Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet

Asgill's handwriting in 1778: "An Honest Man is the noblest work of God."

Charles Asgill was born in London on 6 April 1762, the only son of one-time Lord Mayor of London Sir Charles Asgill and Sarah Theresa Pratviel, whose home was Richmond Place, now known as Asgill House, in Surrey.[2] He was educated at Westminster School and the University of Göttingen.[3]

He entered the army on 27 February 1778, just before his 16th birthday, as an ensign in the 1st Foot Guards, a regiment today known as the Grenadier Guards.[4][5] Asgill became lieutenant in the same regiment with the rank of captain in February 1781.[4][6]

Soon afterwards, Asgill was ordered to North America to fight in the American Revolutionary War. He shipped out for America in March 1781. After Asgill joined Cornwallis's army, his company commander fell ill. The young lieutenant and captain Asgill took charge of the unit and led it in a successful attack on a post held by local militia under an elderly colonel named Gregory. Colonel Gregory was wounded and captured, and Asgill won the admiration of his enemies for his kindness toward a fallen foe. Roger Lamb, writing in 1809, quoted an extract from a Hibernian Magazine article of 1782, which he wrote "may serve to shew what was the prevailing opinion of the day relative to that officer":

Captain Asgill is only seventeen years of age, a captain in the first regiment of foot guards, and only son of Sir Charles Asgill, Bart. Possessed of every virtue that can endear him to his family or acquaintance, and in the last campaigns in America, has given sufficient earnest of a spirit and conduct under the different commands, (which have devolved on him by the illness or absence of his senior officers), that would render him an honor to his profession and country. ... so well known to him [General Washington] by his bravery and humanity in different instances, particularly when the command devolving on him by the illness of his colonel, he took a post from the Americans, commanded by colonel Gregory, who being old and wounded, he supported him himself, with an awful and tender respect most filial, evincing the true greatness of his amiable mind.[7]

Captain Asgill became an American prisoner of war following the capitulation of Lord Cornwallis following the siege of Yorktown, Virginia, in October 1781.[4]

Cornwallis's surrender in October 1781 following the siege of Yorktown, after which Asgill became a prisoner of war.

Timothy Day's Tavern, Chatham, NJ, the location of Asgill's imprisonment in 1782. From "At the crossing of the Fishawack" by John T. Cunningham (p.11) with permission from the Chatham Historical Society. "The Asgill Affair" is featured in the Winter 2019 issue of The Journal of Lancaster County's Historical Society, which devoted the entire issue to this subject.[8]

Map showing locations of Colonel Elias Dayton's house and Timothy Day's Tavern as they were in 1782. OpenStreetMap

In April 1782, a captain of the Monmouth Militia and privateer named Joshua Huddy was overwhelmed and captured by Loyalist forces at the blockhouse (small fort) he commanded at the village of Toms River, New Jersey. Huddy was accused of complicity in the death of a Loyalist farmer named Philip White who had died in Patriot custody. Huddy was conveyed to New York City, then under British control, where he was summarily sentenced to be executed by William Franklin, the Loyalist son of Benjamin Franklin.[9]

Huddy was held in leg irons aboard a prison ship until 12 April 1782, when he was taken ashore and hanged, after first being allowed to dictate his last will. Loyalists pinned a note to his chest reading "Up Goes Huddy for Philip White" and his body was left hanging overnight. Following his burial at Old Tennent Church[10] by Patriotic supporters, a petition was collected demanding retribution for Huddy's death and presented to American commander General George Washington.[9]

Washington responded to this pressure by declaring that a British captain would be executed in retaliation for the killing of Huddy. On 27 May 1782, lots were drawn at the Black Bear Inn, Lancaster, Pennsylvania,[8] with Asgill drawing the paper which put him under threat of execution.[9] Asgill's fellow officer, Major James Gordon, protested in the strongest terms to both General Washington and Benjamin Lincoln, the Secretary of War, that this use of a lottery was illegal.[11] His mother, the doughty Sarah Asgill (of French Huguenot origin), wrote to the French court,[12] pleading for her son's life to be spared. King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette ordered the comte de Vergennes, the Foreign Minister, to convey to General Washington their desire that a young life be spared.[9]

