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."