NAM.1992-08-306-1

Lieutenant Colonel William Phillips (1731-1781), 1764 (c). Oil on canvas, by Francis Cotes (1726-1770), 1764 (c). Looking commanding here in the uniform of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, William Phillips was described by one contemporary as ‘honest, industrious and irascible’. An able soldier, in 1756 he was appointed aide-de-camp to Sir John Ligonier, Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance (later Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in Germany). With Ligonier’s influence, he advanced over the heads of fellow-officers who had greater seniority. During the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), Phillips was posted to Germany in command of a brigade of British artillery attached to the army of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. His bold and innovative deployment of the artillery made a major contribution to the Allied victories of Minden (1759) and Warburg (1760). On the conclusion of the war, Phillips was posted to Woolwich in command of a company of artillery for a period. It must have been then that he sat to Cotes for this portrait. The papers under the sitter’s right hand relate to his recent service in Germany and are inscribed; 'To/ Granby/ Germany’ and ‘Au Lt Col Phillips/ Commandant de/ l’Artillerie Britt/ Almagne [signed from] Ferdinand Duc de/ Br & L [Brunswick and Luxembourg]. During the American War of Independence (1775-1783), Phillips fought at the Battles of Stillwater and Saratoga (1777). In 1781 he was ordered to Virginia to assume overall command of British troops in that state. He fought a number of successful engagements against the American forces there, but died in May from a ‘putrid’ fever contracted on campaign.

Seven Years War, Europe (1756-1763)