CHARLES BRAY
The Statue of John Graves Simcoe.
Toronto: Charles Bray took the picture of the statue of John Graves Simcoe in Queens Park. John Graves Simcoe was born in February 25th 1752 and died in October 26th 1806 was the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (modern-day southern Ontario plus the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior from 1791-1796. He founded York [now Toronto] and was instrumental in introducing institutions such as the courts, trail by jury, English common law, freehold land tenure, and for abolishing slavery in Upper Canada long before it was abolished in the British Empire as a whole [it had disappeared from Upper Canada by 1810, but wasn't abolished throughout the Empire until 1834]. John Graves Simcoe was the only son of John and Katherine Simcoe. His father, a captain in the British navy, commanded the 60-gun HMS Pembroke [James Cook] was his sailing master) during the 1745 siege of Louisburg. In 1770, Simcoe entered the British Army as an ensign in the 35th Regiment of foot. His unit was dispatched to America, where he saw action in the Siege of Boston. During the siege, he purchased a captaincy in the Grenadier Company of the 40th Regiment of Foot. With the 40th, he saw action in the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia campaigns. Simcoe commanded the 40th at the Battle of Brandywine, where he was also wounded. In 1777, Simcoe sought to form a Loyalist regiment of free blacks from Boston, but instead was offered command of the Queen's Rangers, a well-trained light infantry unit. The Queen's Rangers saw extensive action during the Philadelphia campaign, including a successful surprise attack (planned and executed by Simcoe), at the Battle of Crooked Billet. In 1779, he was captured by the Americans. Simcoe was released in 1781, just in time to see action at the Siege of Yorktown. He was invalided back to England in December of that year as a Lieutenant-Colonel. Simcoe wrote a book on his experiences with the Rangers, titled A Journal of the Operations of the Queen's Rangers from the end of the year 1777 to the conclusion of the late American War, which was published in 1787.
The Statue of John Graves Simcoe.
Toronto: Charles Bray took the picture of the statue of John Graves Simcoe in Queens Park. John Graves Simcoe was born in February 25th 1752 and died in October 26th 1806 was the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (modern-day southern Ontario plus the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior from 1791-1796. He founded York [now Toronto] and was instrumental in introducing institutions such as the courts, trail by jury, English common law, freehold land tenure, and for abolishing slavery in Upper Canada long before it was abolished in the British Empire as a whole [it had disappeared from Upper Canada by 1810, but wasn't abolished throughout the Empire until 1834]. John Graves Simcoe was the only son of John and Katherine Simcoe. His father, a captain in the British navy, commanded the 60-gun HMS Pembroke [James Cook] was his sailing master) during the 1745 siege of Louisburg. In 1770, Simcoe entered the British Army as an ensign in the 35th Regiment of foot. His unit was dispatched to America, where he saw action in the Siege of Boston. During the siege, he purchased a captaincy in the Grenadier Company of the 40th Regiment of Foot. With the 40th, he saw action in the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia campaigns. Simcoe commanded the 40th at the Battle of Brandywine, where he was also wounded. In 1777, Simcoe sought to form a Loyalist regiment of free blacks from Boston, but instead was offered command of the Queen's Rangers, a well-trained light infantry unit. The Queen's Rangers saw extensive action during the Philadelphia campaign, including a successful surprise attack (planned and executed by Simcoe), at the Battle of Crooked Billet. In 1779, he was captured by the Americans. Simcoe was released in 1781, just in time to see action at the Siege of Yorktown. He was invalided back to England in December of that year as a Lieutenant-Colonel. Simcoe wrote a book on his experiences with the Rangers, titled A Journal of the Operations of the Queen's Rangers from the end of the year 1777 to the conclusion of the late American War, which was published in 1787.