Since Asgill was protected by the 14th Article of Capitulation in the document of Cornwallis's surrender, safeguarding prisoners of war, such an unjustified execution would have reflected badly on the newly emerging independent nation of America. Congress agreed, and young Asgill was released on parole to return to England in December 1782. A year later, together with his mother (who had been too ill to travel sooner) and his two eldest sisters, he went to France to thank the King and Queen for saving his life. The visit commenced on 3 November 1783. Asgill writes about this experience in his Service Records, in which he states, "The unfortunate Lot fell on me and I was in consequence conveyed to the Jerseys where I remained in Prison enduring peculiar Hardships for Six Months until released by an Act of Congress at the intercession of the Court of France."[13]

On page 44 of Summit New Jersey, From Poverty Hill to the Hill City by Edmund B. Raftis there appears a map of Chatham in 1781. Clearly marked is the home of Colonel Elias Dayton and also Timothy Day’s Tavern, the first and second locations of Asgill’s imprisonment. The map also shows that the population of Chatham at that time was approximately 50 homesteads, most of these homes having been notated with the names of the occupants. A 21st century map shows that the present day location of Timothy Day’s Tavern would be in the vicinity of 19 Iris Road and Dayton’s house was on what is now Canoe Brooke Golf Course.[8]

After lots were drawn, on 27 May 1782, Hazen wrote that same day to Washington to inform him that Major James Gordon had identified unconditional prisoners, but it was too late, and Asgill was on his way to imprisonment for the next six months, where he awaited the gallows on a daily basis. He also told Washington that his orders had been painful for him to carry out. " ...as I judge no Inconveniency can possibly arise to us by sending on Capt. Asgill, to Philadelphia, which will naturally tend to keep up the Hue and Cry, and of course foment the present Dissentions amongst our Enemies, I have sent him under guard as directed. Those Officers above-mentioned are not only of the Description which your Excellency wishes, and at first ordered, but in another Point of View are proper Subjects for Example, been Traitors to America, and having taken refuge with the Enemy, and by us in Arms. It have fallen to my Lot to superintend this melancholy disagreeable Duty, I must confess I have been most sensible affected with it, and [do] most sincerely wish that the Information here given may operate in favour of Youth, Innocence, and Honour".[8][14]

Following Asgill's return to England, lurid accounts of his experiences whilst a prisoner began to emerge in the coffee houses and press, and French plays were written about the affair.[15] Washington was angered that the young man did not deny these rumours, nor did he write to thank Washington for his release on parole.[16] Speculation mounted as to his reasons; Washington ordered that his correspondence on the Asgill Affair be made public.[17] His letters on the matter were printed in the New-Haven Gazette and the Connecticut Magazine on 16 November 1786, with the exception of his letter written to General Moses Hazen on 18 May 1782, ordering him to include conditional prisoners in the selection of lots, thereby violating the 14th Article of Capitulation.[18] It was five weeks before Charles Asgill was able to obtain a copy and sit down to read the account of his experiences, as recorded by George Washington. He wrote an impassioned response by return of post. His letter was also sent to the editor of the New-Haven Gazette and the Connecticut Magazine.[19]

Asgill's 18-page letter of 20 December 1786, including claims that he was treated like a circus animal, with drunken revellers paying good money to enter his cell and taunt or beat him, was not published.[13] Supposedly left for dead after one such attack, he was subsequently permitted to keep a Newfoundland dog to protect himself.[20]

I leave for the public to decide how far the treatment I have related deserved acknowledgements...my judgement told me I could not with sincerity return thanks [and] my feelings would not allow me to give vent to reproaches.[13]

These claims were recorded in The Reading Mercury (a British local newspaper) on 30 December 1782, pointing out that Asgill (newly returned home following imprisonment in America) was at the levée for the first time since his arrival in town. This newspaper recorded, also, that Asgill's legs were still damaged from the use of leg irons.[21]

Asgill's unpublished letter was offered for sale by an antiquarian bookseller in the United States in 2007, priced at $16,500. It was purchased by an anonymous private collector.[13] It has since been published, in the Winter 2019 issue of the Journal of Lancaster County’s Historical Society.[8][22]

On 12 April 1982, a bicentennial commemorative cover for the Huddy-Asgill affair was produced.[23]

Historian Louis Masur argues that the Huddy-Asgill affair, in particular, "injected the issue of the death penalty into public discourse" and increased American discomfort with it.[24]

The hot water urn presented to Charles Asgill by the people of Clonmel at the end of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

