Peter Hunter

Who was Peter Hunter?

Lieutenant-General Peter Hunter was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. He was eldest son to John Hunter laird of Knapp and Euphemia Jack of Longforgan, Perthshire, Scotland.

In 1767 he entered the British Army by purchasing an Ensign's commission in the 1st Foot. He rose to Lieutenant in 1770 and served in Minorca from 1771 to 1775 being promoted to Captain on the regiment's return to England. He became a Major in the 92nd Foot in 1779 and went to the West Indies where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, transferring to the 60th Foot in 1781.

His unit was posted to Nova Scotia in 1786 and he assumed command of the battalion in 1787.

In 1789 Hunter, after leave in England, was appointed temporary superintendent of British Honduras holding that position until 1791 and was said to have administered the new colony in an authoritarian manner. He returned to England in 1793 and was given the rank of Colonel serving in Europe and then the Caribbean before becoming a military governor in County Wexford, Ireland following the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

On 10 April 1799 Hunter was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, succeeding John Graves Simcoe. He was also made commander of military forces in both Upper and Lower Canada with the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1802. He became Colonel of the 9th Foot in 1804.