Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Charles Asgill 2nd Baronet GCH
(6 April 1762 – 23 July 1823) was a career soldier in the British
Army
. Asgill enjoyed a long military career, eventually rising to the rank of General
. He is best remembered as the principal of the so-called "Asgill Affair" of 1782, in which his retaliatory execution while a prisoner of war
was commuted by the American forces which held him due to the direct intervention of the government of France
.
on 6 April 1762, the only son of one-time Lord Mayor of London
Sir Charles Asgill
and Sarah Theresa Pratviel. Father and son were both educated at Westminster School
, London
. The younger Asgill went on to study at Göttingen University, Germany
.
The son Charles entered the army on 27 February 1778, just prior to his 16th birthday, as an ensign
in the 1st Foot Guards, a regiment today known as the Grenadier Guards
. Asgill was promoted to the rank of Captain while just 18 years old, receiving his commission on 3 February 1781. Shortly after his promotion, Asgill was ordered to America to fight the rebellious colonists who were embroiled in what is today remembered as the American Revolutionary War
.
Captain Asgill fought in the army under General Charles Cornwallis
but fell into the hands of the Americans as a prisoner of war following the capitulation of Lord Cornwallis following the siege of Yorktown, Virginia
, in October 1781.
named Joshua Huddy
was overwhelmed and captured by Loyalist forces at the blockhouse (small fort) he commanded at the village of Toms River, New Jersey
. Huddy was accused of complicity in the death of a Loyalist farmer named Philip White who had died in Patriot custody. Huddy was conveyed to New York City, then under British control, where he was summarily sentenced to be executed by William Franklin
, the Loyalist son of Benjamin Franklin
.
Huddy was held in leg irons aboard a prison ship until 12 April 1782, when he was taken ashore and hanged, after first being allowed to dictate his last will
. Loyalists pinned a note to his chest reading "Up Goes Huddy for Philip White" and his body was left hanging overnight. Following his burial by Patriotic supporters, a petition was collected demanding retribution for Huddy's death and presented to American commander General George Washington
.
Washington responded to this pressure by declaring that a British Captain would be executed in retaliation for the killing of Huddy. On 26 May 1782 lots were drawn and Asgill drew the short straw.
His mother, the doughty Sarah Asgill (of French Huguenot origin), wrote to the French Court pleading for her son’s life to be spared. The King, Louis XVI, and Queen of France, Marie Antoinette
, ordered the Comte de Vergennes, the Foreign Minister, to convey to General Washington their desire that a young life be spared.
Since Asgill was protected by the 14th Article of Capitulation in the document of Cornwallis's surrender, safeguarding prisoners of war, such an unjustified execution would have reflected badly on the newly emerging independent nation of America. Congress agreed and young Asgill returned to England a free man in December 1782. A year later, together with his mother (who had been too ill to travel sooner), and sisters, he went to France to give thanks to the King and Queen for saving his life. The visit commenced on 3 November 1783. Asgill writes about this experience in his Service Records, where he states
Asgill was appointed Equerry to Frederick, Duke of York in 1788. In that same year he inherited the Asgill Baronetcy upon the death of his father. In August 1790 he married Jemima Sophia Ogle, daughter of Admiral Sir Chaloner Ogle
, at Martyr Worthy
, Hampshire
. Asgill went to the Continent and joined the Army under the command of The Duke of York in 1794-1795, served the Campaign and was present at the whole of the Retreat through Holland. In June 1797 he was promoted Brigadier General
in the 1st Foot Guards and was appointed to the Staff of Ireland.
In his Service Records he states: “was very actively employed against the Rebels during the Rebellion in 1798 and received the repeated thanks of the Commander of the Forces and the Government for my Conduct and Service”. General Sir Charles Asgill marched from Kilkenny and attacked and dispersed the rebels. The Irish song, Sliabh na mban, remembers this. He remained on the Irish Staff until February 1802 when in consequence of the Peace he was removed and returned to England.
On 18 March 1803, and by now a Major General, Asgill writes: “I was reappointed to the Staff of Ireland, and placed in the Command of the Eastern District, in which the Garrison of Dublin is included; I was in Command during the Rebellion which broke out in the City in July 1803.
In August 1805 I had the command of a very large Camp which was formed at the Curragh of Kildare; and since that period have continued in the same Command in the Eastern District:- Whenever any Armament or Expedition was preparing I always offered my Services to the Commander in Chief and should have been highly gratified had they been accepted. From the nature of my Command in Dublin (where there is always a considerable Garrison) I have been much in the Habit of strict Exercise of Weapons, and in respect to my competency it is for the General Officers to decide, under whose command I have had the honor of Serving”.
