Charles John Forbes

Charles John Forbes (February 10, 1786 – September 22, 1862) was an official in the British Army and political figure in Canada East.

He was born in Gosport, Hampshire, England in 1786 and studied at College of Altona, then in Denmark, now in Germany. In 1805, he joined the Commissariat Department of the British Army. Forbes served in the Mediterranean region, in the Peninsular War and at the Battle of New Orleans. He retired from the army in 1817 but returned to the Commissariat in 1824 and was sent to Nova Scotia. He then served at Montreal, during which time he purchased land near Carillon in Lower Canada, and in Jamaica. After becoming ill, he retired again in 1836 and returned to his property at Carillon. During the Lower Canada Rebellion, Forbes organized and led a group of volunteers who helped put down the rebels at Saint-Benoît in the Lac des Deux Montagnes region. In 1837, he was named a magistrate. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Deux-Montagnes in an 1842 by-election after the death of Colin Robertson.

He died at Carillon in 1862.