SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF THE
FIRST, or ROYAL REGIMENT of FOOT.
Sir John Hepburn,
Appointed 26th January, 1633.
John Hepburn[144] descended from the Hepburns of Bothwell, an ancient and distinguished family, which for many ages had extensive possessions in East Lothian. His father was proprietor of the lands of Althestaneford, and gave young Hepburn a liberal education. From his earliest youth he was remarkable for spirit and resolution. When he quitted college he made the tour of part of Europe (in 1615), and the rising fame of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, of whose character he heard frequent commendations, gave birth to a spark of military ardour within his breast which was never extinguished till his death. Soon after his return from his travels, when the attempt was made to rescue Bohemia from the power of Austria, he engaged in the cause of liberty, and commanded a company of foot at several sieges and actions in Bohemia, Alsace, and Germany, and at the battle near Fleurus. When the King of Bohemia's forces were disbanded, he entered the service of the Swedish monarch. In his first essay in arms he displayed an ardour which procured him the favour and approbation of Gustavus, whose vigilant eye soon detected in this aspiring youth all the qualities requisite to constitute an excellent soldier. After a short service in the subordinate commissions he was quickly advanced to the command of a regiment, and was employed in services which required a considerable portion of skill and valour. He was invariably either at the head of his regiment, or at the head of the brigade of which his regiment formed part, and, as his regiment was incorporated into a Scots corps in the French service, now the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot, his services are set forth in the historical record of this corps, where his name will be found associated with deeds of valour and heroism of particular brilliancy. He appears to have been celebrated equally for bravery, skill, and humanity: he was beloved and esteemed by Gustavus Adolphus, and also by his companions in arms, both officers and soldiers; and his presence inspired confidence in the ranks of the brave Scots who fought under his command.[145]
That innate spirit and fire which constituted a part of his character, rendered him incapable of brooking even an imaginary injury; and Gustavus Adolphus, who was equally remarkable for the fiery temperament of his constitution, having uttered one or two sharp expressions to the brave Scottish warrior, he declared he would never more unsheath his sword in the Swedish quarrel. The king is said to have placed more confidence in this officer than in any other colonel in the Swedish army; and some days before their disagreement his Majesty had appointed him to the command of half the infantry in the camp at Nuremberg. The king afterwards made several condescensions to Hepburn, and appeared particularly desirous of retaining this valuable officer in his service; but the Scottish hero was inflexible, and he quitted the Swedish army in 1632. On his arrival at the British court, his fame having preceded him, he was knighted. He soon afterwards tendered his services to the king of France, who was too well acquainted with the character, capabilities, and experience of this renowned Scot, not to give him employment, and he was placed at the head of a regiment, constituted of some new levies and old Scots companies in the French service, now the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot, in the British line. His commission was dated the 26th of January, 1633; and at the head of this corps he distinguished himself in Alsace and Germany, and had the satisfaction of seeing many of the veterans of his former regiment incorporated in his new corps. He commanded a division of the French army on the Rhine, and was on the point of being advanced to the dignity of a Marshal of France; but he was killed at the siege of Saverne, before the diploma reached him. Thus terminated the career of one of the best officers Scotland ever produced. He was known in France by the title of the Chevalier Hebron; and such was the fame of his gallantry, that, although he was killed in the reign of Louis XIII., a monument was erected to his memory some years afterwards by Louis XIV., in the cathedral of Toul. A contemporary historian (Lithgow) states "he was one of the best soldiers in Christendom, and, consequently, in the world."
James Hepburn,
Appointed 26th August, 1636.
This officer was cousin to Sir John Hepburn, and heir apparent of the ancient house of Wachton. He was one of the gallant Scots, who, led by a native ardour for military fame, sought renown in foreign lands, and fought under the great Gustavus Adolphus in the glorious attempt made by that monarch to rescue the Protestant princes of Germany from the power of the emperor. In toils, dangers, and triumphs, he was the companion of Sir John Hepburn. He rose to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel in the Swedish army; and having transferred his services to the crown of France, he succeeded Sir John Hepburn in the Colonelcy of the Scots corps, now the Royal Regiment. He was killed in action in Lorraine a few months afterwards; but the particular circumstances connected with his fall have not been ascertained.
Lord James Douglas,
Appointed in 1637.
Lord James Douglas, second son of William, first Marquis of Douglas, acquired celebrity in the wars between the house of Austria and the Protestant league, and distinguished himself in France, Flanders, Italy, and Germany. He obtained the Colonelcy of the Scots corps, now the Royal Regiment of Foot, in 1637; and was killed while in the command of a flying camp between Douay and Arras in October, 1655. A monument was erected to his memory in the church of St. Germain de Prez, at Paris, with an inscription in Latin.
Lord George Douglas,
Appointed 21st October, 1655.
Lord George Douglas was the son of William, first Marquis of Douglas, by his second wife Mary, daughter of George, first Marquis of Huntly. In his youth he was page of honour to Louis XIV. Having made choice of the profession of arms, he entered the service of the king of France, and succeeded his brother in the Colonelcy of the Scots Regiment, now the Royal Regiment, in the British line. In 1672 he served with the French army in the Netherlands, and was attached to the division commanded by Marshal Turenne. He afterwards served several campaigns with the French army on the Rhine; highly distinguished himself in the defence of Treves, and was promoted to the rank of Major-General in France. He was created Earl of Dumbarton on the 9th of March, 1675.
