George Sackville Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville

George Sackville Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville (1716-85), British soldier and statesman, son of Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st duke of Dorset, educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He became an officer in the British army and served with distinction in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48). As a major general during the Seven Years' War (1756-63), he commanded an unsuccessful attack on Saint-Malo, France (1758). In the following year, at the Battle of Minden, he refused the orders of his commander to lead a cavalry charge that would have ensured a decisive allied victory. He was court-martialed in 1760 and was dismissed from the military service. Known after 1770 as Lord George Germain, he served as colonial secretary under Lord North from 1775 to 1782. In this capacity he was directly responsible for the conduct of British policy during the American Revolution and was blamed for the failure of the Saratoga campaign (1777).