Richard O'Farrell.
Appointed 12th August, 1741.
Richard O'Farrell was nominated ensign in a regiment of foot on the 1st of May, 1692; and he served with reputation in the wars of King William III. and of Queen Anne. On the 20th of December, 1722, he was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the ninth foot, and he performed the duties of commanding officer to that corps many years, with credit to himself and advantage to the service. On the decease of Brigadier-General Paget, in 1741, King George II. rewarded the long and faithful services of Lieut.-Colonel O'Farrell with the colonelcy of the TWENTY-SECOND regiment. In 1746 Colonel O'Farrell was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, and in 1754 to that of major-general. His decease occurred in 1757.
Edward Whitmore.
Appointed 11th July, 1757.
Edward Whitmore entered the army in the reign of King George II., and serving with distinction in the wars of the Austrian succession, was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Thirty-sixth regiment on the 17th of July, 1747. He performed the duty of commanding officer of the Thirty-sixth regiment with reputation ten years; and in July, 1757, King George II. rewarded him with the colonelcy of the TWENTY-SECOND regiment. He was nominated brigadier-general in America in December, 1757; in 1758 he commanded a brigade under Lieut.-General (afterwards Lord) Amherst, in the descent on Cape Breton, and at the siege and capture of Louisburg, of which fortress he was afterwards nominated governor. On the 19th of February, 1761, he was promoted to the rank of major-general. During the following winter he left Louisburg for Boston; during the voyage the ship was driven, by severe weather, into the harbour of Plymouth, and Major-General Whitmore, being on deck, in the night, fell overboard and was drowned.
The Honorable Thomas Gage.
Appointed 29th March, 1762.
The Honorable Thomas Gage, second son of Thomas, first Viscount Gage, of Castle Island, in Ireland, having served some time in the subordinate commissions, was appointed major of the Forty-fourth foot in February, 1747; and he was further promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the regiment on the 2nd of March, 1751. He was serving with his regiment in America, when a dispute occurred between Great Britain and France respecting the territory on the banks of the Ohio, and he commanded the advance-guard of the forces sent against Fort Du Quesne, which the French had built to command the entrance into the country on the Ohio and Mississippi. In the disastrous action on the 9th of July, 1755, Major-General Braddock was killed, and Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Thomas Gage was wounded. He continued to serve in America, where he raised a provincial regiment, which was numbered the eightieth, light-armed foot, of which he was appointed colonel in May, 1758; he was also appointed brigadier-general in North America, and the efforts of the army effected the conquest of Canada, which has continued to form part of the British dominions from that period. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1761, and in the same year he performed the duty of Commander-in-Chief in North America, and also succeeded Sir Jeffrey Amherst as Colonel-in-Chief of the sixtieth regiment, which he held two months, when Lieut.-General Amherst was re-appointed. In March, 1762, he was appointed colonel of the TWENTY-SECOND foot; and in April, 1770, he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general. When the misunderstanding between Great Britain and her North American colonies began to assume a serious aspect, he was appointed Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of Massachusetts Bay, and he arrived at Boston in May, 1774. Hostilities commenced in the following year, and his active exertions to suppress the rebellion were rewarded in August, 1775, with the appointment of Commander-in-Chief in North America, which he resigned in a few months afterwards. In April, 1782, he was appointed colonel of the seventeenth light dragoons; he was promoted to the rank of general in November following, and in 1785 he was removed to the eleventh dragoons. He died in 1787.
Charles O'Hara.