In the early part of the reign of King James II. the Earl of Dumbarton was Commander-in-Chief in Scotland; and he commanded the troops which suppressed the rebellion of the Earl of Argyle in the summer of 1685. He was subsequently elected a Knight Companion of the Order of the Thistle. He held the rank of Lieut.-General in England, and was second in command of the army encamped on Hounslow Heath in 1687 and 1688. At the Revolution he adhered to King James II., whom he followed to France, where he died in 1692.
Frederick Duke Schomberg,
Appointed 31st December, 1688.
Frederick de Schomberg descended from an ancient and noble family of that name of the Palatinate, or Lower Rhine; and, during the struggle made by the Protestant states of Europe against the power of Austria and Spain, he served under Frederick Henry Prince of Orange, after whose death he engaged in the service of the King of France.
Portugal, after having been subject to Spain many years, asserted its independence in 1640; and a sanguinary war commenced between the two kingdoms. The Spaniards had penetrated into the heart of Portugal, and were anticipating its speedy subjugation, when Louis XIV. sent General de Schomberg secretly to the aid of the house of Braganza. He was already famous for his successful defence of Bourbourg against two powerful armies, and for his conduct in the wars in Rouissillon; and, when placed at the head of the Portuguese forces, his name at once aroused the desponding adherents of the Braganza family, and inspired them with new hopes and new expectations. While his presence infused courage into the army, his discretion, for which he was always remarkable, directed its energies to advantage; towns were taken, battles were won, and finally a powerful army headed by Don John of Austria was defeated, and the Spanish monarch forced, in 1668, to acknowledge the independence of Portugal, and to conclude a peace with the house of Braganza. His success excited the surprise of Europe, and his achievements were celebrated by poets and orators in several languages.[146]
After his success in Portugal he commanded a French force against the Spaniards in Catalonia; and his merits became so conspicuous, that in 1675 he was promoted by Louis XIV. to the dignity of a marshal of France. He subsequently commanded the French army in the Netherlands, and in 1676 he forced the Prince of Orange to raise the siege of Maestricht. In a few years afterwards the king of France endeavoured to suppress the Protestant religion in his kingdom, when Marshal de Schomberg, refusing to become a papist, his services appear to have been, to a certain extent, forgotten. Various means had formerly been used, and prospects of advancement to the highest honours held out, to induce him to change his religion, but in vain; and he now obtained liberty to quit France on condition of his proceeding to Portugal. Soon afterwards he obtained permission to proceed to Germany; and the emperor designed to have placed this distinguished veteran at the head of his armies, but was prevented by the influence of the Jesuits. The Elector of Brandenburg availed himself of the services of Marshal de Schomberg, and appointed him a minister of state, and Generalissimo of Prussia.
When William Prince of Orange (afterwards William III.) was preparing an army for a descent on Britain, to oppose the proceedings of James II., his Highness was desirous of obtaining the services of Marshal de Schomberg, who was considered one of the greatest captains of his time, and, being devoted to the Protestant interest, he consented to accompany the Prince. The success which attended this enterprise enabled his Highness to reward the veteran commander, who was appointed Colonel of the Royal Regiment, and Master-General of the Ordnance. He was also constituted a Knight of the Garter, and created Baron of Teyes, Earl of Brentford, Marquis of Harwich, and Duke Schomberg. During the summer of 1689 he was sent Commander-in-Chief to Ireland to relieve the persecuted Protestants, and to rescue that kingdom from the power of King James; and he was killed at the battle of the Boyne, in July, 1690, while gallantly advancing with a regiment of foot to charge the enemy. Thus terminated the life of this distinguished veteran in the 84th year of his age. He was buried at St. Patrick's, Dublin, where a stone with an inscription was placed over his tomb by the Dean and Chapter of the church.
Sir Robert Douglas,
Appointed 5th March, 1691.
Amongst the many officers which Scotland has produced, who have signalized themselves in war, few have evinced brighter military virtues than the brave Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie. He was second cousin to the Earl of Dumbarton; he served many years in the Royal Regiment, in which he rose to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel; and he was known as a brave and generous aspirant to military fame, when King William III. promoted him to the Colonelcy of the Regiment. Bright prospects of future glory were before him. He had already given astonishing proofs of personal bravery at the battle of Steenkirk, when he saw one of the colours of his regiment in the hands of the French. He instantly rushed forward into the thickest of the enemy's ranks, and rescued the colour at the expense of his life, as more fully detailed in the historical record of the Royal Regiment. He lived beloved and admired, and fell regretted by his sovereign and country, but more particularly by the officers and men of his regiment, with whom he had served in various parts of the world, and in whose breasts his memory was cherished with particular tenderness. By his fall he purchased a renown which more fortunate commanders have failed to acquire; and the story of his gallantry will survive to the remotest ages.
Lord George Hamilton,
Appointed 1st August, 1692.
