battle of Saratoga]] [[Penobscot Expedition]] '''[[Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War|Southern Campaign]]''' '''[[French Revolutionary Wars]]''' [[Battle of Muizenberg]] '''[[Napoleonic Wars]]''' [[Anglo-Russian invasion of Naples]]
| awards =[[Knight of the Order of the Bath]]
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
[[General (United Kingdom)|General]] '''Sir James Henry Craig''' [[Order of the Bath|KB]] (1748 – 12 January 1812) was a British military officer and colonial administrator.

==Early life and military service==
Craig came from a Scottish family whose father was a judge of the civil and military courts in the British fortress of Gibraltar.<ref name=odnb>[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6572?docPos=1 Sir James Craig at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]</ref> At the age of 15 in 1763 he was enrolled as an ensign in the [[30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot]].<ref name=odnb/> Colonel Robert Boyd, the lieutenant governor of Gibraltar in 1770 endorsed his promotion to an aide-de-camp<ref name=odnb/> which allowed him to later take command of a company in the [[47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot]] stationed in the [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]].

==Service during the American War of Independence==
After the outbreak of the [[American Revolutionary War|War of Independence]] in 1775, Craig took part in the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]], where he was badly wounded, but refused to leave his regiment, and participated in the defence of Quebec in 1776, where he met the American invaders at [[Battle of Trois-Rivières|Trois-Rivières]] while commanding the [[advance guard]] that forced them back beyond the border.<ref name=odnb/> During 1777 he was wounded twice, once seriously, during engagements at [[Fort Ticonderoga]], [[Battle of Hubbardton|Hubbardton]], and [[Battles of Saratoga|Freeman's Farm]].<ref name=odnb/> Major-General [[John Burgoyne]], who expressed high regard for Craig as an officer, recommended him for the rank of a [[major]] in the [[82nd Regiment of Foot (1777)]] in recognition of his service.<ref name=odnb/> From 1778 to 1781 Craig served with the 82nd Regiment in [[Nova Scotia]], at [[Penobscot Expedition|Penobscot]], and later in [[North Carolina]].<ref name=odnb/> Due to constant involvement in operations during the war, Craig usually led [[light infantry]] troops. His rapid promotion suggests that Craig possessed an unusual degree of initiative and resourcefulness.

==Service during the Napoleonic Wars==
After promotion to [[lieutenant-colonel]] in 1781, Craig became [[Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey]] in 1793 and then an [[adjutant general]] to the [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Duke of York]] in the 1794 Army of Netherlands, being promoted to [[major-general]].<ref name=odnb/>

In 1794–1795, the [[Netherlands]] were overrun by the [[French Revolution|revolutionary]] armies of the new republic of [[France]], and [[Stadtholder]] Prince [[William V of Orange]] became a refugee in [[England]]. A [[Great Britain|British]] force under General Sir James Craig set out to [[Cape Town]] to secure the colony against the French. The [[Battle of Muizenberg]] successfully wrested control from [[William V of Orange]] to Britain.

In 1795 he served with Vice-Admiral [[George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith|Viscount Keith]] and Major-General [[Alured Clarke]] in occupying the [[Cape Colony]] from the Dutch Republic where he became [[governor]] of the new possession,<ref name=odnb/> and remained in that posting until 1797, for which he received the [[Order of the Bath]]. In the same year Craig sailed to [[Madras]], and saw combat in the [[Bengal]] region of India for which he was again promoted to [[lieutenant-general]] in January 1801. Craig returned to England to serve for three years as the commander of the [[Eastern Command (United Kingdom)|Eastern District]].<ref name=odnb/>

In 1805, despite poor health, he was appointed to lead the [[Anglo-Russian invasion of Naples]], but after a brief occupation, the mission was aborted after the news of Austrian defeat at the [[Battle of Ulm]].{{sfnp|Flayhart|2004|p=145}}

==Service in Canada==
Craig concurrently held the positions of [[Governor-General]] of [[Canada]] and [[lieutenant-governor]] of [[Lower Canada]] from 1807 to 1811.{{sfnp|Christie|1818|p=5}} Craig considered measures such as creating [[English language|English]] counties and replacing the [[legislative assembly]] with an appointed government as a means of increasing the power of English speakers in predominantly French Lower Canada. He also tried to encourage [[immigration]] from Britain and the [[United States]] in hopes of making the French a minority.

