Charles Asgill Bt (1762 - 1823)

Born 6 Apr 1762 in London, England

Ancestors

Husband of Jemima Sophia (Ogle) Asgill — married 28 Aug 1790 (to 1819) in London England

Descendants

Died 23 Jul 1823 at age 61 in London, England, United Kingdom

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Charles Asgill Bt participated in the American Revolution. Join: 1776 Project Discuss: 1776

Biography

Charles Asgill Bt is Notable.

Captain Charles Asgill Bt served with 1st Regiment of Foot Guards during the American Revolution.

General Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet, GCH (6 April 1762 – 23 July 1823) was a career soldier in the British Army. Asgill enjoyed a long military career, eventually rising to the rank of general. He is best remembered as the principal of the so-called "Asgill Affair" of 1782, in which his retaliatory execution while a prisoner of war was commuted by the American forces who held him, due to the direct intervention of the government of France.

The Asgill Affair or Huddy-Asgill Affair was a diplomatic incident during the American Revolution named after a British army officer, Sir Charles Asgill and Captain Joshua "Jack" Huddy.[1]

Captain Joshua Huddy, DAR patriot A059625 died while in custody of the British. As peace talks were in progress, the British Army at Philipse Manor Hall, hung Captain Huddy. His Excellency George Washington upon learning of this act, made contact with the British regarding punishment of the perpetrators, the situation became so entangled that unfortunately the case was left unresolved after months past.

In retaliation for the execution of a Patriot officer, George Washington ordered the death of a British officer chosen by lot from prisoners; this selected Asgill. This was in direct contravention of the Articles of Capitulation signed when British forces surrendered at Yorktown which protected Asgill.

As allies to the Americans and signatories to the surrender document, the French monarchy became involved and let it be known that such measures would reflect badly on both the French and American nations, conveying the message through the French Foreign Minister, the comte de Vergennes, who wrote to Washington on 29 July 1782. After six months the Continental Congress agreed that Asgill should be released to return to England on parole.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Note on page 174 Philipse Manor Hall at Yonkers, NY, the site, the buildings and its occupants by Edward Hagaman Hall, 1925. The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society NY, NY Call# F129 Y5H17

See also:

• Wikipedia:Sir_Charles_Asgill,_2nd_Baronet.
• A new biography of George Washington First and Always: A New Portrait of George Washington by Peter R. Henriques has a very significant chapter on Charles Asgill included within its pages. While the Asgill Affair has been written about hundreds of times in the past two and a half centuries, none, until now, has been accurate. New information was published in 2011 and this has now finally made it into the annals of history in Professor Peter Henriques book, to be published in September 2020.

It is hoped that this book will lead to the making of a television mini-series.

• A short summary of the Asgill Affair can be found on YouTube here.
• A fully sourced revised version of the Asgill Affair (entitled "Setting the record straight") can be seen here in an interview with Helen Tovey, Editor of Family Tree.
• The Charles Asgill Affair:Setting the Record Straight by Anne Ammundsen [2]