Asgill was appointed Colonel of the 2nd Battalion 46th Regiment of Foot (South Devonshire Regiment) on 9 May 1800. In 1802 the 2nd Battalion 46th Regiment of Foot was disbanded and Sir Charles went onto half-pay as the Colonel of a disbanded battalion. Promoted to Lieutenant General
in January 1805, he was appointed Colonel
of the 5th West India Regiment
on 10 February 1806; Colonel of the 85th Regiment of Foot
on 30 October 1806 and Colonel of the 11th Regiment of Foot on 25 February 1807. He was promoted to full General on 4 June 1814.
Charles Asgill died in London. He was buried in the vault at St James's Church, Piccadilly
on 1 August 1823. His wife, Sophia Asgill, predeceased him in 1819 and she too was buried in the vault at St. James’s. St. James's Church Piccadilly was damaged in the Blitz of London in 1940. After WWII ended, specialist contractors, Rattee and Kett Ltd, of Cambridge, under the supervision of Messrs. W.F. Heslop and F. Brigmore, undertook restoration work which was completed in 1954. Two former employees, who were involved with the restoration work, remembered temporarily removing coffins from the vault prior to installing under-floor-heating. They stated, in 2003, that the Church has a vault, although the present-day Church staff were unaware of this and have no record of either Asgill being buried there.
Curiously, also, when monumental inscriptions were drawn up in the mid-19th Century, and again in the early 20th Century (prior to the bomb damage to the church) no monumental inscriptions have been recorded for either Charles or Sophia Asgill. It would seem, therefore, that the General did not place a memorial to his wife, and nor did the Asgill family place one for him after his death. This is strange since Charles Asgill was one of the notable men of his age. He loved his wife, referring to her as "my beloved wife" in his will, in spite of the fact that history has recorded her as a woman of great beauty, a flirt, and enjoying the company of other men, notably Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch
(see The Diary of Frances Lady Shelley 1787-1817).
The character, "Lady Olivia" in Leonora (Maria Edgeworth)
was rumoured to be based on Lady Asgill, thereby portraying her as a "coquette"! Rumours circulated thus: “Lady Olivia in ‘ Leonora ‘ is now supposed by all Dublin to be a portrait of Lady Asgill”. The following letter sheds light on Sophia: Maria Edgeworth’s letter to her aunt Mrs. C. Sneyd at Byrkley Lodge, Lichfield, dated 3 December 1809. To my dear Aunt Charlotte, ...She [Miss Whyte] told us a great many good anecdotes of Lady Asgill - of whom she has seen a great deal, and it was for some time difficult for us to determine whether she was her friend or her enemy but at last this point was determined by her account of a battle royal between these two belles at Miss Whyte’s own table lately in Dublin. Lady Asgill began the attack thus “ Miss Whyte do you know the good people of Dublin are beginning to abuse you quite as much as they abuse me”. “Oh no, I hope not quite so bad as that” – quoth Miss W. “Why though they abuse me, I’m certainly very popular” reasoned Lady A – “for if I invite 60 people to my dinners or my concerts not one of the 60 send an excuse. They all come to my parties”. “Oh that is no proof of popularity” replied Miss W “for your ladyship knows that if one came down from the gibbet and gave good dinners and good music they might be sure of having everybody at their parties.” The conversation went on from popularity to notoriety - then the word famous was brought in by some of the company and a Mrs Parkhurst (the English lady who brought in the message about comedy from Sheridan) brought in the word infamous. I don’t exactly know how but Lady Asgill, who has, it is said, infinite command of temper, coolly in her high keyed voice " Does Mrs Parkhurst mean to say that Miss Whyte and I are infamous?".
Upon his death the Asgill Baronetcy became extinct. Most biographies claim he died without issue (excepting A New Biographical Dictionary of 3000 Cotemporary (sic) Public Characters, Second Edition, Vol I, Part I, printed for Geo. B. Whittacker, Ave-Maria Lane, 1825 which states Sophia bore him children). This book of 1825 would probably have been collated and prepared for printing during Asgill’s lifetime as his entry is written in the present tense.
