(16 Nov. 1780-12 Dec.1863), soldier. Born in Ireland. James FitzGibbon rose through the ranks in the British Army from common soldier to officer. He came to Canada in 1802 with the 49th regiment, and thereafter lived in Canada for close to half a century. FitzGibbon, who served with energy and distinction in the War of 1812, was appointed captain Oct. 1813 in the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles (the 2nd Glengarry Fencibles), but did not join the unit till Jan. 1814, the unit being at that time stationed at Kingston. He served with the Glengarry Fencibles throughout the remainder of the war, and was with them at the Battle of Lundy’s Lane. When the Glengarry Fencibles were disbanded, 1816, FitzGibbon became a half-pay officer. Thereafter, he held many public offices, including that of clerk of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada. He was active as a soldier on the loyal side in the Rebellion of 1837. Despite a crowded and colourful career he found himself poorly rewarded for his labours and year after year financial troubles pressed hard upon him. In 1847 he left for England, and in 1850 he became a military knight at Windsor Castle. He died at Windsor Castle. In 1814 he was married to Mary Haley. FitzGibbon was a Protestant and a Mason. He spoke the Irish Gaelic.
Not many men from GC appear to have joined the second Glengarry Fencibles. The GC connection with the regiment is largely through (a) the prominent men involved in founding it, including Bishop Alexander Macdonell and Red George Macdonell, (b) the importance of the regiment in spreading the name and fame of GC, and © the ex-soldiers from the regiment who were settled in GC after the war (some of these, like FitzGibbon, were natives of Ireland). FitzGibbon seems to have had no connection with GC except through the regiment, while the regiment itself seems never to have been stationed in GC during his period of association with it. FitzGibbon must have passed through GC a number of times in his busy life and if we wish to speculate it is not difficult to imagine him being among the guests of such prominent Glengarrians as Col. Alexander Fraser at Fraserfield, but there appears in fact to be no surviving evidence of his ever having been in GC. FitzGibbon had, therefore, so far as the really hard evidence goes, rather a marginal GC connection. It may be guessed, however, that in the patronage-ridden society of Upper Canada/Canada West his GC connections were not unimportant either to himself or to humbler people who sought his assistance.
Mary Agnes FitzGibbon, A Veteran of 1812: the Life of James FitzGibbon (1894, repr. 1970) * Enid L. Mallory, The Green Tiger: James FitzGibbon (1976) * Ruth McKenzie, James FitzGibbon: Defender of Upper Canada (1983) and her life of FitzGibbon in Dictionary of Canadian Biography * Winston Johnston, The Glengarry Light Infantry, 1812-1816: Who Were They and What Did They Do in the War? (1998) * Pringle 198-199 (list of officers 2nd Glengarry Fencibles) * 2nd Glengarry Fencibles: GC connection of, MacGillivray & Ross 34 ; settlement of in GC, MacGillivray & Ross 38, MacLean 199-200, Butternuts and Maple Sugar 91-95