Shirley Heights was named after Major-General Sir Thomas Shirley, Governor of Antigua from 1781 to 1788. He had a brilliant military career, was Governor of the Bahamas 1768 to 1774, then Governor of Dominica 1774 to 1778, and from 1781 Governor of the Leeward Islands.
Aware that the island and its vital naval dockyard were in danger from further invasion by the French, he planned and built the fortifications, now known as Shirley Heights. During his tenure of office, Nelson was senior naval officer at the dockyard and Prince William Henry was stationed here.
Shirley was greatly assisted in making the defences effective by Lieutenant Charles Sharpley, Royal Engineers, when he arrived here. Wooden powder magazines were built in stone and a ring of fortifications placed around the dockyard. The Ridge (now Shirley Heights) was converted into a series of barracks, a complex of hospitals, store rooms, look outs, observation stations, and gun stations. This was expensive and Shirley was unpopular. The legislature refused to pay for the completion of the works in 1785, but the work continued, funded by the British Government. Governor Shirley left in June 1788 before the work was finished. He died in Bath in 1800.
Commanding Officers
British Commanding Officer – a Colonel or a Major had their own house and entertained other officers, balls, parties etc. with the plantocracy.
Junior Officers – lived in the officers’ barracks – a few were allowed to bring their families – they were expected to live as gentlemen within their social circle. Not involved in entertaining.
The Regular Army –“Redcoats” lower class draftees or volunteers escaping poverty or the law by enisting in the King’s service.
Enlisted boys. Much time marching, training, gambling drinking and sleeping and supporting the local prostitution industry. Ferocious fighters.
Skilled slaves operated as cooks, domestic servants, carpenters, masons, blacksmiths and grooms. Sometimes rented out to plantations.
Treated better than fatigue slaves, unskilled labourers, dirty jobs such as clearing bush, emptying night soil bowls, cleaning and digging latrine pits and sluices, digging graves, hauling construction stones about.
Before dawn roll call, drilling, then marching & parading in cool early morning. Marching with full pack.
The general soldier marched and fought in full dress, knapsack for personal effects, haversack for rations, canteen with 2 pints of water, mess tin and cover, and mug. Blanket and heavy jacket strapped onto his knapsack. Musket, bayonet, scabbard, pouch with 60 rounds of ball ammunition, 2 flints, oil bottle, turnkey, emery worm, hammer stall, muzzle stopper and powder. Combined weight never less than 60 lbs.
Royal Artillery buttons found there.
General Shirley 1871
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