General Edward Mathew (1729 – 25 December 1805) was a British Army officer. By the time of the American War of Independence he had risen to the rank of colonel. Promoted to brigadier general, he was assigned to command the elite Brigade of Guards in the American campaign. In 1776 he led the Guards at Long Island, Kip's Bay, and Fort Washington where he spearheaded one of the assault forces. In the Philadelphia campaign, he commanded his brigade at Brandywine, Germantown, White Marsh, and Monmouth.
As a major general, he took part in the highly successful Chesapeake raid on Virginia ports in 1779. He led one of the columns in action at Battle of Springfield in 1780. He commanded in the West Indies in 1782 and became a full general in 1797. His beloved daughter Anna predeceased him in 1795. Mathew is likely to have been the model for a character in one of Jane Austen's novels.
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Early career
Born in 1729, Mathew became an ensign in the Regiment of Coldstream Guards (2nd Foot Guards) in 1746. In 1760 he married Lady Jane Bertie (d. 21 August 1793), daughter of Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven. By the year 1775 he was a colonel and aide de camp to King George III. He was appointed commander of the brigade of Guards in America with the rank of brigadier general. Mathew is described as "generous, full of honors, kind". However, he had a darker side that had a "bitter, stiff, and dictatorial presence". Though he dearly loved his daughter Anna, he could also erupt into a despotic rage. Because he was father-in-law to Jane Austen's brother James, he is supposed to have inspired the character General Tilney in her novel Northanger Abbey.
American War of Independence
The British Army formed the 1,000-strong Brigade of Guards by selecting the men by lottery from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Foot Guards Regiments. The brigade was split into two battalions of about 500 troops each. Other regiments of foot assigned their light and grenadier companies to converged elite battalions, leaving only the eight line companies to fight with the parent unit. The Guards Brigade, however, retained its two flank companies. The grenadier company and the line companies of Hyde, Wrottesley, Cox, and Garth became the 1st Guards Battalion, while the light company and the line companies of Stephen, Murray, O'Hara, and Martin were assigned to the 2nd Guards Battalion. A detailed organization down to the company level can be found in the Brandywine order of battle. Lieutenant Colonel Sir George Osborn, 4th Baronet commanded the grenadier company while Captain Thomas Twistleton led the light company.
The Guards Brigade landed on Long Island on 22 August 1776 and was present in the Battle of Long Island five days later. On 15 September the Guards Brigade took part in the Battle of Kip's Bay, landing in the first wave. Mathew played a significant role at the Battle of Fort Washington on 16 November. With two light infantry battalions under his leadership, he boated across the Harlem River near what is now 200th Street and established a bridgehead. This effort was followed up by Lord Charles Cornwallis with the Guards Brigade, two grenadier battalions, and the 33rd Foot. The advance of this and other columns resulted in a resounding British victory including the capture of 2,818 Americans. After the American victory at Trenton, the 1st Guards Battalion was assigned to Cornwallis for the Princeton campaign in early January 1777. However, Mathew stayed behind with the 2nd Battalion in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The Guards were involved in several skirmishes during the Forage War.
The grenadier and light companies of the Guards were in action at the Battle of Short Hills on 26 June 1777 where one of their officers was mortally wounded. On the 29th, the British Army abruptly abandoned New Jersey. Sir William Howe sailed with his army from New York on 23 July. At the end of August, the British troops landed at Head of Elk, Maryland at the north end of Chesapeake Bay. Among the Guards officers present during the subsequent Philadelphia campaign were Captain-lieutenant Richard FitzPatrick of the 1st Foot Guards, Colonel Charles O'Hara of the 2nd Foot Guards, and Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Wrottesley.
Later career
In November 1782, Mathew was appointed commander-in-chief of British forces in the Windward Islands. In 1779, a French fleet under Admiral Charles Henri Hector, Count of Estaing had captured Grenada from the British as part of the American War of Independence. At the end of the conflict in 1783, the colony was returned to Britain and Mathew appointed as its governor. He discovered that the fortifications on Richmond Hill were in a "ruinous condition"; the old French fortifications on Grenada were subsequently replaced by new forts known as Forts Frederick, Adolphus, Lucas and Mathew. Much of labour used for the fort's construction was supplied by the 300-strong Carolina Corps, a military unit formed from Black South Carolina slaves freed by the British in exchange for military service. A 1787 report noted that progress on the forts' construction was satisfactory. Mathew was promoted to general in 1797.
During his second tenure as governor of Grenada, George III neglected to have HM Treasury approve Mathew's salary. Despite his innocence, Mathew was billed for the £11,000 that he was paid as legitimate wages in 1792. By this time, George was experiencing bouts of madness and could not confirm details such as whether he authorised Mathew's salary. After his death the family had to pay back £23,000 to the Exchequer. On 27 March 1792, James Austen married Mathew's 30-year-old daughter Anne, who was considered a spinster. The couple had a daughter named Jane in 1793. Though Mathew financially supported the couple, who lived on James' £300 yearly salary as a clergyman, the two ran through their funds quickly. Mathew purchased a commission as chaplain for James in the 86th Regiment of Foot so that his son-in-law could live on the salary. However, Anna died very suddenly on 3 May 1795. Mathew died on 25 December 1805. In his will, he left the slaves he owned in Dominica to his son Brownlow.