Lord George Hamilton, fifth son of William Duke of Hamilton, was an officer in the Royal Regiment in the reign of Charles II., and also of James II.,[147] and, adhering to the Protestant interest at the Revolution in 1688, he was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel, and on the 1st of March, 1690, to the brevet rank of Colonel. He served under King William III. in Ireland, and distinguished himself at the battle of the Boyne; and in 1691 he was at the siege of Athlone, at the battle of Aghrim, and at the capture of Limerick. In January, 1692, he was appointed Colonel of the 7th Royal Fusiliers, at the head of which corps he distinguished himself at the battle of Steenkirk, and his gallantry was rewarded with the Colonelcy of the Royal Regiment. Continuing to serve under King William in the Netherlands, he distinguished himself in 1693 at the unfortunate battle of Landen, and in 1695 at the siege and capture of Namur, and while engaged in this service he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General. On the 3rd of January, 1696, he was advanced to the peerage by the title of Baron Dechmont, Viscount of Kirkwall, and Earl of Orkney; and in March, 1702, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General. He served the campaign of this year under the Earl of Marlborough, and was engaged in the siege of Stevenswart. He commanded a brigade of infantry during the campaign of 1703, was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General, and invested with the Order of the Thistle in 1704; and, having proceeded with the army into the heart of Germany, took part in gaining the glorious victories of Schellenberg and Blenheim. In 1705 he distinguished himself at the siege and capture of Huy; and in the following year at the battle of Ramilies, and the siege of Menin. He also took a distinguished part in the battle of Oudenarde; in covering the siege of Lisle; and in forcing the passage of the Scheldt in 1708. In 1709 he distinguished himself in the movements which preceded and led to the battle of Malplaquet, and during this hard contested action he signalized himself at the head of fifteen battalions of infantry. He also signalized himself at the siege of Douay in 1710; and in the beginning of the following year he was promoted to the rank of General. He was also engaged in passing the French lines in 1711, and commanded twenty battalions of infantry at the siege of Bouchain.
On these occasions the Earl of Orkney had evinced personal bravery and military talents of a superior character. At the close of the war he was a member of the Privy Council, and Governor of Edinburgh Castle. On the accession of George I. he was appointed one of the Lords of the Bedchamber to His Majesty, and Governor of Virginia; and in January, 1736, he was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. He was many years one of the sixteen representatives of the Scottish peerage, and died in January, 1737.
Honourable James St. Clair,
Appointed 27th June, 1737.
This officer entered the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and had the honour of serving under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough. He was several years in the 3rd Foot Guards; and in 1722 he obtained the brevet rank of Colonel. In October, 1734, King George II. appointed him Colonel of the 22nd Foot; and in 1737 promoted him to the Colonelcy of the Royal Regiment. He obtained the rank of Brigadier-General in 1739, that of Major-General in 1741, and Lieut.-General in June, 1745, at which time he was performing the duty of Quarter-Master General to the army in the Netherlands, commanded by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland. In the following year he commanded an expedition which was originally designed for an attack on the French settlements in Canada; but was countermanded, and afterwards made an attack on the French sea-port L'Orient, and on the peninsula of Quiberon.[148] He was subsequently employed on an embassy to the courts of Vienna and Turin.[149] On the decease of his brother in 1750, he became entitled to the dignity of Lord Sinclair, a Scottish peerage; but he preferred a seat in the House of Commons, of which he had been many years a member, and he therefore did not assume the title. He was promoted to the rank of General in 1761, and died at Dysart in November, 1762.
Sir Henry Erskine, Bart.,
Appointed 17th December, 1762.
Sir Henry Erskine was an officer of the Royal Regiment, in which corps he was appointed Captain on the 12th March, 1743; in April, 1746, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel, and held the appointment of Deputy Quarter-Master General to the expedition under Lieut.-General St. Clair, which made a descent on the French coast, in which service he was wounded. In June, 1759, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General; and in October, 1760, he obtained the Colonelcy of the 67th regiment, from which he was removed in 1761 to the 25th Regiment, and in 1762 to the Colonelcy of the Royals. He was a Member of Parliament, and Secretary to the Order of the Thistle, and died in August, 1765.
John Marquis of Lorne,
Appointed 11th September, 1765.
John Campbell entered the army in the reign of King George II., and was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the 54th Regiment, now the 43rd Light Infantry, on the 25th of April, 1745, and served a short time on the Continent. The rebellion breaking out in Scotland in the same year, he quitted the Netherlands, and joined General Hawley with 1000 Argyleshire highlanders in January, 1746, on the day of the unfortunate battle of Falkirk. He subsequently joined the Duke of Cumberland at Perth, and accompanied his Royal Highness to the north. In November, 1755, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and appointed Aide-de-camp to the King. In the following month he obtained the Colonelcy of the 54th Regiment, then first embodied, from which he was removed in April, 1757, to the 14th Dragoons, and two years afterwards he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and appointed Colonel of the Argyleshire Fencibles. In January, 1761, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General. On the decease of his uncle, Archibald, third Duke of Argyle, in 1761, his father, General John Campbell, of the Scots Greys, succeeded to that title, and Lieut.-General Campbell of the 14th Dragoons obtained the designation of Marquis of Lorne. In 1762 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, and in 1765 he obtained the Colonelcy of the Royal Regiment of Foot. He was again appointed Commander-in-Chief in Scotland in 1767, and in 1770 he succeeded to the title of Duke of Argyle. In March, 1778, he was promoted to the rank of General; four years afterwards he was removed from the Royals to the 3rd Foot Guards, and he was advanced to the rank of Field Marshal in 1796. The many virtues for which his Grace was distinguished occasioned him to be highly honoured and respected in society; and he died lamented on the 24th of May, 1806, in the 83rd year of his age.
