Like his younger brothers
Jacques-Marc (1736–1781) and Jacques (1725–1776), Prevost entered British service as a major in the
60th Regiment of Foot (Royal American Regiment) at the regiment's establishment in 1756. He fought and was wounded during the North American phase of the
Seven Years' War, known in the United States as the '
French and Indian War.' In 1763 he briefly acted as the interim military Governor of
West Florida. After the war, Prevost was posted to the
West Indies, where he served as deputy inspector general at
Kingston, Jamaica. He was promoted to colonel in 1774.
American War of Independence By the summer of 1776, Prevost was in charge of a contingent of the 60th stationed in
St. Augustine, the capital of British
East Florida. In the winter of 1778, following a proposal of
Lord George Germain, Prevost, now a brigadier general, was given orders by General Sir
Henry Clinton to invade
Georgia. Prevost dispatched two units north: one under the command of lieutenant-colonel Lewis V. Fuser and the other under his brother Jacques-Marc. Prevost arrived at
Savannah, Georgia on 17 January 1779 which was protected by British Lieutenant Colonel
Archibald Campbell. Prevost assumed command but also sent the message to General Clinton that he wished to resign, believing that a younger man should take his place. In May 1779, his troops launched an unsuccessful raid against
Charles Town, South Carolina, and looted the countryside during their retreat. The major engagement of the affair was the
Battle of Stono Creek, a British victory. In September 1779, Brigadier General
George Garth was sent to replace him, travelling from New York on
HMS Experiment. Garth was, however, captured before he could reach Savannah and Prevost remained to defend the town from a combined French and
Continental force in an action that came to be known as the
siege of Savannah. Prevost retired to England in 1780. He died in
East Barnet, London on 5 or 6 May 1786. ==Personal life==