b. 1817-04-26
d. 1887-12-05
Richard Bickerton Pemell Lyons was a diplomat and the British minister at
Washington during the
San Juan Island Dispute, in which British North America and the United States vied for control of
the island after an American shot a Hudson's Bay Company farmer's pig. Lyons played a key role in the conflict: transmitting information about
Washington's position to the colonial authorities, protesting the military occupation of the
island by the American Army, and negotiating with various American military authorities.
On
12 May 1859, Lyons sent a letter to
Lewis Cass, U.S. Secretary of State, beseeching the government of both nations to
enter into direct communication with each other for the settlement of a question which
very closely affects the good understanding between them.
He implored the Americans to discontinue settlement and not resolve the issue using
violence. The commander of the troops occupying
San Juan changed frequently, and Lyons provided intelligence on the comings and goings of
these officers. During the conflict, Lyons had authorization to deploy troops. In a
December 1859 despatch to
Newcastle,
James Douglas assured the Secretary of State for the Colonies that
without instructions from your Grace or from Lord Lyons, no [British] troops are to
be landed on the Island.
San Juan Island remained in contention until
1872 when
Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany brokered peace.
On
1 May 1863, Lyons relayed a message from American Secretary of State
W. H. Seward containing reports of an attempt in
Victoria to fit out the ship
Thames City to act as a privateer for the confederacy. When it was brought to his attention,
James Douglas refuted these claims, saying that they were not corroborated and that the
Thames City is moreover notoriously unfit for warlike purposes, and is hardly equal in speed or
power to any ordinary Merchant ship.
Born in Lymington, Hampshire,
26 April 1817, Lyons was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and received an MA in
1843. During his education, he worked in the diplomatic service as an unpaid attaché. In
1844, he was given a paid position and sent to Dresden. In
December 1858, he became British minister at
Washington. Lyons feared American aggression against Britain and that the British North American
colonies would be a target for annexation. In
1861, he distinguished himself by his firmness and tact in dealing with the Trent affair.
Politicians from the southern states were travelling to England aboard a British mail
steamer, the
Trent, when it was intercepted by a vessel of the northern states. Lyons managed to diffuse
the situation, preventing war between Britain and The United States.
After leaving
Washington in
1865 due to poor health, Lyons served as ambassador to France for
twenty years. He retired in
October of 1887, converted to Roman Catholicism in November, and died less than a month later.
- 1. The Pig War, National Historical Park Washington; Bernard Sasso Richard Bickerton Pemell, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- 2. Douglas to Lytton, 1 August 1859, 6387, 9569, CO 305/11, 1; Hammond to Merrivale, 30 September 1859, 9774, CO 305/12, 287.
- 3. Enclosure in Hammond to Merivale, 2 June 1859, 5743, CO 305/12, 177.
- 4. Ibid.
- 5. Douglas to Newcastle, 15 December 1859, 1543, CO 305/11, 299.
- 6. Hammond to Rogers, 1 May 1863, 4315, CO 305/21, 105.
- 7. Douglas to Newcastle, 22 July 1863, 8617, CO 305/20, 265.
- 8. Bernard Sasso Richard Bickerton Pemell, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- 9. Ibid.
- 10. Ibid.
- 11. Ibid.