Asgill was appointed equerry to Frederick, Duke of York in 1788;[25] he would hold this post until his death.[26] On 15 September 1788 he inherited the Asgill baronetcy upon the death of his father,[27] and on 3 March 1790 he was promoted to command a company in the 1st Foot Guards,[28] with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.[29][30] On 28 August 1790 he married Jemima Sophia, sixth daughter of Admiral Sir Chaloner Ogle, 1st Baronet.[31] He joined the Army on the Continent in late 1793, and served in the Flanders campaign under the Duke of York. He was present during the retreat through Holland in the winter of 1794, then returned to England.[29] On 26 February 1795 he was granted the rank of colonel,[32] and later that year commanded a battalion of the Guards at Warley Camp, intended for foreign service.[29]

In June 1797, Asgill was appointed brigadier-general on the Staff in Ireland. He was granted the rank of major-general on 1 January 1798,[33][29] and was promoted Third Major[34] of the 1st Foot Guards in November that year.[35] In his Service Records, he states he "was very actively employed against the Rebels during the Rebellion in 1798 and received the repeated thanks of the Commander of the Forces and the Government for my Conduct and Service." General Sir Charles Asgill marched from Kilkenny and attacked and dispersed the rebels. The Irish song Sliabh na mBan remembers this.[36][37]

Asgill was presented with a silver hot-water urn by the people of Clonmel in appreciation of his part in the uprising. The inscription on the urn reads: "PRESENTED by the Inhabitants of the Town and Neighbourhood of CLONMEL to MAJr. GENl. SIR CHAs ASGILL BARt. in token of their great regard for His unremitting exertions as General Commanding in the district in defeating the Schemes of the Seditious and Protecting the loyal Inhabitants. CLONMEL MDCCCI".[38] The city of Kilkenny presented Asgill with a snuff box for his "energy and exertion" which was praised by the Loyalists.[39]

On 9 May 1800 Asgill was transferred from the Foot Guards to be colonel commandant of the 2nd Battalion, 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot.[40][41] He went onto half-pay when the 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1802.[42][43] Later that year he was again appointed to the Staff in Ireland, commanding the garrison in Dublin and the instruction camps at the Curragh.[29] Promoted to lieutenant general in January 1805,[44] he was appointed Colonel of the Regiment of the 5th West India Regiment (February 1806);[45] of the 85th Regiment of Foot (October 1806);[46] and, of the 11th (North Devonshire) Regiment (25 February 1807),[41][47] for which he raised a second battalion in the space of six months.[48] He continued to serve on the Staff until 1812,[29] and on 4 June 1814 he was promoted to general.[49] In 1820 he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Hanoverian Guelphic Order.[50]

Coat of arms of Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet. The motto translates as "regardless of his own interest".[51]

From 1791 to 1821 No. 6 York Street (subsequently renamed 7 Duke of York Street) was occupied by General Sir Charles Asgill, who was succeeded, from 1822 to 1824, by General Sir Ulysses Burgh.[52] The final two years of his life were spent at the home of his mistress, Mary Ann Goodchild (otherwise Mansel)[53] (who was also mistress to General Robert Manners) at 15 Park Place South near The Man in the Moon, Chelsea.[54] Two codicils to his will were written and signed there shortly before his death.[55] Asgill died on 23 July 1823, and was buried in the vault at St James's Church, Piccadilly on 1 August. His wife, Sophia Asgill, had predeceased him in 1819 and she too was buried in the vault at St. James's. Upon his death, the Asgill baronetcy became extinct. Most biographies claim he died without issue (excepting A New Biographical Dictionary of 3000 Cotemporary (sic) Public Characters, Second Edition, Vol I, Part I, printed for Geo. B. Whittacker, Ave-Maria Lane, 1825, which states Sophia bore him children).[56]

St. James's Church was damaged in the Blitz of London on 14 October 1940.[57] After the war ended, specialist contractors, Rattee and Kett, of Cambridge, under the supervision of Messrs. W. F. Heslop and F. Brigmore, undertook restoration work, which was completed in 1954.[58]

In his book, "Voice of rebellion : Carlow 1798 : the autobiography of William Farrell", the author gives a detailed account of how Lady Asgill was instrumental in saving his life. She had persuaded her husband, General Sir Charles Asgill, in Command of the Dublin Garrison at the time, that since a Lady (Queen Marie Antoinette of France) had saved his life, that he must, therefore, save the life of William Farrell who faced the gallows on account of his part in the Irish Uprising of 1798. Farrell was thus spared the gallows, but was deported for seven years. Asgill's story seems to have gone full circle as a consequence.[59]

