Robert Dinwiddie | |
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| Lieutenant governor of Virginia | |
| In office 1751–1758 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Preceded by | Lewis Burwell |
| Succeeded by | Francis Fauquier |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1692 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 27 July 1770 (aged 77–78) |
| Occupation | Colonial administrator |
| Signature |  |
Robert Dinwiddie (1692 – 27 July 1770) was a Scottish colonial administrator who served as thelieutenant governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758. Since the governors of Virginia remained in Great Britain, he served as thede facto head of thecolony of Virginia. Dinwiddie is credited for starting themilitary career of George Washington.[1][2]
Dinwiddie was born atGlasgow before 2 October 1692, the son of Robert Dinwiddie ofGermiston and Elizabeth Cumming.[3] His younger brotherLawrence Dinwiddie was laterLord Provost of Glasgow.[4] He was a descendant of the LordlyDinwiddies of Annandale.
He matriculated at the university in 1707 before starting work as a merchant. Joining the British colonial service in 1727, Dinwiddie was appointed collector of the customs for Bermuda. Following an appointment as surveyor general of customs in southern American ports, Dinwiddie became Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and featured as such inWilliam Makepeace Thackeray's nineteenth-century historical novelThe Virginians: A Tale of the Last Century.[5]
Dinwiddie's actions as lieutenant governor are cited by one historian as precipitating theFrench and Indian War, commonly held to have begun in 1754. He wanted to limitFrench expansion inOhio Country, an area claimed by the Virginia Colony and in which theOhio Company, of which he was a stockholder,[6] had made preliminary surveys and some small settlements. This version of history is disputed when one notices thatFather Le Loutre's War inAcadia began in 1749 and did not end until theexpulsion of the Acadians in 1755. In fact,Thomas Jefferys, the Royal Geographer of the day, produced a pamphlet out of his Parliamentary testimony that explained the misconduct of the French in what amounted to aTreaty of Utrecht boundary dispute.
In 1753, Dinwiddie learned the French had builtFort Presque Isle nearLake Erie andFort Le Boeuf, which he saw as threatening Virginia's interests in the Ohio Valley. In fact, he consideredWinchester, Virginia, to be "Exposed to the enemy";Cumberland, Maryland, was only to be fortified the next year.[7]
Dinwiddie sent an eight-man expedition underGeorge Washington to warn the French to withdraw. Washington, then only 21 years old, made the journey in midwinter of 1753–54. Washington arrived at Fort Le Boeuf on 11 December 1753.Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, commandant at Fort Le Boeuf, a tough veteran of the west, received Washington politely, but rejected his ultimatum.[8]
Jacques Saint-Pierre gave Washington three days hospitality at the fort, and then gave Washington a letter for him to deliver to Dinwiddie. The letter conveyed to Dinwiddie that he would send Dinwiddie's on toMarquis de Duquesne in Quebec and would meantime maintain his post while he awaited the latter's orders.[9][10]
In January 1754, even before learning of the French refusal to decamp, Dinwiddie sent a small force of Virginia militia to build a fort at the forks of theOhio River, where theAllegheny andMonongahela rivers merge to form the Ohio (present-dayPittsburgh). The French quickly drove off the Virginians and built a larger fort on the site, calling itFort Duquesne, in honour of theMarquis de Duquesne, the then-governor ofNew France.
Dinwiddie namedJoshua Fry to the position of Commander-in-Chief of colonial forces. Fry was given command of theVirginia Regiment and was ordered to take Fort Duquesne, then held by the French. During the advance into theOhio Country, Fry suddenly fell off his horse and died from his injuries on 31 May 1754 atFort Cumberland, upon which the command of the regiment fell to Washington.
In early spring 1754, Dinwiddie sent Washington to build a road to the Monongahela. After having attacked the French at theBattle of Jumonville Glen, Washington retreated and built a small stockade,Fort Necessity, at a spot then called "Great Meadows", by theYoughiogheny River, eleven miles southeast of present-dayUniontown. Here he encountered the French in a skirmish on 3 July 1754 and wasforced to surrender. Dinwiddie was subsequently active in rallying other colonies in defense against France and ultimately prevailed upon the British to send GeneralEdward Braddock to Virginia with two regiments of regular troops, in part with a letter toLord Halifax on 25 October 1754 containing these words:[11]
The Invas'n and wicked designs of the Fr. on the River Ohio has given me a Continual Uneasiness, w'ch was increased by the supine and unaccountable Obstinacy of the Assemblies of the different Colonies on this Cont't, y't tho' they were convinced of the Progress they had made, and the threat'g Speeches they gave out, they c'd not be roused from their lethargic Indolence, to grant suitable Supplies for conducting an Expedit'n so necessary for their own Safety.
Braddock met his end at theBattle of Monongahela on 9 July 1755; this unexpected reverse prompted much concern and fear in the colony. Over the next four years, until the defeat of the French at theBattle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec, andVaudreuil's capitulation beforeAmherst at Montreal, the fate of the 13 colonies was uncertain and Dinwiddie's administration was marked by frequent disagreements with the Assembly over the financing of the war. In fact, the friction between the government and the Burgesses would eventually develop into the American Revolution. In January 1758 he left Virginia, to be replaced byFrancis Fauquier, and lived in England until his death at Clifton, Bristol.
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Dinwiddie County, Virginia, which lies 30 miles south ofRichmond, is named in honor of Robert Dinwiddie. Dinwiddie Hall, since 1972 a dormitory at theCollege of William & Mary, is also named in honor of Robert Dinwiddie.[12]
Dinwiddie retained his links with his alma mater throughout his life: in 1754 he was conferred an honorary degree by the University of Glasgow; and upon his death in 1770 he gave the University of Glasgow Library £100 for the procurement of books.[5]
Robert Dinwiddie died on 27 July 1770. He is buried in Clifton Parish Church with a monument created byWilliam Tyler RA.[13]
He married some time before 1738 Rebecca Auchinleck[14] (or Afflick); together they had two children Rebecca Dinwiddie and Elizabeth Dinwiddie.[3]
His official records, which were compiled by theVirginia Historical Society in 1883, are left in five volumes. They cover the years of his administration of the Virginia colony, from 1751 to 1758.[15] His archival material resides at several places,[16] and some related to theFrench and Indian War is visible to web browsers.[17] He was the subject of the bookRobert Dinwiddie: Servant of the Crown.[14]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dinwiddie, Robert".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 278.| International | |
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