James FitzGibbon was a rarity in the class-conscious British Army of the late 1700s and early 1800s. He was a man who rose from the lowly rank of private soldier to the exalted rank of Colonel. He did it through a combination of luck, intelligence, hard work, determination, and sheer physical presence.

Born in 1780 in Glin, on the south bank of the River Shannon in County Limerick, Ireland, FitzGibbon was the second son of Gerald FitzGibbon, a freehold farmer. As a young boy, James was a voracious reader, reading any book he could find in any time he could spare. There is a story that the parish priest found him reading a New Testament he had bought from a pedlar. The priest and the boy had an argument that the boy won, but then lost, because the priest confiscated the book. This would not be the last time that speaking up got him into trouble.

When James was fifteen, his father enrolled himself, his eldest son John, and James in the local militia in response to a call to arms to defend Ireland against an invasion by the French. Always quick to learn, James was quickly promoted to sergeant because of his ability to drill the men. After three years, he was persuaded to join the Tarbert Fencibles and was shipped with them to England to replace a regular unit on garrison duty. Although he had promised his mother faithfully that he would not join the regular army, he thought that he would be considered a coward if he refused when asked. So, at the age of eighteen, he found himself a sergeant in the 49th Regiment of Foot.

With the 49th, he arrived in Canada in 1802 and stayed for forty-five years. His good luck was that his commanding officer was Isaac Brock, then the senior Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment. Brock thought highly of FitzGibbon and taught him how to be a "gentleman". Brock had him promoted to Sergeant Major, and, in 1806, succeeded in getting FitzGibbon a commission as ensign. In 1809, FitzGibbon became a Lieutenant.

After the war started in 1812, Lt. FitzGibbon distinguished himself by escorting supply bateaux down the St Lawrence River under the noses of the Americans, and, the following winter, by escorting 45 sleighs from Montreal to Kingston. He took part in the Battle of Stoney Creek as a company commander.

After Stoney Creek, he formed a unit of 50 volunteers from the 49th as a quasi-Ranger unit to disrupt American communications and harass the groups of renegades who were looting and burning farms. The 49th Regiment was known as the Green Tigers for the green facing on their coats; FitzGibbon's men were known as FitzGibbon's Green'uns or the Bloody Boys. They were dressed in grey fustian jackets to cover their red coats, and were trained to move silently and invisibly through the woods.

The success of the Bloody Boys led to their, and FitzGibbon's, greatest triumph. The Americans, frustrated by FitzGibbon's activities, determined to take him out of action. They sent an expedition to attack FitzGibbon at his headquarters at the DeCew house near DeCew Falls. With the help of Laura Secord and bands of Iroquois under Joseph Brant, Dominique Ducharme, and William Kerr, FitzGibbon bluffed the Americans into surrendering at the Battle of Beaver Dams. FitzGibbon became a hero that day and as a result was promoted captain in the Glengarry Fencibles until the end of the war. He became a Lieutenant Colonel of Militia in 1821 and a Colonel in 1826.

After the war, he began his public service, becoming clerk in the office of the Adjutant-General of Militia for Canada, Assistant Adjutant-General, then, in 1827, clerk of the Upper House of Assembly. He was used on many occasions to restore order when Irish immigrants went on a rant. FitzGibbon used the same talent to break up a riot outside William Lyon Mackenzie's printing house in 1832.

In the rebellion of 1837, FitzGibbon tried to get the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Francis Bond Head, a stubborn and malicious nincompoop, to take action but could not persuade him to do so. So FitzGibbon took action on his own initiative, irritating Head in the process. Finally Head seemed to recognize the urgency, appointing FitzGibbon acting Adjutant-General of Militia. FitzGibbon then irritated Head further by posting a unit of militia on Yonge Street. It was fortunate that he did, because the unit intercepted a rebel force that was marching into Toronto and dispersed it.

Finally Head decided to take action against the rebels, appointing Allan MacNab to lead it, to the annoyance of FitzGibbon, who was senior to MacNab. MacNab persuaded Head to allow FitzGibbon the command, and FitzGibbon led his troops up Yonge Street to rout the rebellion. FitzGibbon then resigned as Adjutant-General of Militia to protest his treatment by Head.

The rest of FitzGibbon's life was downhill from there. He never received the compensation he deserved from the people of Canada and, after the death of his wife in 1847, returned to Britain and became a Military Knight at Windsor Castle, a kind of retirement home for old heroes. He died in 1863 and was buried at Windsor Castle, still thinking of Canada.