John Asgill
, 1659-1738, (known as "Translated" Asgill) was a relative [first cousin, five times removed], both being descendants of Joshua Asgyll MA, DD, born 1585. He maintained that "according to the covenant of eternal life, revealed in the Scriptures, man may be translated from hence, without passing through death, although the human nature of Christ himself could not be thus translated, till he had passed through death."
It is clear that the original engraving is the French version, published in 1784 signed “de Loraine del./Chevillet sculp.” The English book plate was obviously engraved after it. Chevillet is a well-known engraver; “de Loraine” is no doubt a misspelling of de Lorraine, and probably refers either to August de Lorraine or his son Jean-Baptiste de Lorraine (1737–), both active (but obscure) engravers in Paris in the 1770s. It is possible that de Lorraine made his drawing (which Chevillet engraved) from yet another image, but unlikely that that will ever turn up. Curiously, Asgill sports a gold epaulette on his left shoulder. A battalion company officer in the Foot Guards would have worn a single epaulette on his right shoulder but engravers usually reversed the images, and while they sometimes remembered, e.g., to move a cockade, they could easily have forgotten the epaulette, since in French uniforms single epaulettes were usually on the left shoulder.
Page 355 from the Inventaire du Fonds Français describes the print, engraved by Chevillet after de Loraine.
A copy of an illustration in John Andrews’ book, History of the War with America, France, Spain, and Holland: Commencing in 1775 and Ending in 1783, 4 vols. (London: J. Fielding, 1785-86) is held at the New York Public Library
. The uniform collar and lapels are edged with gold lace, but the buttonholes on the facings are plain. His buttons are gilt. The collar buttons down over the top lapel button. It is not known if Asgill was assigned to the 1st Foot Guards grenadier company after his return to England. If he was, it seems odd that he is shown wearing a cocked hat rather than a bearskin cap. The temporary light infantry company that served with Brigade of Guards in the American War was dissolved after the cessation of hostilities. Thus either the artist took some liberties in depicting Asgill’s uniform, or the latter was a grenadier when he posed for his portrait.
Asgill also wears a white ruffled shirt, a black neckstock, and a white waistcoat. His black cocked hat is plain, except for a gilt button and gold lace loop securing the cockade on the left front. Asgill wears his hair en queue with side curls. The hair also looks like it could have been powdered.
after the original oil painted by Thomas Phillips
RA, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy
London, in 1822, the year before Asgill died. "The mezzotint was published by Charles Turner himself and in the absence of any inscribed information to the contrary, one can only assume that it was issued for sale. The fact that the publication date of the engraving (26th April 1822) pre-dates the oil’s exhibition at that year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition suggests that Turner would have collaborated with Thomas Phillips in its issue, with both presumably anticipating a return on the proceeds from its sale. Paul Cox, Assistant Curator (Archive & Library) National Portrait Gallery, London". The National Army Museum
, London, holds a copy of this image (1981-03-61 image number 79658). In his will, General Asgill left this portrait to his brother-in-law, Admiral Sir Charles Ogle
. Asgill states in his will: “And I give to the said Sir Charles Ogle, 2nd Baronet, for his, my portrait painted by Phillips, and at his decease I give and bequeath the same portrait to his son Chaloner Ogle, requesting it may be preserved and retained in his family.” It thus seems clear that Asgill wanted the Ogle family to treasure his portrait and preserve it in perpetuity; however, the present location of this portrait is unknown.
Admiral Sir Charles Ogle disinherited his son, Chaloner Ogle, 3rd Baronet, so it is unclear what then happened to the portrait. It possibly went instead to his daughter, Sophia Ogle, who married her cousin the Rev. Edward Chaloner Ogle who succeeded to Kirkley Hall
in 1853.
After Asgill died, Admiral Ogle wrote to the artist saying: Sir Charles Ogle requests Mr Philips will have the goodness to deliver the picture of the late Sir Charles Asgill to the bearer Mr Goslett - If Mr Philips has any demand on Sir Charles Asgill, he is requested to send it to Mr Domville. Fm C ....? ....? (illegible) 42 Berkeley Sq, Oct 23 1823.
Clearly the Admiral thought there was a possibility that the General had not paid Phillips for the portrait at the time of his death, and it would also seem likely that Asgill had not actually taken delivery of same
Royal Guelphic Order
The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...
