William Phillips
(1731-1781)
BIRTH
1731
PLACE
England
DEATH
May 13, 1781
PLACE
Petersburg, Virginia
FAMILY
HOMES
RELIGIOUS VIEWS
NOT YET RESEARCHED
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MEMBERSHIPS
AWARDS
Major-General William Phillips was a British Army officer who served in the Royal Artillery during the American War of Independence. He took part in the recapture of Fort Ticonderoga, where he stated, "Where a goat can go, a man can go. And where a man can go, he can drag a gun." As part of Burgoyne's army, he was captured at Saratoga in 1777. He was then a part of the Convention Armyuntil he was exchanged for American General Benjamin Lincoln in 1780.
EARLY LIFE
Phillips entered the academy at Woolwich and eventually joined the Royal Artillery. His service at the Battle of Minden led to a reputation as an excellent officer. By the outbreak of the American War of Independence he had risen to the rank of colonel in the British Army. He served as the Commander of Artillery at Woolwich and Lieutenant Governor of Windsor Castle, and was eventually elected as MP for Boroughbridge.
Phillips was promoted to the rank of Major-General and sent to Quebec in 1776, along with his friends General Henry Clintonand General John Burgoyne, to be the commander of all artillery in the province. Governor Sir Guy Carleton put him in charge of the shipyard at St. John's where, along with Captain Sir Charles Douglas, he supervised the building of the small fleet of ships that fought the Americans under Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Valcour Island. He later took part in the recapture of Fort Ticonderoga, where he stated, "Where a goat can go, a man can go. And where a man can go, he can drag a gun."
As part of Burgoyne's army, he was captured at Saratoga in 1777. He is depicted in the painting of the Surrender of General Burgoyne by John Trumbull. He was then a part of the Convention Armyuntil he was exchanged for American General Benjamin Lincoln in 1780. While a prisoner in Virginia, he was one of the British officers who was entertained at the home of Thomas Jefferson. After the exchange he was able to fight once again, and was sent by Clinton from New York to meet up with Brigadier General Benedict Arnold (who was now on the British side) in Virginia.
While on his way to link up with General Cornwallis, he contracted either typhus or malaria, and became so ill that Arnold had to lead his men. He died on 13 May 1781 at Petersburg, Virginia, five months before Yorktown, and is buried there near Blandford Church.
CAREER
DEATH
William Phillips died at Petersburg, Virginia, on 13 May 1781 during the British campaign in the state. The artillery officer had returned to active command after years associated with the captivity of Burgoyne's army and was operating with Benedict Arnold when a serious fever incapacitated him. He withdrew for care in Petersburg, where the illness proved fatal. Sources disagree about the precise disease: an official local history describes a contagious fever and discusses possibilities such as malaria or typhus, while a National Park Service account identifies typhoid. The shared supported description is a fatal febrile illness, and no single disputed subtype should be presented as certain. His death was therefore not a battlefield gunshot casualty, even though it occurred amid military operations. Cornwallis's arrival and the later concentration of British forces belonged to the continuation of the campaign after Phillips could no longer direct it. The available accounts give little complete clinical detail about treatment, symptoms or the immediate terminal complication. A careful final-days narrative follows active campaigning, the onset of debilitating illness, removal to a Petersburg household and death on 13 May. Exact bedside remarks and a confident modern diagnosis would exceed the evidence. His earlier imprisonment after Saratoga was a separate period from the final Virginia illness.
Blandford Church burial ground
Blandford Cemetery, Petersburg, VA, United States
GRAVE
MUSEUM
Colonial Williamsburg
101 Visitor Center Dr, Williamsburg, VA 23185
MUSEUM
Fort Ticonderoga
102 Fort Ti Rd, Ticonderoga, NY 12883
PARK
Saratoga National Historical Park
648 NY-32, Stillwater, NY 12170
MARKER
Diascund Bridge Marker
Pocahontas Trail (US 60) at Liberty Church Rd, Lanexa, VA 23089
POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
Major General William Phillips (1731–1781), the British Royal Artillery officer in the American Revolution. Five dedicated biographies were not identified. These editorial selections include biographies where available, with personal writings, biographical reference and related studies clearly labelled.
1. Where a Man Can Go: Major General William Phillips, British Royal Artillery, 1731–1781 — Robert P. Davis. Find on Amazon
2. Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War — Richard M. Ketchum. [Related campaign and biographical history] Find on Amazon
3. The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution — Kevin J. Weddle. [Related campaign and biographical history] Find on Amazon
4. The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire — Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy. [Collective biography] Find on Amazon
5. The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775–1777 — Rick Atkinson. [Related campaign and biographical history] Find on Amazon
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