The younger son of an aristocratic Scots family, James Grant sought a career in the British military and saw service against the French in the War of Austrian Succession (1740-48) on the European continent. Grant was a major at the beginning of the French and Indian War (1754-63), when he was detached to North America. At first he was stationed in South Carolina, but in 1758 he joined General John Forbes's campaign in western Pennsylvania. His first independent command came when he led a reconnaissance force to Fort Duquesne. Unfortunately for Grant, he underestimated the strength of the French position and did not retreat quickly when he lost the element of surprise. Attacked by the French and Indians, most of his men panicked, and in the confusion Grant was captured; he lost about 300 men killed, wounded, and captured out of a force of 850. A little over a year later, he was exchanged as a prisoner of war, and having retained the confidence of his superiors for his efficiency as a military officer, he returned to active duty. He was subsequently detached twice to campaigns in the Cherokee War (1759-61), being the second in command in Colonel Archibald Montgomery's sortie into Cherokee country in 1760 and assuming command of the more successful assault on the Cherokee in 1761, ending the war. In the process he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

After the war, Grant found employment in 1763 as the first governor of the new colony of East Florida. In this position his strengths as an administrator came to the fore as he had to deal with both civil and military authorities, negotiate with Native Americans, and defend the province. He also had to find ways to encourage settlement of the sparsely settled territory. Between his salary and the proceeds of a successful indigo plantation, he was able to amass a fortune of his own. Perhaps because the colony was so new and underpopulated, there was little upheaval concerning imperial regulations such as the Stamp Act (1765) and Townshend duties (1767), although a few colonists complained that Grant was somewhat autocratic in his governorship because he never organized a representative assembly, as stipulated in his royal instructions. He left East Florida in 1771 when he inherited his family's estate in Scotland, but he did not resign his governorship until 1773. In that year he entered Parliament, where he was not sympathetic to the North American resistance movement against imperial measures.

The outbreak of the Revolutionary War (1775-83) brought Grant back into military service. Sent to Boston in summer 1775, he developed a close relationship with General William Howe and was promoted to major general after the British army left Massachusetts. He saw combat in the Battle of Long Island (August 27-30, 1776) and was in charge of British troops in New Jersey when General George Washington crossed the Delaware and attacked the Hessians at Trenton on December 26, 1776. Grant accompanied Howe's army in his campaign to capture Philadelphia, commanding troops at the Battle of Brandywine (September 11, 1777) and bearing the brunt of Washington's attack at the Battle of Germantown (October 4, 1777). He also failed to prevent the marquis de Lafayette's escape from his exposed position at the Battle of Barren Hill (May 20, 1778). Grant advocated a scorched-earth policy to put down the rebellion in North America, but after the withdrawal from Philadelphia in summer 1778, he became convinced that the war was unwinnable, although he believed that if the revolutionaries were left to themselves, the United States would quickly fall apart and rejoin the British Empire.

Sent to command the British army in the West Indies, Grant captured St. Lucia in December 1778. In spring and early summer 1779, however, he had to scramble to defend several islands once the French established naval superiority in the region. Despite his best efforts, the British lost St. Vincent and Grenada to the French before an ailing Grant sailed for England on August 1, 1779. Upon his return, he concentrated on politics as a member of Parliament. He used his political connections with William Pitt and his loyalty to King George III to gain promotion to lieutenant general in 1782 and later to general. In 1789 he also became governor of Stirling Castle, which placed him in command of all the troops in Scotland. He remained in the army until 1796 but did not see any more combat after leaving the West Indies. He died on April 13, 1806, age 86.

Bibliography:

Paul David Nelson, General James Grant: Scottish Soldier and Royal Governor of East Florida (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1993).

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