Lord Adam Gordon,
Appointed 9th May, 1782.
Lord Adam Gordon, fourth son of Alexander second Duke of Gordon, was appointed Captain in the 18th Royal Irish Regiment of Foot on the 12th of December, 1746, and Captain and Lieut.-Colonel in the Third Foot Guards on the 2nd of January, 1756. In 1758 he proceeded with the expedition under General Bligh against the French coast; was at the capture of Cherbourg, and the descent on the coast of Brittany, and distinguished himself at the head of his company while bringing up the rear of the army when attacked by the enemy during the embarkation at St. Cass. He was promoted to the Colonelcy of the 66th Regiment in January, 1763, and subsequently held a command in North America. In May, 1772, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General; in December, 1775, he was removed to the 26th Cameronians; and in the following year he rose to the rank of Lieut.-General. He was appointed Governor of Tynemouth Castle in 1778; was removed to the Royal Regiment in 1782; and appointed Commander-in-Chief in Scotland in 1789. He was further promoted to the rank of General in 1793, and in 1796 he was appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle. He was several years a Member of Parliament, but vacated his seat in 1788. He prided himself much on being Colonel of the Royal Regiment, and took particular interest in everything connected with the corps. His decease took place in August, 1801.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent,
Appointed 21st August, 1801.
During the early part of this century the Royal Regiment of Foot had the honour of being commanded by a Prince who was distinguished alike for his social and military virtues,—namely, Field Marshal His Royal Highness Edward Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the father of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen Victoria.
Prince Edward, fourth son of His Majesty King George III., was born on the 2nd of November, 1767. In the eighteenth year of his age he proceeded to Germany for the completion of his studies, and resided successively at Lunenburg and Hanover, and was appointed, on the 30th of May, 1786, Colonel of the Hanoverian Guards. During the succeeding year he removed to Geneva, and while pursuing his studies at this place, His Majesty conferred upon him the Colonelcy of the 7th Royal Fusiliers. Early in 1790 he returned to England; and after passing a few days with his family he embarked, in obedience to the King's command, for Gibraltar, in order to acquire a knowledge of garrison duty under Major-General O'Hara. While at Gibraltar he commanded for several months the 2nd, or Queen's Regiment, until the arrival of the 7th Royal Fusiliers, as a reinforcement to the garrison, in August, 1790. In 1791 he sailed with his regiment from Gibraltar for Quebec; and while serving in Canada he was promoted to the rank of Major-General. From North America he proceeded, during the winter of 1793-4, through the United States to Boston, where he embarked for the West Indies, and joined the army under General Sir Charles Grey, at the commencement of the siege of Fort Bourbon, in the island of Martinique, and commanded the detached camp at La Coste, above Point à Petre. During the several attacks His Royal Highness's conduct excited the admiration of the army: his life was frequently exposed to the most imminent peril; and his aides-de-camp, Captain, afterwards General Sir Frederick, Wetherall, and Lieutenant Vesey, were wounded near his Royal Highness's person.[150] In compliment to the gallantry evinced by His Royal Highness on this occasion, the lower fort, called Fort Royal, was subsequently named Fort Edward.
After the capture of Martinique, the army proceeded to St. Lucie; and His Royal Highness commanded the grenadier brigade, which, in conjunction with the light infantry brigade, under Major-General Thomas Dundas, formed the storming-party which carried Morne Fortuné. From St. Lucie the army proceeded to the island of Guadaloupe; and the flank companies were detached under Prince Edward and Major-General Dundas, who succeeded in gaining possession of Morne Marscot and Fleur D'Epée, commanding Point à Petre. His conduct again excited admiration, and His Royal Highness received the thanks of Parliament. After the capture of the French West India Islands[151], His Royal Highness returned to North America, and was shortly afterwards appointed Commander of the Forces in Nova Scotia and its dependencies. On the 12th of January, 1796, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General; and, having returned to England on account of ill health, he was created, on the 23rd of April, 1799, Earl of Dublin, in Ireland, and Duke of Kent and Strathearn, in Great Britain; in the following month he was promoted to the rank of General, and appointed Commander-in-Chief of all the forces in British North America. On his return to North America his arrival was greeted by all ranks; and during his stay in that country he introduced numerous improvements in the system of conducting public business. In August, 1800, His Royal Highness returned to England; and in the following year he was appointed to the Colonelcy of the Royal Regiment of Foot. In 1802 he was appointed Governor of the important fortress of Gibraltar, whither he immediately proceeded; and while attempting to effect the removal of several long-existing abuses and irregularities, His Royal Highness experienced that opposition which has attended every attempt to remedy evils, when the private interests and privileges of individuals are concerned. The Duke of Kent returned in 1803 to England, where he continued to reside upwards of fifteen years. He was promoted to the rank of Field-Marshal on the 5th of September, 1805; he was also elected a Knight of the Garter; constituted a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath; and appointed Keeper and Ranger of Hampton Court Park.
