General Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet, GCH (6 April 1762 – 23 July 1823) was a career soldier in the British Army.

A captain of the Monmouth Militia and privateer, Joshua Huddy, was captured in the village of Toms River, New Jersey and taken to a prison in New York.

Under the auspices of a prisoner exchange, Richard Lippincott took Huddy from British custody and had him hanged,[9] by order of William Franklin.

[12][13] New Jersey militia protested; to avoid further outbreaks of violence George Washington ordered Moses Hazen to select by lot a British officer likewise to be executed.

May, directed to Brigadier General Hazen, Commanding at this Post, ordering him, to send a British Captain, taken at York-town, by Capitulation, with My Lord Cornwallis, Prisoner to Philadelphia, where 'tis said he is to suffer an ignominious Death, in the room of Capt.

Initially he was housed in the home of Colonel Elias Dayton, who commanded the Jersey Line, who treated Asgill well, especially when he became too ill to be moved.

[24] Although the British court martialled Lippincott for Huddy's execution, he was found not guilty on the grounds that he was acting on orders from William Franklin.

[30] After several days of debate,[31] on 7 November, "as a compliment to the King of France",[19] Congress passed an Act releasing Asgill.

[32][33] A week later Washington wrote a letter to Asgill,[34] which he did not receive until 17 November 1782, enclosing a passport for him to return home on parole.

[35] Four years after the events of 1782, news reached Washington that Asgill was apparently spreading rumours of ill-treatment whilst in custody in America.

[40] When Asgill read the account, he wrote to the editor on 20 December 1786, denying that he had spread rumours, and detailing his mistreatment while in captivity.

[17][41] Peter Henriques writes that the Asgill Affair "could have left an ugly blot on George Washington's reputation", calling it "a blip that reminds us even the greatest of men make mistakes".

[43] On 15 September 1788 he inherited the Asgill baronetcy upon the death of his father,[44] and on 3 March 1790 he was promoted to command a company in the 1st Foot Guards,[45] with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

[46] In 1801, before being appointed to the garrison in Dublin, Asgill found himself defending the right of Henry Ellis (in the neighbourhood of Kilkenny) to be properly remunerated for the invaluable intelligence he had provided during the rebellion.

[62] Asgill, having established a second battalion of the 11th Regiment of Foot, had to pay to equip his men out of his own pocket – he then experienced difficulty receiving a refund from the Treasury.

[63] Asgill received a letter from the Duke of York, on 3 January 1812, telling him that on account of Lieutenant General Sir John Hope's appointment to the Command of the Forces in Ireland, that "you will unavoidably be discontinued on the staff of the Army.

"[64] Asgill was almost 50 years old at the time, and explains, in his reply to Colonel John McMahon, Private Secretary to the Prince Regent: "I shall for the first time in my life return to England with a reduced income, and without any employment, which is not very pleasant to my feelings after an uninterrupted service of thirty four years, fifteen of which have been spent on the Staff of Ireland.

[67] On 28 August 1790 Asgill married Jemima Sophia (1770-1819), sixth daughter of Admiral Sir Chaloner Ogle, 1st Baronet.