Enrique (Henry) White was born in
Dublin, Ireland. He later immigrated to Spain, where he served the
Spanish Crown from age 22 until his death. The young man joined the
Spanish Royal Army, eventually rising to the rank of
colonel. In 1779 he was appointed commander of the third battalion of the
Louisiana Infantry
Regiment, with the title
Sargento Mayor (Sergeant Major). serving several times in that capacity, and eventually attained the rank of
brigadier. On May 15, 1793, White was appointed acting Governor of
West Florida, and remained in the position until June 1795. White was appointed Governor of
East Florida in the spring of 1796, and arrived in its capital,
Saint Augustine, on June 5. He assumed his duties on June 20. Construction of the
cathedral of St. Augustine, initiated by his predecessor
Bartolomé Morales, was completed the next year in 1797. It was in January 1797 that Governor White received news that Spain was at war with England (
Anglo-Spanish War). This conflict would last until 1802 and was part of the larger
Napoleonic Wars in Europe. New construction was encouraged in St. Augustine during White's governorship, with numerous new houses being built. The military preparedness of the city and its fortifications were strengthened. The
garrison's morale improved as well with better conditions. White was very strict in granting the concession of lands from the public domain, and often enforced the laws more rigorously than the legal code itself would allow. In 1799, English
corsairs took
Amelia Island along the much contested Florida-Georgia border. Officials in Georgia's
Camden County corresponded with White whenever American fugitives crossed the southern border fleeing the law. == Illness and death ==