X 
I-MN241898 1 
v. ^ Tfki oi 
THE SERVICES 
OF 
LIEUT.-COLONEL FRANCIS DOWNMAN, R.A., 
IN 
FRANCE, NORTH AMERICA, AND THE WEST INDIES,! 
BETWEEN THE YEARS 1758 AND 1784. 
EDITED BY 
COLONEL F. A. WHINYATES, late R.H.A. 
INTRODUCTION. 
THE personal experiences of an officer of the Royal Artillery in 
campaigns of more than 100 years ago may, it is thought, prove of 
value to historical students of the present day. The services of Lieut.- 
Colonel Downman were of a most varied character, both by land and 
water, for though a soldier by profession, it is singular how much he 
was associated with naval affairs. Before entering upon the narratives 
he has left, it will be interesting to give some particulars concerning 
him and his family. 
Francis Downman was the second of the four sons of Francis 
Downman, of St. Neots, Huntingdonshire, Esq., a lawyer by profession, 
whose father, Hugh Downman, in the early part of the eighteenth 
century, was Master of the House of Ordnance at Sheerness, where he 
died in 1728. The writer of these diaries obtained a commission in the 
Royal Artillery at the age of fifteen years, and was almost immediately 
sent on active service. During his first tour of service in North 
America, he married at New York, May 27th, 1772, Jane, daughter of 
Francis Day, of Pontefract, Esq., by whom he had four daughters and 
one son, afterwards Sir Thomas Downman, K.C.B., Royal Artillery and 
father of Captain J. T. Downman, late 83rd Regiment and Captain G. 
Downman, late 66th Regiment, to whose kindness we are indebted for 
the use of their grandfathers papers. In the latter years of his life 
Lieut.-Colonel Downman drew up a summary of his services, which it 
may be as well to give, before entering upon the more detailed accounts 
1 
xxv. 