(6 April 1762 – 23 July 1823) was a career soldier in the British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. Asgill enjoyed a long military career, eventually rising to the rank of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
. He is best remembered as the principal of the so-called "Asgill Affair" of 1782, in which his retaliatory execution while a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
was commuted by the American forces which held him due to the direct intervention of the government of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Early life and education
Charles Asgill was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 6 April 1762, the only son of one-time Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
Sir Charles Asgill
Sir Charles Asgill, 1st Baronet
Sir Charles Asgill, 1st Baronet , merchant banker, was the third son of Henry Asgill, silkman, of St Clement Danes, Middlesex and was educated at Westminster School....
and Sarah Theresa Pratviel. Father and son were both educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The younger Asgill went on to study at Göttingen University, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The son Charles entered the army on 27 February 1778, just prior to his 16th birthday, as an ensign
Ensign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
in the 1st Foot Guards, a regiment today known as the Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
. Asgill was promoted to the rank of Captain while just 18 years old, receiving his commission on 3 February 1781. Shortly after his promotion, Asgill was ordered to America to fight the rebellious colonists who were embroiled in what is today remembered as the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
.
Captain Asgill fought in the army under General Charles Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
but fell into the hands of the Americans as a prisoner of war following the capitulation of Lord Cornwallis following the siege of Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 220 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....
, in October 1781.
"Asgill Affair"
In April 1782 a Captain of the Monmouth Militia and privateerPrivateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
named Joshua Huddy
Joshua Huddy
Joshua "Jack" Huddy , the commander of a New Jersey Patriot militia unit and a privateer ship during the American Revolutionary War, was captured by Loyalist forces twice escaping once. Following his second capture, Huddy was summarily hanged by irregular forces of the Associated Loyalists...
was overwhelmed and captured by Loyalist forces at the blockhouse (small fort) he commanded at the village of Toms River, New Jersey
Toms River, New Jersey
Toms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...
. Huddy was accused of complicity in the death of a Loyalist farmer named Philip White who had died in Patriot custody. Huddy was conveyed to New York City, then under British control, where he was summarily sentenced to be executed by William Franklin
William Franklin
William Franklin was an American soldier and colonial administrator. He served as the last Colonial Governor of New Jersey. Franklin was a steadfast Loyalist throughout the American War of Independence, despite his father Benjamin Franklin's role as one of the most prominent Patriots during the...
, the Loyalist son of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
.
Huddy was held in leg irons aboard a prison ship until 12 April 1782, when he was taken ashore and hanged, after first being allowed to dictate his last will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
. Loyalists pinned a note to his chest reading "Up Goes Huddy for Philip White" and his body was left hanging overnight. Following his burial by Patriotic supporters, a petition was collected demanding retribution for Huddy's death and presented to American commander General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
.
Washington responded to this pressure by declaring that a British Captain would be executed in retaliation for the killing of Huddy. On 26 May 1782 lots were drawn and Asgill drew the short straw.
His mother, the doughty Sarah Asgill (of French Huguenot origin), wrote to the French Court pleading for her son’s life to be spared. The King, Louis XVI, and Queen of France, Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
, ordered the Comte de Vergennes, the Foreign Minister, to convey to General Washington their desire that a young life be spared.
Since Asgill was protected by the 14th Article of Capitulation in the document of Cornwallis's surrender, safeguarding prisoners of war, such an unjustified execution would have reflected badly on the newly emerging independent nation of America. Congress agreed and young Asgill returned to England a free man in December 1782. A year later, together with his mother (who had been too ill to travel sooner), and sisters, he went to France to give thanks to the King and Queen for saving his life. The visit commenced on 3 November 1783. Asgill writes about this experience in his Service Records, where he states
"The unfortunate Lot fell on me and I was in consequence conveyed to the Jerseys where I remained in Prison enduring peculiar Hardships for Six Months until released by an Act of Congress at the intercession of the Court of France. Returned to England on Parole in December 1782...had leave of Absence for a few months for the purpose of going to Paris to return thanks to the Court of France for having saved my Life."
Subsequent career
Sir Chaloner Ogle, 1st Baronet
Sir Chalonor Ogle was an Admiral in the British navy.He was the son of Nathaniel Ogle of Kirkley Hall, Northumberland....
, at Martyr Worthy
Martyr Worthy
Martyr Worthy is a small village in the English county of Hampshire. It is part of the 'Worthys' - a cluster of small villages.It is located on the banks of the River Itchen to the northeast of the city of Winchester.-Governance:...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. Asgill went to the Continent and joined the Army under the command of The Duke of York in 1794-1795, served the Campaign and was present at the whole of the Retreat through Holland. In June 1797 he was promoted Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
in the 1st Foot Guards and was appointed to the Staff of Ireland.
