cial matters in Canada; he was subsequently
cleared of any misconduct. He found little em-
ployment when the Bearn Regiment was finally
disbanded in 1762, and he set about compiling
a detailed memoir of events in Canada. Beset
by financial difficulties, Pouchot next sought
an outlet for his military skills by serving as an
engineer on Corsica, then in a state of rebellion
against France. He was killed on May 8, 1769,
by partisans while scouting a strategic road.
Pouchot is still regarded as the most effective
company-grade engineering officer of the
French and Indian War.
Bibliography
Barry, James P. “When Fort Niagara Fell.”American
History Illustrated3, no. 2 (1968): 4–9; 42–45;
Dougherty, A. G. The Journal of Captain John Knox
for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760.3 vols.
Toronto: Champlain Society, 1914–1916; Dunnigan,
Brian L. Siege—1759: The Campaign Against Fort
Niagara.Youngstown, NY: Old Fort Niagara Associ-
ation, 1996; Jenkins, Francis. Empire of Fortune:
Crowns, Colonies, and Tribes in the Seven Years’
War in America.New York: Norton, 1988; Macleod,
D. Peter. Canadian Iroquois and the Seven Years’
War.Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1996; Macleod, D.
Peter. “The French Siege of Oswego in 1755: Inland
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tune49 (1989): 262–271; Macleod, Malcolm. “Fight at
West Gate, 1760.” Ontario History 58 (1966):
172–194; Pouchot, Pierre.Memoirs of the Late War
in North America.Trans. Michael Caroly; ed. Brian
L. Dunnigan. Youngstown, NY: Old Fort Niagara As-
sociation, 1994.PREVOST, AUGUSTIN
Prevost, Augustin
(ca. 1723–May 3, 1786)
English General
P
revost, a highly capable and very pro-
fessional soldier of fortune, guided
Britain’s initial conquest of the south-
ern colonies during the American Revolution.
His defense of Savannah against a combined
French-American force was decisive and
prompted the subsequent attack on
Charleston. Although Swiss in origin, Prevost
served the British Crown long and well.
Augustin Prevost was born in Geneva,
Switzerland, around 1723, one of several
brothers in the long tradition of Swiss merce-
naries. He served in the Dutch army for many
years and fought at the Battle of Fontenoy in
- Prevost then transferred to the British
army in 1756 by becoming a major in the
newly raised 60th Regiment of Foot, the fa-
mous Royal Americans. This outstanding unit
was among the first to specialize in frontier-
style light infantry tactics. Prevost acquitted
himself well as a regimental officer, and on
September 13, 1759, he was severely
wounded outside the walls of Quebec. There-
after, he became known as “Old Bullethead”
from his conspicuous battle scar. In 1761, Pre-
vost was promoted to lieutenant colonel and
was present during the sieges of Martinique
and Havana. He then returned to England in
1763, where his battalion was disbanded. Fol-
lowing the onset of the American Revolution
in 1775, he returned to his old regiment and
raised a new battalion that was shipped over-
seas to aid in the defense of East Florida.
Prevost encountered multiple difficulties in
East Florida, owning to the vast size of the
province and the relatively few troops and re-
sources he commanded. These had to be aug-
mented by undisciplined militia and unpre-
dictable Native Americans, none of whom
worked well with the other. Nonetheless,