Patrick Ferguson

Uncommon card · No. 189864

Major Patrick Ferguson (4 June 1744 – 7 October 1780) was a British Army officer who served in the Seven Years' War and American War of Independence. Born in the Pitfour estate in Aberdeenshire, Ferguson was commissioned into the Royal North British Dragoons at the rank of cornet in 1758 and was sent with his regiment to Continental Europe in 1760. He served in Flanders and Germany until returning to Britain due to a leg ailment. Following his recovery Ferguson served on garrison duty before transferring to the 70th Regiment of Foot at the rank of captain in 1768 and commanding a battalion company in Tobago. Following his return to Britain in 1774 Ferguson undertook light infantry training and invented the Ferguson rifle. In March 1777 Ferguson left Britain and sailed to North America, where he raised Ferguson's Corps of Riflemen to serve in the American War of Independence. Ferguson participated in the Philadelphia campaign and was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine in September. Though...

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