In his Service Records he states: “was very actively employed against the Rebels during the Rebellion in 1798 and received the repeated thanks of the Commander of the Forces and the Government for my Conduct and Service”. General Sir Charles Asgill marched from Kilkenny and attacked and dispersed the rebels. The Irish song, Sliabh na mban, remembers this. He remained on the Irish Staff until February 1802 when in consequence of the Peace he was removed and returned to England.
On 18 March 1803, and by now a Major General, Asgill writes: “I was reappointed to the Staff of Ireland, and placed in the Command of the Eastern District, in which the Garrison of Dublin is included; I was in Command during the Rebellion which broke out in the City in July 1803.
In August 1805 I had the command of a very large Camp which was formed at the Curragh of Kildare; and since that period have continued in the same Command in the Eastern District:- Whenever any Armament or Expedition was preparing I always offered my Services to the Commander in Chief and should have been highly gratified had they been accepted. From the nature of my Command in Dublin (where there is always a considerable Garrison) I have been much in the Habit of strict Exercise of Weapons, and in respect to my competency it is for the General Officers to decide, under whose command I have had the honor of Serving”.
Asgill was appointed Colonel of the 2nd Battalion 46th Regiment of Foot (South Devonshire Regiment) on 9 May 1800. In 1802 the 2nd Battalion 46th Regiment of Foot was disbanded and Sir Charles went onto half-pay as the Colonel of a disbanded battalion. Promoted to Lieutenant General
Lieutenant-General (UK)
Lieutenant-general is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines, although the highest ranking officer in the Royal Marines at present is major general...
in January 1805, he was appointed Colonel
Colonel (UK)
Colonel is a rank of the British forces, ranking below Brigadier, and above Lieutenant Colonel. British Colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond shaped pips below a crown...
of the 5th West India Regiment
West India Regiment
The West India Regiment was an infantry unit of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. The regiment differed from similar forces raised in other parts of the British Empire in that it formed an integral part of the...
on 10 February 1806; Colonel of the 85th Regiment of Foot
85th Regiment of Foot
Three regiments of the British Army have been numbered the 85th Regiment of Foot:*85th Regiment of Foot , raised in 1759*85th Regiment of Foot , raised in 1779*85th Regiment of Foot , raised in 1793...
on 30 October 1806 and Colonel of the 11th Regiment of Foot on 25 February 1807. He was promoted to full General on 4 June 1814.
Charles Asgill died in London. He was buried in the vault at St James's Church, Piccadilly
St James's Church, Piccadilly
St James’s Church, Piccadilly is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, UK. It was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren....
on 1 August 1823. His wife, Sophia Asgill, predeceased him in 1819 and she too was buried in the vault at St. James’s. St. James's Church Piccadilly was damaged in the Blitz of London in 1940. After WWII ended, specialist contractors, Rattee and Kett Ltd, of Cambridge, under the supervision of Messrs. W.F. Heslop and F. Brigmore, undertook restoration work which was completed in 1954. Two former employees, who were involved with the restoration work, remembered temporarily removing coffins from the vault prior to installing under-floor-heating. They stated, in 2003, that the Church has a vault, although the present-day Church staff were unaware of this and have no record of either Asgill being buried there.
Curiously, also, when monumental inscriptions were drawn up in the mid-19th Century, and again in the early 20th Century (prior to the bomb damage to the church) no monumental inscriptions have been recorded for either Charles or Sophia Asgill. It would seem, therefore, that the General did not place a memorial to his wife, and nor did the Asgill family place one for him after his death. This is strange since Charles Asgill was one of the notable men of his age. He loved his wife, referring to her as "my beloved wife" in his will, in spite of the fact that history has recorded her as a woman of great beauty, a flirt, and enjoying the company of other men, notably Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch
Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch
General Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch, GCB, GCMG, GCTE was a Scottish aristocrat, politician and British Army officer....
(see The Diary of Frances Lady Shelley 1787-1817).