During the period His Royal Highness resided in England the Royal Regiment of Foot experienced the advantage of his constant care and anxiety for its interests, and of his influence in the kingdom. It was recruited with facility, and he had the satisfaction of having four battalions on foreign service, amounting to 5000 men, at the same time in three different quarters of the globe. The attachment of His Royal Highness to his corps was evinced on all occasions, and he frequently expressed himself in terms of exultation at its achievements. His concern was not, however, limited to his regiment, as there was scarcely a public charity in the metropolis which did not derive benefit from his patronage, personal eloquence, and contributions, and over many he presided. His private acts of benevolence, in the cases of widows and orphans who were known to His Royal Highness as deserving objects of relief, were very numerous, and the instances of his charity and philanthropy were attested by the grateful acknowledgments of those who had no claim on His Royal Highness's bounty beyond the circumstance of a husband, father, or other relative, having performed faithful service under his command. The provision made by His Majesty's Government for His Royal Highness had not been equal to his necessary expenditure to support the dignity of a Prince of the royal blood, particularly for the periods he was on foreign service; and in 1816 economical views induced him to proceed to the Continent. In May, 1818, he was married at Coburg, according to the Lutheran rites, to Her Serene Highness Victoria Maria Louisa, youngest daughter of the late reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg. Shortly after the solemnities the royal pair proceeded to England, and were remarried at Kew Palace on the 11th of July, 1818, according to the rites of the Church of England. In a few weeks after this ceremony the Duke returned with his bride to the Continent; in the succeeding year they revisited England; and on the 24th of May, 1819, the Duchess gave birth, at Kensington Palace, to a daughter, named Alexandrina Victoria, Her present Majesty.
In a few months after this happy event this amiable Prince, whose social, private, and public virtues endeared him to his family and friends, and procured him a place in the affections of the British people, was attacked by pulmonary inflammation, produced by accidental cold, and he died at his temporary residence at Sidmouth on the 23rd of January, 1820. The remains of His Royal Highness were removed from Sidmouth and deposited in the royal vault at St. George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle, on the 12th of February, 1820, with the usual honours and solemnities observed at the funerals of the members of the Royal Family.
George Marquis of Huntly,
Appointed 29th January, 1820.
George Marquis of Huntly, son of Alexander fourth Duke of Gordon, was appointed to a commission in the 35th Regiment in 1790. He soon afterwards raised an independent company of foot, and was appointed, on the 25th of January, 1791, Captain in the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment. In July, 1792, he was appointed Captain-Lieutenant and Lieut.-Colonel in the 3rd Foot Guards; and, proceeding with his company to the Netherlands in the following year, he was engaged with the French at St. Amand and Famars, and in the siege of Valenciennes; also in the action before Dunkirk, and the affair at Lannoy. In the beginning of 1794 his Lordship raised the 100th (afterwards 92nd) regiment, of which he was appointed Lieut.-Colonel Commandant; and he proceeded with his regiment to Gibraltar, but on his return to England he was captured by a French privateer. He subsequently rejoined his regiment at the island of Corsica, where he served upwards of a year, and obtained the rank of Colonel on the 3rd of May, 1796. He was soon afterwards appointed Brigadier-General in Ireland, where he served during the rebellion. In 1799 he proceeded with the expedition to Holland, and was actively employed until the 2nd of October, when he was wounded. His Lordship was promoted in 1801 to the rank of Major-General; and in 1803 he was appointed to the Staff in North Britain, where he served three years. In January, 1806, he was removed to the Colonelcy of the 42nd Royal Highlanders; and on the 25th of April, 1808, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General. He commanded a division of the army in the expedition to Walcheren in 1809, and was promoted to the rank of General on the 12th of August, 1819. In the following year he obtained the Colonelcy of the Royal Regiment, and was constituted a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath about five months afterwards. He succeeded, on the decease of his father, in 1827, to the dignity of Duke of Gordon, and was also appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle, and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland; and in 1834 he was removed from the Royals to the 3rd Foot Guards. This kind-hearted and gallant nobleman and soldier, who was distinguished for an uninterrupted succession of acts of kindness and philanthropy, died on the 28th of May, 1836.
Thomas Lord Lynedoch, G.C.B.,
Appointed 12th December, 1834.
Amongst the most distinguished of the able and scientific soldiers who led the conquering armies of England from the Tagus to the Seine, was the venerable General Lord Lynedoch, whose death took place on the 18th December, 1843, at his residence in London.
