p309  Note E

Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathern (1767‑1820), fourth son of George III and father of Queen Victoria, was sent to Quebec in 1791 with his regiment, the 7th Fusiliers, of which he had the command. He became very popular with all classes. He was Governor Simcoe's first distinguished guest at Navy Hall, Niagara. With the object of seeing Niagara Falls, he left Quebec on August 12th, 1792, and was met at Oswegatchi (Ogdensburg), on the St Lawrence below Kingston, by a specially prepared barge sent there by Simcoe, in charge of Peter Clark. The barge was rowed to Kingston, where the Duke embarked on the armed schooner Onandaga, which took him to Niagara, where he arrived 21st August, and was welcomed by a royal salute from the fort, and was escorted to Navy Hall as Simcoe's guest. On 23rd he visited the Falls. There was no settlement then, and the shores were lined with unbroken forest. Upon his return from the Falls he dined at Robert Hamilton's, Queenstown. On 26th he left for Kingston on his return to Quebec. Kent House, above Montmorency Falls, •eight miles distant from Quebec, remains as a memorial of his residence in that district. Sent to the West Indies in 1794, while travelling to Boston viâ Lake Champlain, then frozen over, the sleigh containing his personal effects broke through and disappeared for ever. At Boston he had arranged to proceed to Barbadoes in a "not very safe little schooner," when the arrival of the  p310 Roebuck, of six guns, sent for the express purpose from Halifax, afforded him a safer and more expeditious mode of transportation. Fired at by French cruisers, the fast-sailing powers of the Roebuck ran the gauntlet in safety, the Duke reaching his destination in time to be present at the surrender of Fort Bourbon on March 23rd, 1794, and took possession of both gates. On May 10th of that year he reached Halifax, and took command of troops there. In 1796 he was promoted to rank of Lieut.‑General. In 1798 he returned to England; Commander-in‑Chief of forces in British North America, 1799 to 1800, when he returned to England; Governor of Gibraltar, 1802‑3, and made Field-Marshal, 1805.

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