William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organizing the successful capture of Louisbourg during King George's War, and for his role in managing military affairs during the French and Indian War. He spent most of his years in the colonial administration of British North America working to defeat New France, but his lack of formal military training led to political difficulties and his eventual downfall.
Politically well connected, Shirley began his career in Massachusetts as advocate general in the admiralty court, and quickly became an opponent of Governor Jonathan Belcher. He joined with Belcher's other political enemies to bring about Belcher's recall, and was appointed Governor of Massachusetts Bay in Belcher's place. He successfully quieted political divisions within the province, and was able to bring about united action against New France when King George's War began in 1744. The successful capture of Louisbourg, which Shirley had a major role in organizing, was one of the high points of his administration.
After King George's War Shirley became mired in disputes over funding and accounting for the war effort, and returned to England in 1749 to deal with political and legal matters arising from those disputes. He was then assigned to a commission established by Great Britain and France to determine the colonial borders in North America. His hard-line approach to these negotiations contributed to their failure, and he returned to Massachusetts in 1753.
Military matters again dominated Shirley's remaining years in Massachusetts, with the French and Indian War beginning in 1754. Shirley led a military expedition to reinforce Fort Oswego in 1755, and became Commander-in-Chief, North America upon the death of General Edward Braddock. His difficulties in organizing expeditions in 1755 and 1756 were compounded by political disputes with New York politicians, and over military matters with Indian agent Sir William Johnson. These disagreements led to his recall in 1757 as both commander-in-chief and as governor. In his later years he served as governor of the Bahamas, before returning to Massachusetts, where he died.
Early life William Shirley, the son of William and Elizabeth Godman Shirley, was born on 2 December 1694 at Preston Manor in East Sussex, England.Schutz (1961), p. 3 He was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and then read law at the Inner Temple in London.Wood, p. 13 In 1717 his grandfather died, leaving him Ote Hall in Wivelsfield and some funds, which he used to purchase a clerkship in London. About the same time, he married Frances Barker, with whom he had a large number of children.Schutz (1961), p. 4 He was called to the bar in 1720.Wood, p. 14 Although his inheritance had been substantial (about £10,000), he cultivated an expensive lifestyle, and suffered significant financial reverses in the depression of 1721. The financial demands of his large family (he and Frances had eight children by 1731) prompted him to seek an appointment in the North American colonies. His family was connected by marriage to the Duke of Newcastle, who became an important patron and sponsor of Shirley's advancement, and to that of Arthur Onslow, the Speaker of the House of Commons.Wood, pp. 12–13 Armed with letters of introduction from Newcastle and others (but no appointment), Shirley arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1731.Schutz (1961), p. 5
Advocate general
Shirley was initially received with indifference by Massachusetts governor Jonathan Belcher, who refused him patronage positions that became available. In 1733 Shirley sought to secure from David Dunbar the commission as the crown surveyor general, but Dunbar eventually decided to retain the office.Wood, p. 65 Influence from Newcastle eventually yielded Shirley a position as advocate general in the admiralty court. Belcher resisted further entreaties from Newcastle to promote Shirley, and Shirley began using his position to actively prosecute Belcher supporters whose illegal logging activities came under his jurisdiction.Batinski, p. 130
Shirley also made common cause with Samuel Waldo, a wealthy merchant and major landowner in the province eastern district (present-day Maine) where Belcher's lax enforcement of timber-cutting laws was harming his business with the Royal Navy. In 1736 Shirley sent his wife to London to lobby on his behalf against Belcher.Wood, p. 68 Waldo also eventually went to London; the combination of Shirley's connection to Newcastle and Waldo's money soon made inroads in the colonial administration.Schutz (1958), p. 514Wood, pp. 55–56 When these were joined by discontented New Hampshire interests (Belcher was also governor of New Hampshire), a full-scale offensive was launched in the late 1730s to unseat Belcher.Schutz (1958), pp. 514–516 This included at least one forged letter on the part of Belcher opponents in an attempt to discredit the governor, which Shirley denounced.Wood, p. 79 By 1738 Newcastle was in a dominant position in not just the colonial administration, but also in the British government as an opponent of Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, and he actively encouraged Belcher's opponents.Batinski, p. 132