The early life of this eminent man was that of a private country gentleman, but one whose mind had been cultivated in no ordinary degree. The classical attainments of his father, and the many elegant accomplishments of his mother, were directed to that which formed with them a never ceasing object, namely, the education of their son, who, owing to the death of both his elder brothers, had become heir to the family estate. The family from which he is descended, is a branch of that from which the Dukes of Montrose trace their origin. His father was Thomas Graham, Esq., of Balgowan, and his mother was Christiana, fourth daughter of the first Earl of Hopetoun. He was born at Balgowan (Perthshire), in the year 1750. In 1774 his father died, and, in the same year, he married the Hon. Mary Cathcart, one of the three daughters of the ninth Lord Cathcart. Thus Mr. Thomas Graham apparently settled down for life in the quiet, unobtrusive, happy condition of an independent country gentleman; and thus he continued in the enjoyment of great domestic felicity, surrounded by many estimable and attached friends, for a period of nearly 20 years. He had by this time attained the mature age of forty-two, and to all external seeming was one of the last men in the world likely to enter upon a military life.
In the year 1792, however, his domestic happiness was brought to a termination by the death of his wife. The effect of this melancholy event unsettled the mind of Mr. Graham, and his case adds one to the instances that might be adduced in which domestic calamities have procured, for the State, services of the highest order in the field and the cabinet. It may be said, that this change in his condition and prospects, imparted almost a romantic character to the tenor of his life. His grief was such as injured his health, and he was recommended to travel, with a view of alleviating the one, and restoring the other, by change of scene and variety of objects. While at Gibraltar in 1793, he was led into military society, and from that period he commenced to devote himself to the profession of arms.
Lord Hood was then about to sail for the south of France, and Mr. Graham had recently been a traveller in that country. He therefore gladly acceded to his proposition to accompany him as a volunteer. In the year 1793, he landed with the British troops at Toulon, and served as extra aide-de-camp to General Lord Mulgrave, the father to the present Marquis of Normanby, who marked by his particular thanks the gallant and able services of the elderly gentleman who had thus volunteered to be his aide-de-camp: the events of that period gave Mr. Graham ample means of indulging his taste for military life: nor did he neglect any opportunity which circumstances presented; he was always foremost in the attack, and on one occasion, at the head of a column, when a private soldier fell, Mr. Graham took up his musket and supplied his place in the front rank.
On returning to this country, he received a letter of service for raising a regiment in his native country, of which he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant on the 10th February, 1794, and which having been since retained on the establishment of the army, is now the Ninetieth Light Infantry, or Perthshire Volunteers. This regiment formed part of the army under the command of Lord Moira (afterwards Marquis of Hastings). It passed the summer of 1795 at Isle Dieu, whence it proceeded to Gibraltar. On the 22nd of July, 1795, the rank of Colonel in the Army was conferred on Lieutenant-Colonel Graham.
He continued for some months with his regiment at Gibraltar, when he obtained permission to join the Austrian Army. His connexion with that service continued during the summer of 1796, taking the opportunities which his position presented him of sending to the British Government intelligence of the military operations and diplomatic measures adopted by the commanders and sovereigns of the Continent: his despatches at this period evinced, in a remarkable degree, the great talents and characteristic energy of the writer.
During the investment of the city of Mantua by the French, he was shut up there for some time with General Wurmser, but, impatient of remaining inactive, he succeeded in making his escape, under cover of night, encountering great difficulty and imminent hazard.
Early in the year 1797, he returned to England, but in the following autumn rejoined his regiment at Gibraltar, whence he proceeded to the attack of Minorca with Sir Charles Stuart, who bestowed the warmest eulogiums on the skill and valour displayed by Colonel Graham. The part which he took in the reduction of Minorca is thus described in a work, published some years ago, detailing those transactions:—
"After the debarkation of the troops innumerable difficulties opposed themselves to their operations. There is not in any part of Europe to be found a greater variety of natural obstacles to an invading army than in this island. Reports from deserters and others, contradictory in their purport, rendered General Stuart for a short time irresolute what course to pursue. He, however, resolved to proceed by a forced march to Mercadel, and by possessing that essential post, to separate the enemy's force. To effect this object, Colonel Graham was sent with 600 men, and by dint of the utmost effort arrived at Mercadel, a very few hours after the main body of the enemy had marched towards Candarello. Here he made a considerable number of prisoners, seized several depôts of ammunition, &c., and established his corps in front of the village. The reduction of Minorca being completed, Colonel Graham repaired to Sicily, where he employed himself in the service and for the assistance of its legitimate monarch; and such were his exertions, that he received repeated acknowledgments and tributes of gratitude and esteem from the King and Queen of Naples."
In September, 1798, Colonel Graham, having been appointed to the local rank of Brigadier-General, commanded the force, consisting of the 30th and 89th Regiments, and some corps embodied under his immediate direction, in the siege of the island of Malta. Brigadier-General Graham, aware of the prodigious strength of the place, with the assistance of the fleet, resorted to a blockade, when, after a resistance of nearly two years' duration, a reinforcement of troops under the command of Major-General Henry Pigott was sent to assist in reducing the garrison, which capitulated on the 5th September, 1800, as announced in the following despatch from Major-General Pigott, addressed to Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, then commanding the forces in the Mediterranean.
"Malta, September 5, 1800.
