The Royal Dumfries Volunteers was raised on 31sy January 1795 at the Dumfries Court House. Colonel de Peyster was elected Major Commandant of the Corps by its members, and his wife provided the unit with its flag. The colonel also ordered one hundred Birmingham-made muskets to arm the unit.
By 21st March, the Volunteers had mustered enough members for a second company to be formed (this was the company that Rabbie Burns served in), and it was commanded by Lieutenant Wellwood Maxwell. All the Volunteers provided their own uniforms and agreed to serve without pay during the war with France ... although they did limit the area in which they would serve to a radius of five miles from Dumfries.
The Volunteers stood down in 1802, once the invasion crisis was over.
Arent Schuyler de Peyster was born in New York on 27th June 1736, and joined the British Army in 1755. He served as an Ensign in the 50th Regiment of Foot (which had been raised in 1748 by William Shirley, the Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay) before transferring to the 51st Regiment of Foot. The latter regiment had been raised Lieutenant General Robert Napier specifically for service in America, and at one point three members of de Peyster’s extended family were serving in its ranks.
During the Seven Years' War, he served in upper colonial New York, where he gained extensive experience at frontier warfare. During the fighting he was captured and sent to France as a prisoner, where he was eventually exchanged. He joined the 8th Regiment of Foot in 1757 on his return to England, and soon afterwards his regiment was sent to Germany. Three years later it moved to Scotland, and it was there that he met and married Rebecca Blair, daughter of Robert Blair, later provost of Dumfries.
In 1768 the 8th Regiment of Foot was sent to Quebec, and by 1774 de Peyster had been promoted several times, and was serving as commandant of Fort Michilimackinac, which is in present-day Mackinaw, Michigan. He stayed there until 1779.
When the American War of Independence broke out in 1775, he recruited a number of Native Americans from the Great Lakes area, and many of them served under General John Burgoyne in New York. For his efforts, de Peyster was promotion to the rank of Major. On leaving Fort Michilimackinac, Major de Peyster was placed in command of Detroit, where he was able to recruit the previously hostile local Native Americans to the British cause. As a result, the American militia from Pennsylvania and Kentucky that were sent to capture Detroit were unable to do so as they lacked local support.
In November 1783, de Peyster was promoted to become a Lieutenant Colonel, and sent to assume command of Fort Niagara, which was situated where the Niagara River joined Lake Ontario. After the war had ended in 1785, de Peyster and his regiment returned to England, where he eventually became the regiment's Colonel in October 1793.
He retired in 1794 due to ill health, and moved to Dumfries, where he and his wife settled down at Mavis Grove, a nearby country estate. He died there on 26th November 1822 as a consequence of an accident, and he was buried in St Michael's Churchyard ... the same churchyard where Rabbie Burns was interred.
A most interesting post. I have always fancied gaming volunteers v French invaders- one day...
ReplyDeleteTradgardmastare,
DeleteThe Royal Dumfries Volunteers would certainly have been well led and well trained ... and I suspect that they would have acquitted themselves well in defence of their home town.
For an example of regulars, volunteers, and militia vs. French regulars, have a look at the Battle of Jersey.
All the best,
Bob
Interesting bit of history.
ReplyDeleteDid the volunteers stand up again when war - and the threat of invasion - was resumed shortly after their stand down? I recall that in 1803 another northern poet, Sir Walter Scott, was drilling with the volunteers at Lasswade, whilst a bit further south, erstwhile revolutionary Wordsworth was similarly involved at Grasmere. What was the Colonel, and Rabbie Burns, up to?
Mike Hall,
DeleteAs far as I can find out, the Royal Dumfries Volunteers were not revived at a later date. I suspect that the crisis was not seen as being quite so serious after 1803, and by the time of the Battle of Trafalgar, the danger was past.
From what I can gather, the Colonel spent the rest of his life enjoying the role of a local dignitary and country gentleman. It is recorded that he was particularly partial to a game of billiards.
All the best,
Bob
And to correct my prior comment: I shouldn't have asked what Rabbie was up to as he was, of course, already dead.
ReplyDeleteMike Hall,
DeleteBurns must have held the Colonel in high esteem, as he wrote a poem in his honour..
All the best,
Bob
Very nice info Bob and these units would be fun to game against a French invasion:)
ReplyDeleteSteve J.,
DeleteCheers!
Some of the volunteers had very fancy uniforms, often worn with heavily plumed hats or helmets. They’d certainly make an interesting addition to a tabletop army!
All the best,
Bob
Fascinating history Bob. De Peyster almost went full circle geographically speaking in terms of his native New York. Presumably a descendant of the Dutch settlers of what became New York (state and city). He would certainly have known his business given his experience. Where did you discover his story?
ReplyDeleteThe Volunteers of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic period seem to have been from the middling and upper echelons of Georgian society. As useful fighting ‘enemies’ within the country as well as their ostensible role in repelling those from outside the country. The Peterloo Massacre springs to mind.
Nundanket,
DeleteI found quite a lot about Colonel de Peyster on Wikipedia and Canada’s National Biography website. I trimmed done a lot of information about his ancestors ... who seem to have been Dutch settlers who dated back to the time when New York was New Amsterdam.
De Peyster was one of those often forgotten Loyalists, who chose to remain loyal to the British monarch during the American War of Independence.
By joining the Volunteers and Yeomanry, men could be seen to ‘do their bit’, strut around wearing a smart uniform in polite society, and avoid serving in the Militia ... especially as the latter was seen as a recruiting ground for the Regular Army. It also ensured that they could avoid the Royal Navy’s press gangs by showing that they were already enlisted in the armed forces. Whereas the Volunteers were stood down when the crisis was past, the Yeomanry - which usually had links to the local squirearchy and factory owners - was retained to act as a mounted constabulary that could be mobilised to deal with unrest.
All the best,
Bob