Anne Ammundsen
Anne Ammundsen has been published several times on the Asgill Affair, notably in History Today’s 2011 "Saving Captain Asgill", and with the same title in the 2019 Journal of Lancaster County’s Historical Society. In this latter publication, she reveals the contents of a letter written by Charles Asgill in 1786, in which he chronicles all that happened to him whilst a close prisoner in 1782, awaiting execution for a crime George Washington knew very well he had not committed. Asgill’s letter was not published, as he had intended it to be, and did not surface into the public domain for 233 years. Working with this account enabled Ammundsen to tell a very different story of the Asgill Affair from the one propagated by George Washington himself. Following in the footsteps of Katherine Mayo’s "General Washington’s Dilemma", published in 1938, Ammundsen filled the story out as far as research in the 20th century had been possible. But Ammundsen has had access to a multitude of research resources which has helped her to take Asgill’s life through his various military promotions and exploits throughout his life as a soldier in the First Regiment of Foot Guards (now the Grenadier Guards). She introduces us to his family, his Lord Mayor of London father, his mother and sisters, all of whom suffered dreadfully while awaiting their son’s execution. Lady Asgill, Charles’ mother, took it upon herself to seek help from the French court and Queen Marie Antoinette was very instrumental in saving his life.
His best friends were the Ogle family of Martyr Worthy in Hampshire and he married their beautiful daughter Jemima Sophia Ogle – known as Sophia – when she was 19. They spent nearly 30 years as a happy childless couple, spending most of their time in Dublin, and throughout the turbulent uprisings which occurred during their 15 years spent in Ireland. Interesting developments took place after General Asgill reached retirement years, and after his beloved wife predeceased him he went to live with his mistress, Mary Ann (Goodchild) Mansel, in whose house he eventually died, beside her and their illegitimate son, Charles, who was only 7 years old when his father died.
In his Foreword, Robert P. Tombs, British historian of France, and Professor Emeritus of French History at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of St John's College, writes: "The story of Captain Asgill might have come from the pages of an adventure novel. And he really did figure in an 18th-century play, written in France to honour his mother’s courage. I will certainly not spoil it for the reader by summarizing even the main points of his story. Suffice it to say that George Washington, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI all played important roles. Though Asgill was a young man caught up in great events by chance, his experiences are able to tell us much about the ethics of 18th century warfare, ideas of gallantry and civilized conduct, the complex relationships between the Americans, the British and the French, and the conflict of human emotions with the demands of realpolitik. But his adventures did not end with this early episode".
"That this story can at last be fully told reflects great credit on its author, Anne Ammundsen. She has battled against all the odds to find out the full facts of the adventures of the young officer who happens to be her ancestor, showing a persistence that few historians can match, and detective skills that Scotland Yard might envy in tracking down previously unknown or long forgotten evidence. She has succeeded at last in writing an accessible account that will both benefit scholars and entertain readers".
Anne's late father was a regular British Army officer who fought in the 2nd World War and many conflicts thereafter. Her early working years were with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where she had one overseas posting to Aden in 1967, the year that British Protectorate achieved Independence; though a bloody one. After working a few years in the London Foreign Office, Anne left to become an officer in the Women’s Royal Naval Service, working in various locations in London and the southwestern Naval ports of Britain. Wanderlust eventually made her join the Ministry of Overseas Development through whom she went to the South Pacific Islands of the Solomons, to Guadalcanal, where she worked for the Minister of Finance, Ben Kiniker. A very happy three years there introduced her to her New Zealand Ambassador husband, Graeme, from whence they travelled the world together for a further sixteen years, which included being in Tehran during the American Hostage Crisis, even helping a friend to escape those terrible times wrapped up in a Persian carpet! They are now both retired, in their 80s and well-settled in their Kentish seaside bungalow. Their daughter lives nearby and their son is a Director at Visa’s London office.
