Francis Legge

Francis Legge ( – 15 May 1783) was a British military officer and colonial official in Nova Scotia during the 18th century. He served as governor of Nova Scotia from 1772 to 1776. During the American Revolution, Legge raised the Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment.

Legge had served in the territory during the Seven Years' War "without distinction or promotion". However, Legge happened to be a relative of the Earl of Dartmouth.

Major Legge was appointed vice-roy of Nova Scotia by Colonial Secretary William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth in 1773. He arrived in Halifax on the Adamant on 6 October 1773 with orders to determine what were the financial difficulties in Nova Scotia and cure them. He proceeded to cut unnecessary expenses and tried to keep the province loyal to Britain. According to one account:

Governor Legge's residence (built 1749). (Located on the site of Province House, which still is furnished with his Nova Scotia Council table)

Legge's actions, particularly an attempt to audit the province's accounts, earned him a growing number of opponents among the local merchant oligarchy and turned both the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly against him, and open rebellion broke out against Legge in the south of the province. The new Colonial Secretary, Lord George Germain, was concerned that "the Province will be lost, utterly lost" due to Legge's actions in alienating Nova Scotians and possibly losing the province to the rebellious colonies during the American Revolution. A decision was made to replace him with a more conciliatory administrator, Mariot Arbuthnot.

In 1775, Legge was granted permission to form the Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment of which he became the colonel. Because of his unpopularity, very few men were willing to be recruited, and the unit languished until the later years of the war. He remained colonel in absentia until 1782.