The Lady Olivia character in the 1806 novel Leonora by Maria Edgeworth was rumoured to have been based on Lady Asgill, portraying her as a "coquette".[60][61] Lady Asgill herself maintained a two-decades long secret correspondence with Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch.[53] The two had agreed to destroy each other's correspondence, but some letters survived[62] as Lynedoch did not destroy them all.[63] A graphite drawing of Lady Asgill's setter dog was created at the Lynedoch Estate in Scotland by Charles Loraine Smith.[64]

During the months leading up to Asgill's death in 1823, he was the victim of fraud. "The Swindler Asgill" was touring southern England persuading his victims to send the bill for his luxury purchases to his "uncle", Sir Charles Asgill. He was never caught, but the Southern Reporter and Cork Commercial Courier of Saturday 13 September 1823 states: "There is good reason to believe that the real name of 'Mr Asgill' has been discovered, and that it is not altogether unknown to fame in the annals of police: but for obvious reasons, we omit it for the present". The Swindler perpetuated his lies, through his children, so that the present-day generation believed themselves to be descendants of Asgill's "disinherited son", William Charles Asgill. Even his obituary, in the Blackburn Standard of Wednesday 22 February 1854, declared that he was the "second son of the late Charles Asgill" – stating the latter was "of Regents Park". General Sir Charles Asgill never had an address in "Regents Park". [65]

This detail from a 1791 portrait of the Duchess of York by John Hoppner shows Asgill's wife Sophia sitting at her feet. Lady Asgill was Lady of the Bedchamber to the Duchess,[66] and was godmother to Hoppner’s granddaughter, Helen Clarence.[67]

Depictions of Asgill include:

• The Thomas Phillips RA portrait of Charles Asgill, painted in 1822 and exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts London that year, is listed in the National Portrait Gallery, London catalogue for the 1822 exhibition, and is recorded as: 107 Portrait of Gen. Sir Charles Asgill, Bart. G.C.G.O. T Phillips. R.A. The current whereabouts of this portrait is unknown. Asgill bequeathed it to his brother-in-law Sir Charles Ogle, 2nd Baronet for his family, in perpetuity.[68] After Asgill's death Ogle wrote to the artist to ask if he could take possession and whether he was still due payment.[69]

Sir Charles Ogle requests Mr Philips will have the goodness to deliver the picture of the late Sir Charles Asgill to the bearer Mr Goslett - If Mr Philips has any demand on Sir Charles Asgill, he is requested to send it to Mr Domville, [at] No. 6 Lincolns Inn. 42 Berkeley Sq, Oct 23 1823.

At the time of his death Ogle disinherited his eldest son, Chaloner, 1803–1859 (who died less than a year after his father), so it is not known whether the portrait did remain in the Ogle family as Asgill had requested.[70]

• Charles Asgill as a Captain in the First Foot Guards, held at the Library of Congress[71]

• General Sir Charles Asgill. Mezzotint by Charles Turner, 1822 (c), after Thomas Phillips, held at the National Army Museum, London[72]

• Sadler’s cartoon image of Uniform of British Army in 1820. Four military officers in different regimental uniforms. Inscribed in ink above their heads are their names or rank: Col. Perry 16th Lancers; A Regimental Doctor 70th Reg. The 70th called the "Black Dogs"; An officer of the Green Horse, 5th Dragoon; Sir Charles Asgill – Col. of the 11th.[73]

• J.S. le Barbier-le-Jeune, Asgill.: Drama in five acts, prose, dedicated to Lady Asgill, published in London and Paris, 1785. The author shows Washington plagued by the cruel need for reprisal that his duty requires. Washington even takes Asgill in his arms and they embrace with enthusiasm. Lady Asgill was very impressed by the play, and, indeed, Washington himself wrote to thank the author for writing such a complimentary piece, although confessed that his French was not up to being able to read it.[74] A copy of this play is available on the Gallicia website.[75]
• Gallica listing of 78 references to Charles Asgill in French Literature[76]

