Brig. General Henry Bouquet

Henry Bouquet was born in Rolle, Switzerland in 1719. A member of a prominent family, Bouquet began his military career at age 17 as a cadet in a Swiss regiment in the army of the Dutch Republic. Promoted to lieutenant during the War of Austrian Succession, the young Swiss soldier caught the eye of William IV, Prince of Orange and head of the Dutch Republic. The prince appointed Bouquet as lieutenant colonel of the Swiss Guards at The Hague.

While serving at The Hague in the United Provinces, Bouquet was able to expand his knowledge of mathematics and the sciences, as well as polish his social skills. Bouquet’s intellectual and cultural interests would eventually lead to friendships with Benjamin Franklin and other notable social and intellectual figures in the American colonies.

The Seven Years War (the French and Indian War in North America) broke out while Bouquet was still in the United Provinces. Following Braddock’s disastrous defeat in 1755, the British government planned to bolster their military strength in America by recruiting German and Swiss settlers in New York, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas to form the 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot. Sir Joseph York, British Ambassador to The Hague, recommended Bouquet to serve as one of the officers. Bouquet accepted a lieutenant colonel’s commission in the British army and set sail for North America in 1756.

After more than one year of recruiting for the Royal American Regiment, Bouquet was appointed second-in-command to Brigadier General John Forbes during his campaign against Fort Duquesne in 1758. Due to Forbes’ poor health, the responsibility of carrying out the campaign fell on Bouquet’s shoulders, including construction of the road that would bear his commander’s name. The campaign ended with the French destruction and evacuation of Fort Duquesne, as well as British possession of the fort, in November 1758. Bouquet remained in western Pennsylvania for the remainder of the war to ensure British military control of the region.

Bouquet was in command of Fort Pitt at the beginning of Pontiac’s War in 1763, but in Philadelphia at the time. He organized and led the expedition to relieve the beleaguered post, culminating in his victory over the Native American forces at Bushy Run and the relief of Fort Pitt. The results of the battle, as well as his successful campaign into the Ohio Country the following year, ended the Indian uprising and enabled westward expansion of British settlements.

Bouquet was promoted to the rank of brigadier general after his Ohio Country expedition and placed in command of the Southern District of North America. He was headquartered at Pensacola, Florida, where he caught yellow fever and died on September 2, 1765.

Near the Coshocton site of the camp of the French and Indian War figure Colonel Henry Bouquet (located off SR 83 near County Road 24), a ghost on horseback is often seen. He is assumed to be the ghost of Bouquet himself, and his ghost is most frequently seen near the old watering trough from his campsite. from: http://www.forgottenoh.com/Counties/Coshocton/bouquet.html

sources:

• http://www.60throyalamericans.com/