"I have great satisfaction in acquainting you with the surrender of the fortress of La Valette, with all its dependencies, after sustaining a blockade of two years. The capitulation has been signed this day.
"During the short time you were here, you must have been sensible of the great exertions which Brigadier-General Graham must have made with the limited force he had, previous to my arrival with a reinforcement: he has ever since continued these exertions, and I consider that the surrender of the place has been accelerated by the decision of his conduct in preventing any more inhabitants from coming out of the fortress a short time before I came here. He was sent to negotiate the terms of capitulation with General Vaubois, and I am much indebted to him for his assistance in that business."
On the completion of this service, General Graham came home for a few months, and, again anxious for active service, proceeded to Egypt, but before his arrival that country had been completely conquered. He returned through Turkey, making some stay at Constantinople, and during the peace of Amiens resided for a short time at Paris. His active and enterprising spirit had now to endure a period of repose. In 1808, however, he proceeded with General Sir John Moore to Sweden, where he availed himself of that opportunity to traverse the country in all directions. Shortly afterwards Sir John Moore was ordered to Spain, and Major General Graham served there during the whole campaign of 1808. He was afterwards appointed to command a division in the expedition to Walcheren, but having been attacked with fever he was obliged to come home. In February, 1811, having been previously raised to the rank of Lieutenant-General, he was appointed to the command of an expedition to attack the rear of the French army then blockading Cadiz, an operation which led to the celebrated battle of Barrosa. The thanks of Parliament were voted to him and the brave force under his command, and never were thanks more nobly earned or bestowed in a manner more honourable to those who offered and those who received them. He was at that time a member of the House of Commons, and in his place in Parliament he received that mark of a nation's gratitude. In acknowledging the honour thus conferred on him, Lieutenant-General Graham spoke as follows:—
"I have formerly often heard you, sir, eloquently and impressively deliver the thanks of the house to officers present, and never without an anxious wish that I might one day receive this most enviable mark of my country's regard. This honest ambition is now fully gratified, and I am more than ever bound to try to merit the good opinion of the house."
Barrosa was to Lord Lynedoch what Almaraz was to Lord Hill, and Albuhera to Lord Beresford.
After this series of events, and having been appointed a Knight of the Bath in February, 1812, Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham joined the army under the Duke of Wellington; but from ill health he was obliged to revisit England for a short period. Early in 1813, however, he returned to the Peninsula, and commanded the left wing of the British army at Vittoria. Mr. Abbott, then Speaker of the House of Commons, (afterwards Lord Colchester,) in alluding to General Graham's distinguished career at this period, stated that his was "a name never to be mentioned in our military annals without the strongest expression of respect and admiration;" and Mr. Sheridan, speaking of the various excellences, personal and professional, which adorned his character, said:—
"I have known him in private life; and never was there seated a loftier spirit in a braver heart."
Alluding to his services in the retreat of the British army to Corunna, he continued:—
"In the hour of peril, Graham was their best adviser; in the hour of disaster, Graham was their surest consolation."
He was second in command at the siege and capture of Ciudad Rodrigo; and commanded the army employed in the siege of St. Sebastian, and also the left wing at the passage of the Bidassoa; but soon after, in consequence of ill health, he was obliged to resign his command to Sir John Hope. In 1814 he was appointed to the command of the forces employed in Holland, and on the 3rd of May in the same year he again received the thanks of Parliament, and was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Lynedoch, of Balgowan, in the county of Perth.
As years advanced, and the infirmities of age began to accumulate, Lord Lynedoch found the climate of Italy better calculated to sustain his declining energies than the atmosphere and temperature of his own country; he, therefore, spent much time on the continent; but, on a recent occasion, so anxious was he to manifest his sense of loyalty and his personal attachment to the Queen, that when Her Majesty visited Scotland, he came home from Switzerland for the express purpose of paying his duty to Her Majesty in the metropolis of his native land.
Lord Lynedoch's first commission in the army, that of Lieut.-Colonel, was dated 10th February, 1794; and he was promoted Colonel, by brevet, on the 22nd July, 1795. His commissions in the grade of General Officer were,—Major-General, 25th September, 1803; Lieut.-General, 25th July, 1810; and General, 19th July, 1821. He was successively Colonel of the 90th Regiment, at the head of which he continued nearly twenty years; of the 58th; and of the 14th Regiment, from which he was removed to the Royal Regiment on 12th December, 1834, when the Duke of Gordon was appointed to the Colonelcy of the Scots Fusilier Guards. He was also Governor of Dumbarton Castle in North Britain. He wore a Cross for his services at Barrosa (as Commander of the Forces), at Ciudad Rodrigo, Vittoria, and St. Sebastian (where he commanded a division), and he was a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, and of the foreign Order of St. Michael and St. George.
To advert at greater length to Lord Lynedoch's services as a soldier would be superfluous. Conspicuous, in action for his talents, in council for his sagacity, and in private life for unassuming worth and the most estimable qualities, his character displayed a rare union of skill, chivalry, and amiability, and his widely-spread fame, his long and intimate connexion with the army, which have been the admiration of the present generation, will continue to hold a prominent place in British history. Though his titles have become extinct, he has left behind him a name which will be held in honoured remembrance while loyalty is considered a virtue, and military renown a passport to fame.