The character, "Lady Olivia" in Leonora (Maria Edgeworth)
Leonora (Maria Edgeworth)
Leonora is a novel written by Maria Edgeworth and published in 1806.Although Edgeworth is known for having her novels address issues of nationalism in an Anglo-Irish context, Leonora instead privileges English manners over French ones...
was rumoured to be based on Lady Asgill, thereby portraying her as a "coquette"! Rumours circulated thus: “Lady Olivia in ‘ Leonora ‘ is now supposed by all Dublin to be a portrait of Lady Asgill”. The following letter sheds light on Sophia: Maria Edgeworth’s letter to her aunt Mrs. C. Sneyd at Byrkley Lodge, Lichfield, dated 3 December 1809. To my dear Aunt Charlotte, ...She [Miss Whyte] told us a great many good anecdotes of Lady Asgill - of whom she has seen a great deal, and it was for some time difficult for us to determine whether she was her friend or her enemy but at last this point was determined by her account of a battle royal between these two belles at Miss Whyte’s own table lately in Dublin. Lady Asgill began the attack thus “ Miss Whyte do you know the good people of Dublin are beginning to abuse you quite as much as they abuse me”. “Oh no, I hope not quite so bad as that” – quoth Miss W. “Why though they abuse me, I’m certainly very popular” reasoned Lady A – “for if I invite 60 people to my dinners or my concerts not one of the 60 send an excuse. They all come to my parties”. “Oh that is no proof of popularity” replied Miss W “for your ladyship knows that if one came down from the gibbet and gave good dinners and good music they might be sure of having everybody at their parties.” The conversation went on from popularity to notoriety - then the word famous was brought in by some of the company and a Mrs Parkhurst (the English lady who brought in the message about comedy from Sheridan) brought in the word infamous. I don’t exactly know how but Lady Asgill, who has, it is said, infinite command of temper, coolly in her high keyed voice " Does Mrs Parkhurst mean to say that Miss Whyte and I are infamous?".
Upon his death the Asgill Baronetcy became extinct. Most biographies claim he died without issue (excepting A New Biographical Dictionary of 3000 Cotemporary (sic) Public Characters, Second Edition, Vol I, Part I, printed for Geo. B. Whittacker, Ave-Maria Lane, 1825 which states Sophia bore him children). This book of 1825 would probably have been collated and prepared for printing during Asgill’s lifetime as his entry is written in the present tense.
John Asgill
John Asgill
John Asgill was an eccentric English writer and politician.-Life:He studied law at the Middle Temple, 1686, and was called to the bar in 1692. He founded the first land bank in 1695 with Nicholas Barbon, which, after proving to be a profitable venture, merged with the land bank of John Briscoe in...
, 1659-1738, (known as "Translated" Asgill) was a relative [first cousin, five times removed], both being descendants of Joshua Asgyll MA, DD, born 1585. He maintained that "according to the covenant of eternal life, revealed in the Scriptures, man may be translated from hence, without passing through death, although the human nature of Christ himself could not be thus translated, till he had passed through death."
1784 engraving
Page 355 from the Inventaire du Fonds Français describes the print, engraved by Chevillet after de Loraine.
A copy of an illustration in John Andrews’ book, History of the War with America, France, Spain, and Holland: Commencing in 1775 and Ending in 1783, 4 vols. (London: J. Fielding, 1785-86) is held at the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
. The uniform collar and lapels are edged with gold lace, but the buttonholes on the facings are plain. His buttons are gilt. The collar buttons down over the top lapel button. It is not known if Asgill was assigned to the 1st Foot Guards grenadier company after his return to England. If he was, it seems odd that he is shown wearing a cocked hat rather than a bearskin cap. The temporary light infantry company that served with Brigade of Guards in the American War was dissolved after the cessation of hostilities. Thus either the artist took some liberties in depicting Asgill’s uniform, or the latter was a grenadier when he posed for his portrait.
Asgill also wears a white ruffled shirt, a black neckstock, and a white waistcoat. His black cocked hat is plain, except for a gilt button and gold lace loop securing the cockade on the left front. Asgill wears his hair en queue with side curls. The hair also looks like it could have been powdered.
1822 mezzotint
It is a mezzotint by Charles Turner (engraver)Charles Turner (engraver)
Charles Turner was an English mezzotint engraver and draughtsman. Through his mother's influence he had access to the famous gallery at Blenheim Palace...
after the original oil painted by Thomas Phillips
Thomas Phillips
Thomas Phillips was a leading English portrait and subject painter. He painted many of the great men of the day including scientists, artists, writers, poets and explorers.-Life and work:...
