Lieutenant-General James Robertson (1717 – 4 March 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial official who served as the 40th Governor of New York from 1779 to 1783.
Robertson was born in Newbigging, Fife, Scotland where he was baptized on 29 June 1717.
[4] After his service in the French and Indian War, he was influential in getting Parliament to establish the Quartering Act of 1765,[5] which also gave Robertson the role of Barrackmaster General for the colonies, making him responsible for 27 barrackmasters from Saint Augustine to Louisbourg, Nova Scotia and Detroit, Michigan.
[4] He was instrumental in fighting and stopping the Great Fire in 1776, which destroyed 500 homes and about 1/4 of Manhattan in September 1776.
[9] Leaving for England, Robertson was replaced as commandant of New York City by Major General James Pattison, and as governor by Lt. Gov.