Sir George Murray, G.C.B.,
Appointed 29th December, 1843.
Sir George Murray was a native of Scotland, and entered the army at the age of 17, as an Ensign in the 71st Regiment, on the 12th of March, 1789. He was shortly afterwards removed to the 34th Regiment, and to the 3rd Foot Guards in July, 1790, from which time, to the close of the war in 1815, he was almost constantly employed in the active military service of his country, in the Netherlands, in the West Indies, in Egypt, in the north of Europe, and in the peninsula of Spain and Portugal.
He was first under fire with the 3rd Guards in Flanders, and participated in the campaigns of 1793 and the two following years, being present at the affair at St. Amand, sieges of Tamars and Valenciennes, attack of Lincelles, investment of Dunkirk, &c.; and he accompanied the army on its retreat through Holland and Germany.
In 1795 he served as aide-de-camp to Major-General A. Campbell on the expedition to Quiberon Bay; and in the autumn he proceeded to the West Indies with the force under Sir Ralph Abercromby. Having returned home in ill health, he continued on the Staff of Major-General Campbell, first in North Britain, and then in Ireland.
In the year 1799 Lieut.-Colonel Murray was employed in the Quarter-Master General's department of the army under the Duke of York in Holland; and he was wounded in the action on the Helder. He subsequently embarked from Cork for Gibraltar with part of the force destined to be employed under Sir Ralph Abercromby in the Mediterranean; and, being again placed in the Quarter-Master General's department, he was ordered to precede the army to Egypt, for the purpose of making arrangements for the debarkation of the troops. He was present in the action on the landing of the force, in the affairs of the 13th and 21st March, 1801, at the siege of Rosetta, and the investments of Cairo and Alexandria.
From Egypt Lieut.-Colonel Murray proceeded to the West Indies, where he served for twelve months in the situation of Adjutant General.
Returning home, he was, in the early part of 1803, appointed one of the Assistant Quarter-Masters General at head-quarters; in November, 1804, he was appointed Deputy Quarter-Master General to the army in Ireland.
While holding that commission he was detached, as Quarter-Master General, with the expedition to Stralsund, and likewise with the force employed under Lieut.-General the Earl Cathcart at Copenhagen. He resumed his duties in Ireland; and in 1808 was again detached, as Quarter-Master General, with the force sent to the Baltic under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore; and when these troops proceeded to Portugal, Lieut.-Colonel Murray accompanied that force, and was engaged at the battle of Vimiera, at Lugo, and Villa Franca, as well as at Corunna, and his services as a staff officer were particularly alluded to and commended in Lieut.-General Hope's despatch containing the account of that victory.
In the year 1809 Colonel Murray was appointed Quarter-Master General to the army under Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, but returned home in 1811, and in May of the following year was appointed Quarter-Master General in Ireland, where he remained until September, 1813, when he again proceeded to the Peninsula, and served there at the head of the Quarter-Master General's department until the close of the war, participating in all the important operations of that eventful period, and evincing all the talents which are indispensable in a staff officer with an army employed in such arduous and trying circumstances: he received a Cross and five Clasps for his services in the field.
In June, 1814, Major-General Sir George Murray was appointed Adjutant-General to the army in Ireland, a situation which he vacated in December following for the purpose of undertaking the governorship of the Canadas; but on the resumption of hostilities in the spring of 1815, he quitted America for the purpose of joining his former companions in arms. He did not, however, succeed in reaching the army until the allies had entered Paris; but he continued to serve on the Continent, with the local rank of Lieut.-General, until the return of the Army of Occupation to England, in 1818.
In August, 1819, Lieut.-General Sir George Murray was appointed Governor of the Royal Military College; in March, 1824, he was nominated Lieut.-General of the Ordnance, and in March, 1825, he proceeded to Dublin as Lieut.-General, commanding the forces in Ireland, where he remained till the year 1828, and in September, 1829, he received the appointment of Governor of Fort George in North Britain.
Sir George Murray's career was not, however, limited to his military employments. Having sat in two successive Parliaments as member for his native county of Perth, he was offered the seals of office as Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, which he accepted, and held from 1828 to 1830. His merits and talents, whether in a military or political point of view, were thus kept in view by the Duke of Wellington, then Prime Minister. In 1834 and 1835 he filled the situation of Master-General of the Ordnance, and in 1841 that appointment was again conferred upon him, and he continued to hold it till within a short period of his decease, which occurred on the 28th July, 1846.
Sir George Murray was successively Colonel commandant of a battalion of the 60th Regiment, Colonel of the 72nd Regiment, and of the 42nd Royal Highlanders, which he held upwards of twenty years, when he was removed to the Colonelcy of the First, or Royal Regiment, in December, 1843.
He was a Knight of the Crescent; and, in addition to the Orders of Leopold of Belgium, St. Alexander Newski of Russia, the Red Eagle of Prussia, the Tower and Sword of Prussia, Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria, and St. Henry of Saxony, Sir George Murray was decorated with the Crosses of the First Class of the Order of the Bath, and of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order.