RA, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
London, in 1822, the year before Asgill died. "The mezzotint was published by Charles Turner himself and in the absence of any inscribed information to the contrary, one can only assume that it was issued for sale. The fact that the publication date of the engraving (26th April 1822) pre-dates the oil’s exhibition at that year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition suggests that Turner would have collaborated with Thomas Phillips in its issue, with both presumably anticipating a return on the proceeds from its sale. Paul Cox, Assistant Curator (Archive & Library) National Portrait Gallery, London". The National Army Museum
National Army Museum
The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, England adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the "Chelsea Pensioners". The National Army Museum is open to the public every day of the year from 10.00am to 5.30pm,...
, London, holds a copy of this image (1981-03-61 image number 79658). In his will, General Asgill left this portrait to his brother-in-law, Admiral Sir Charles Ogle
Sir Charles Ogle, 2nd Baronet
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Ogle, 2nd Baronet was an officer in the Royal Navy.-Naval career:Born the eldest son of Admiral Sir Chaloner Ogle, 1st Baronet, Ogle joined the Royal Navy in 1787....
. Asgill states in his will: “And I give to the said Sir Charles Ogle, 2nd Baronet, for his, my portrait painted by Phillips, and at his decease I give and bequeath the same portrait to his son Chaloner Ogle, requesting it may be preserved and retained in his family.” It thus seems clear that Asgill wanted the Ogle family to treasure his portrait and preserve it in perpetuity; however, the present location of this portrait is unknown.
Admiral Sir Charles Ogle disinherited his son, Chaloner Ogle, 3rd Baronet, so it is unclear what then happened to the portrait. It possibly went instead to his daughter, Sophia Ogle, who married her cousin the Rev. Edward Chaloner Ogle who succeeded to Kirkley Hall
Kirkley Hall
Kirkley Hall is a 17th century historic country mansion and Grade II listed building situated on the bank of the River Blyth at Kirkley, near Ponteland in the heart of the Northumberland countryside, which is now an Horticultural and Agricultural training centre.The manor of Kirkley was granted to...
in 1853.
After Asgill died, Admiral Ogle wrote to the artist saying: Sir Charles Ogle requests Mr Philips will have the goodness to deliver the picture of the late Sir Charles Asgill to the bearer Mr Goslett - If Mr Philips has any demand on Sir Charles Asgill, he is requested to send it to Mr Domville. Fm C ....? ....? (illegible) 42 Berkeley Sq, Oct 23 1823.
Clearly the Admiral thought there was a possibility that the General had not paid Phillips for the portrait at the time of his death, and it would also seem likely that Asgill had not actually taken delivery of same
Asgill Affair in drama
- d'Aubigny, Washington, or, The Orphan of Pennsylvania.
- Melodrama in three acts by one of the authors of The Thieving Magpie, with music and ballet, shown for the first time, at Paris, in the Ambigu-Comique theatreThéâtre de l'Ambigu-ComiqueThe theatre was rebuilt to plans by the architects Jacques Ignace Hittorff and Jean-François-Joseph Lecointe on the boulevard Saint-Martin, at the corner of rue de Bondy...
, 13 July 1815.- Henri de Lacoste, Washington, Or, The Reprisal.
- A factual drama in three acts staged for the first time in Paris at the Théâtre de l’Impératrice on 5 January 1813. Henri de Lacoste, Member of the Légion d’Honneur and l’Ordre impérial de la Réunion. In this play we see Asgill fall in love with Betty Penn, the daughter of a Pennsylvanian Quaker, who supports him through his ordeal awaiting death.
- Benoit Michel de Comberousse, Asgill, or, The English Prisoner.
- Drama in five acts and verse. Comberousse, a member of the College of Arts, wrote this play in 1795. The drama, in which Washington’s son plays a ridiculous role, was not performed in any theatre.
- Marsollier of Vivetieres, music by Nicolas-Marie Dalayrac, Asgill, or, The Prisoner of War.
- One act melodrama and prose, performed at the Opera-Comique for the first time on Thursday, May 2, 1793. In this play we are presented with a gaoler full of feeling; a poor mason who shows courage and generosity; a humane and philosophic clergyman and two young people whom the unhappy Asgill has promised to marry when he is free.
- J.S. le Barbier-le-Jeune, Asgill.