In 1809 he employed a former U.S. Army officer named [[John Henry (spy)|John Henry]] to determine if the [[Federalist Party|Federalist]] New England states desired seceding from the United States and returning to their former states as Crown colonies. The British did not pursue re-acquiring New England and, after Henry unsuccessfully sought to be rewarded for his efforts, Henry sold the correspondence to President [[James Madison]] for $50,000 and sailed for France. (See [[Henry letters]].)

==See also==
*[[List of governors general of Canada]]
*[[List of lieutenant governors of Quebec]]
*Sir [[John Thomas Jones]]
*{{ship||Sir James Henry Craig|ship}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Flayhart III, William Henry, ''Counterpoint to Trafalgar: The Anglo-Russian Invasion of Naples, 1805-1806'', New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology series, University Press of Florida, Ft.Myers, 2004
* Christie, Robert, ''The Military and Naval Operations in the Canadas, During the Late War with the United States during the administration of the Colonial Government of Lower Canada'', by Sir James Henry Craig and Sir George Prevost. From the year 1807 until the year 1815, Quebec printed, New-York re-printed by Oram and Mott, 1818

==External links==
* {{QuebecMLCbio|craig-james-henry-133}}










*{{Cite DCB|2346}}

{{Commons category|James Henry Craig}}
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{{S-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box | title=[[Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey]] | before=[[Thomas Dundas (British Army officer)|Thomas Dundas]] | after=[[John Small (British Army officer)|John Small]] | years=1793}}
{{Succession box| title=[[Commander-in-Chief, India]] | before=[[Alured Clarke|Sir Alured Clarke]] | after=[[Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake|Gerald Lake]] | years=1801}}
{{succession box | before=Charles Hamilton | title=[[Governor of Blackness Castle]] | years=1806–1812 | after=[[Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill|Sir Rowland Hill]]}}
|-
{{succession box | before=[[Alexander Mackenzie Fraser]]| title=Colonel of the [[78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot]] | years=1809–1812 | after=[[Samuel Auchmuty (British Army officer)|Sir Samuel Auchmuty]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[John Graves Simcoe]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Colonel of the [[Cheshire Regiment|22nd (the Cheshire) Regiment of Foot]]|years=1806–1809}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Edward Finch (MP)|Edward Finch]] }}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[William Grinfield]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Colonel of the [[86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot|86th (the Shropshire Volunteers)]]|years=1804–1806}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sir Charles Lockhart-Ross, 7th Baronet|Sir Charles Ross]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[John Vaughan (British Army officer, died 1795)|Sir John Vaughan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Colonel of the [[46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot]]|years=1795–1804}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Whyte (British Army officer)|John Whyte]] }}
|-
{{S-gov}}
{{Succession box| title=[[Governor General of Canada|Governor General of British North America]] | before=[[Thomas Dunn (lieutenant-governor)|Thomas Dunn]] | after=[[George Prevost|Sir George Prevost]] | years=1807–1811}}
|-

{{s-end}}
{{QCLG}}
{{Commander-in-Chief, India}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, James Henry}}
[[Category:1748 births]]
[[Category:1812 deaths]]
[[Category:Gibraltarians]]
[[Category:British Army generals]]
[[Category:British Commanders-in-Chief of India]]
[[Category:Governors of British North America]]
[[Category:Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars]]
[[Category:British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:30th Regiment of Foot officers]]
[[Category:47th Regiment of Foot officers]]

James Henry Craig - Revision history

Bot at 17:04, 6 October 2022