In 1739 the Privy Council reprimanded Belcher, voted to separate the Massachusetts and New Hampshire governorships, and began debating the idea of replacing the governor.Batinski, p. 133 The exact reasons for Belcher's dismissal have been a recurring subject of scholarly interest, due to the many colonial, imperial, and political factors at play.Foster, p. 180, documents at least seven scholarly approaches to the subject, including Batinski and Zemsky referenced here Two principal themes within these analyses are Belcher's acquisition of many local enemies, and the idea that good imperial governance in London eventually required his replacement.Foster, p. 181 Before the issues of 1739 most of the efforts to unseat Belcher had failed: Belcher himself noted in that year that "the warr I am ingag'd in is carrying on in much the same manner as for 9 years past."Foster, p. 188 Historian Stephen Foster further notes that someone as powerful as Newcastle was at the time generally had much weightier issues to deal with than arbitrating colonial politics. In this instance, however, imperial and colonial considerations coincided over the need for Massachusetts to provide a significant number of troops for Newcastle's proposed West Indies expedition in the War of Jenkins' Ear.Foster, pp. 189–190 In April 1740 Newcastle in effect offered Shirley the opportunity to prove, in the light of Belcher's political difficulties, that he could more effectively raise troops than the governor could.Foster, p. 190 Shirley consequently engaged in recruiting, principally outside Massachusetts (where Belcher refused his offers of assistance, understanding what was going on), and deluged Newcastle with documentation of his successes while Belcher was preoccupied with a banking crisis.Wood, pp. 84–89Foster, pp. 194–197 Newcastle handed the issue off to Martin Bladen, secretary to the Board of Trade and a known Belcher opponent. The Board of Trade then apparently decided, based on the weight of the extant evidence, that Belcher needed to be replaced.Foster, pp. 197–198 In April 1741 the Privy Council approved William Shirley's commission as governor of Massachusetts, and Benning Wentworth's commission as governor of New Hampshire was issued the following June.Wood, p. 89Shipton, p. 153
Governor of Massachusetts When Shirley assumed the governorship of Massachusetts in August 1741, he was immediately confronted with a currency crisis. The province had been suffering for many years with inflation caused by issuance of increasing quantities of paper currency. Late in Belcher's tenure, competing banking proposals had been made in a bid to address the issue, and a popular proposal for a bank secured by real estate had been enacted.Zemsky, pp. 116–128 This bank (the controversy over it having contributed to Belcher's recall) had been dissolved by an act of parliament, and Shirley had to negotiate the dissolution of the bank's assets and reclamation of the notes it had issued. In this process, which occupied the rest of 1741, Shirley deftly navigated legislation through the provincial assembly that provided a schedule for redeeming the bank's currency without causing the bank's principal owners to collapse under a deluge of redemptions.Zemsky, pp. 128–139
With rising tensions Shirley acted to strengthen the military defenses of the colony. He created a series of provincial companies along the frontier. These included Burke's Rangers and Gorham's Rangers which became the model for Shirley's more famous creation Roger's Rangers.
Outbreak of war
Britain captured Acadia from France in Queen Anne's War (1702–1713), but the Treaty of Utrecht left Cape Breton Island in French hands, and did not clearly demarcate a boundary between New France and the British colonies on the Atlantic coast.Carr, pp. 111–112 To protect the crucial passageway of the Saint Lawrence River into the heart of New France, France built a strong fortress at Louisbourg on the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton Island.Carr, pp. 117–123
When Shirley took office, relations between France and Britain were strained, and there was a possibility that Britain would be drawn into the War of the Austrian Succession, which had started on the European mainland in 1740.Carr, p. 177 Shirley was able to finesse his restrictions on the production of paper currency to achieve an updating of the province's defences, and in 1742 requested permission from the Board of Trade for the printing of additional currency should war break out.Wood, pp. 121–127 This permission was granted in 1743, along with a warning that war with France was likely.Wood, p. 129 France declared war against Britain in March 1744, and forces from Louisbourg raided the British fishing port of Canso on the northern end of mainland Nova Scotia before its residents were aware they were at war.Carr, pp. 176, 179–180 French privateers also began preying on British and colonial vessels. British colonial governors along the coast, including Shirley, sent colonial guard ships and authorized their own privateers in response, neutralizing the French activity.Carr, pp. 180–183
Canso was used by New England fishermen, and as such its fall was of interest to Massachusetts. Shirley had, prior to its capture, received a request for assistance from the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, Paul Mascarene, for support in the defence of Annapolis Royal. In response to the fall of Canso and a second, urgent request from Mascarene, Shirley promptly despatched two companies of volunteers to Annapolis Royal.Wood, pp. 189–190 The timely arrival of these troops in early July broke up a siege.Wood, p. 191
John Bradstreet, who had been captured at Canso and held prisoner at Louisbourg, returned to New England in a prisoner exchange, and gave a detailed report to Shirley that emphasised the weaknesses of the French fort.Carr, p. 186 William Vaughn, who owned several businesses in Maine that were vulnerable to raids from New France, toured New England advocating an expedition to capture Louisbourg.Carr, p. 187 Shirley and other leaders in New England and New York sent letters to colonial authorities in London seeking support for such an expedition, citing the vulnerable conditions at Louisbourg.Carr, pp. 187–188 Vaughn and Bradstreet wanted to attack Louisbourg that winter with an all-colonial force. Shirley doubted the practicality of that plan, but in January 1745 submitted it to the provincial assembly (General Court), which declined to support the plan, but did request that Britain undertake an attack on Louisbourg.Carr, pp. 188–189