• Robert Taylor
• 2nd Canadian Regiment
• Ogle Baronets

• Belonzi, Joan, (1970) The Asgill Affair. Seton Hall University.
• Billardon de Sauvigny, Louis-Edme, (1785) Dramatization of the Asgill Affair, thinly reset as Abdir Study of critical biography. Paris.
• D'Aubigny, Washington or the Orphan of Pennsylvania, melodrama in three acts by one of the authors of The Thieving Magpie, with music and ballet, shown for the first time, at Paris, in the Ambigu-Comique theatre, 13 July 1815.
• De Comberousse, Benoit Michel (1795) Asgill or the English Prisoner, a drama in five acts and verse. Comberousse, a member of the College of Arts, wrote this play in 1795. The drama, in which Washington’s son plays a ridiculous role, was not performed in any theatre.
• De Lacoste, Henri (1813) Washington, Or The Reprisal A Factual Drama, a play in three acts, in prose, staged for the first time in Paris at the Théâtre de l’Impératrice, on 5 January 1813. (In this play Asgill falls in love with Betty Penn, the daughter of a Pennsylvanian Quaker, who supports him through his ordeal awaiting death).
• De Vivetieres, Marsollier (1793) music by Dalayrac, nl:Nicolas-Marie Dalayrac Asgill or The Prisoner of war – one act melodrama and prose, performed at the Opera-Comique for the first time on Thursday, May 2, 1793.
• Duke, Claire A., History 586, "To Save the Innocent, I Demand the Guilty": The Huddy-Asgill Affair, 12 May 2017, Kansas State University
• Graham, James J., (1862) Memoir of General Graham with notices of the campaigns in which he was engaged from 1779 to 1801, Edinburgh: R&R Clark, pp. 91-92.
• Haffner, Gerald O., (1957) "Captain Charles Asgill, An Incident of 1782," History Today, vol. 7, no. 5.
• Hoock, Holger, (2017) Scars of Independence: America's Violent Birth. Crown, New York pp. 335-357.
• Humphreys, David, (1859) The Conduct of General Washington Respecting The Confinement of Capt. Asgill Placed In Its True Point of Light. New York: Printed for the Holland Club.
• Jones, T. Cole, Captives of Liberty, Prisoners of War and the Politics of Vengeance in the American Revolution 2019 | ISBN 9780812251692
• Lambe, John Lawrence, (1911) Experiments in Play Writing, in Verse and Prose. London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, p. 252. (Section entitled An English Gentleman, the story of The Asgill Affair retold, in which Asgill declares his love for Virginia Huddy, Captain Joshua Huddy's daughter).
• Leveson-Gower, Granville. (1916) Private Correspondence 1781-1821 edited by his Daughter-in-Law Castalia Countess Granville in two volumes
• Mayer, Charles Joseph, (1784) Asgill, or the Disorder of Civil Wars. Amsterdam and Paris: Rue et Hotel Serpente.
• Mayo, Katherine, (1938) General Washington's Dilemma London: Jonathan Cape.
• Melbourne, Lady Elizabeth Milbanke Lamb (1998) Byron's "Corbeau Blanc" The Life and Letters of Lady Melbourne Edited by Jonathan David Gross. p. 412, ISBN 978-0853236337
• McHugh, Rodger, (1998) Voice of Rebellion: Carlow in 1798 – The Autobiography of William Farrell. Introduction by Patrick Bergin. Dublin: Wolfhound Press.—First published in 1949 as Carlow in '98.
• Pakenham, Thomas, (1969) The Year of Liberty: The Great Irish Rebellion of 1798. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
• Pierce, Arthur D., (1960) Smugglers' Woods: Jaunts and Journeys in Colonial and Revolutionary New Jersey. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
• Shelley, Frances, (1969) The Diary of Frances Lady Shelley 1787–1817. Hodder and Stoughton.
• Smith, Jayne E, (2007) Vicarious atonement: revolutionary justice and the Asgill case. New Mexico State University.
• Tombs, Robert and Tombs, Isabelle, (2006) That Sweet Enemy: The British and the French from the Sun King to the Present. London: William Heinemann.
• Vanderpoel, Ambrose E., (1921) History of Chatham, New Jersey. Charles Francis Press, New York, Chapters 17-20.

• C-Span 3 American History TV. Philadelphia - Museum of the American Revolution. Talk by Professor Gregory Urwin, of Temple University, Doylestown on 4 October 2019
• "Documents of the American Revolution: Joshua Huddy Era," Monmouth County Archives, Monmouth County, New Jersey. www.co.monmouth.nj.us/ —Catalog of an exhibition at Monmouth Country Library Headquarters, October 2004.
• "General Washington's Terrible Dilemma," Massachusetts Historical Society, Letter from George Washington to Benjamin Lincoln, 5 June 1782.
• From Alexander Hamilton to Major General Henry Knox, (7 June 1782), a letter from Alexander Hamilton to Henry Knox arguing against the execution.
• The Asgill Affair - The Random Execution That Almost Reignited the Revolutionary War by Jason Mandresh, 25 May 2020