William Neville Gardiner

Lieutenant General William Neville Gardiner was an Anglo-Irish army officer, diplomat, and politician. During a career that spanned the 1760s to 1800s, Gardiner was involved in major historical events including the American Revolution, Partitions of Poland, and unification of Great Britain and Ireland. During the American Revolution he served on the staff of Sir William Howe and later commanded a regiment of his own. In 1792 he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Poland and served in that role until the breakup of the country in 1795. Gardiner returned to Ireland in 1798 and in 1800 sat in the last Parliament of Ireland before the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. His final appointment came in 1805 when he was made the commander-in-chief of the British forces in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Gardiner held this position only briefly and died in Nova Scotia in 1806.