- Drama in five acts, prose, dedicated to Lady Asgill, published in London and Paris, 1785. The author shows Washington plagued by the cruel need for reprisal that his duty requires. Washington even takes Asgill in his arms and they embrace with enthusiasm. This comi-tragedy was commissioned by Queen Marie Antoinette to commemorate the Asgill family’s visit to Paris in November 1783. Lady Asgill was very impressed by the play, and, indeed, Washington himself wrote to thank the author for writing such a complimentary piece, although confessed that his French was not up to being able to read it. A copy of this play is available on the Gallicia website:
- Gallicia listing of 78 references to Charles Asgill in French Literature
See also
- Asgill BaronetsAsgill BaronetsThere was one Asgill Baronetcy, created on 17 April 1761 in the Baronetage of Great Britain. The baronetcy became extinct upon the death of the 2nd Baronet, who died without an heir.-Asgill Baronets, of London :...
- John AsgillJohn AsgillJohn Asgill was an eccentric English writer and politician.-Life:He studied law at the Middle Temple, 1686, and was called to the bar in 1692. He founded the first land bank in 1695 with Nicholas Barbon, which, after proving to be a profitable venture, merged with the land bank of John Briscoe in...
- Robert TaylorRobert Taylor (architect)Sir Robert Taylor was a notable English architect of the mid-late 18th century.Born at Woodford, Essex, Taylor followed in his father's footsteps and started working as a stonemason and sculptor, spending time as a pupil of Sir Henry Cheere...
- Joshua HuddyJoshua HuddyJoshua "Jack" Huddy , the commander of a New Jersey Patriot militia unit and a privateer ship during the American Revolutionary War, was captured by Loyalist forces twice escaping once. Following his second capture, Huddy was summarily hanged by irregular forces of the Associated Loyalists...
- Nicholas BarbonNicholas BarbonNicholas If-Jesus-Christ-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barebon who traded as Nicholas Barbon was an English economist, physician and financial speculator. He is counted among the critics of mercantilism and was one of the first proponents of the free market...
- 2nd Canadian Regiment2nd Canadian RegimentThe 2nd Canadian Regiment, also known as Congress' Own or Hazen's Regiment, was authorized on January 20, 1776, and raised in the province of Quebec for service with the Continental Army under the command of Colonel Moses Hazen. All or part of the regiment saw action at the Staten Island,...
- Thomas PhillipsThomas PhillipsThomas Phillips was a leading English portrait and subject painter. He painted many of the great men of the day including scientists, artists, writers, poets and explorers.-Life and work:...
- Ogle BaronetsOgle BaronetsThe Ogle Baronetcy, of Worthy, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 12 March 1816 for Admiral Chaloner Ogle, of Kings Worthy, Hampshire. The Ogles were a prominent Northumberland family from before the time of the Norman Conquest...
Further reading
- Anne C. Ammundsen, "Saving Captain Asgill," History Today, vol. 61, no. 12 (December 2011).
- Robert Tombs and Isabelle Tombs, That Sweet Enemy: The British and the French from the Sun King to the Present. London: William Heinemann, 2006.
- Rodger McHugh (ed.), Voice of Rebellion: Carlow in 1798 — The Autobiography of William Farrell. Introduction by Patrick Bergin. Dublin: Wolfhound Press, 1998. —First published in 1949 as Carlow in '98.
- Thomas Packenham, The Year of Liberty: The Great Irish Rebellion of 1798. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1969.
- Arthur D. Pierce, Smugglers' Woods: Jaunts and Journeys in Colonial and Revolutionary New Jersey. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1960.
- Gerald O. Haffner, "Captain Charles Asgill, An Incident of 1782," History Today, vol. 7, no. 5 (May 1957).
- Cecil Faber Aspinall-Oglander, Freshly Remembered: The story of Thomas Graham, Lord Lynedoch. London: Hogarth Press, 1956.
- Katherine Mayo, General Washington's Dilemma. London: Jonathan Cape, 1938.
- John Lawrence Lambe, Experiments in Play Writing, in Verse and Prose. London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, 1911.
- Roger Lamb, An Original and Authentic Journal of Occurrences During the Late American War from its commencement to the Year 1783. Dublin: Wilkinson and Courtney, 1809. —See especially pp. 416-434.
- Charles Joseph Mayer, Asgill, or the Disorder of Civil Wars. Amsterdam and Paris: Rue et Hotel Serpente, 1784.
External links
- "Documents of the American Revolution: Joshua Huddy Era," Monmouth County Archives, Monmouth County, New Jersey. www.co.monmouth.nj.us/ —Catalog of an exhibition at Monmouth Country Library Headquarters, October 2004.
- Benjamin Johnson, "General Washington's Terrible Dilemma," Massachusetts Historical Society, www.masshist.org/ —Letter from George Washington to Benjamin Lincoln, 5 June 1782.