now second regiment, of Life Guards, in which corps he was
appointed major in 1749, and lieut.-colonel in 1757. He did not
serve abroad, but he was celebrated for a punctilious attention
to all his duties, and being repeatedly employed in attendance
on the court as ivory stick and silver stick in waiting, he
obtained the favour and approbation of King George II., and also
of King George III., who promoted him to the rank of colonel, and
appointed him aide-de-camp to the King, in a few days after His
Majesty's accession to the throne. He was promoted to the rank of
major-general in July, 1762, and two years after the King gave him
the colonelcy of the TWELFTH Dragoons, from which he was removed in
1770, to the Fourth, the King's Own, Dragoons. He was promoted to
the rank of lieut.-general in 1772, and to that of general in 1783.
He died in 1788.
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS PITT,
_Appointed 24th October, 1770_.
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS PITT was appointed in February, 1744, cornet
in the Tenth Dragoons, in which corps he rose to the rank of
lieut.-colonel; he commanded the regiment in Germany, under
Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and distinguished himself on
several occasions, particularly at the battle of Campen, on the
15th of October, 1760, where he was wounded and taken prisoner.
He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1762, and to that of
major-general in August, 1770; in October following he was rewarded
with the colonelcy of the TWELFTH Light Dragoons; and in 1775 he
was removed to the Third Irish Horse, or Carabineers. In 1777 he
was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and in 1780 he was
removed to the Tenth Dragoons. He was created a knight of the
most honorable order of the Bath in 1792; promoted to the rank of
general in 1793; appointed governor of Portsmouth in 1794; and
removed to the First Dragoon Guards in 1796. He died in 1810.
THE HONORABLE WILLIAM KEPPEL,
_Appointed 18th October, 1775_.
THE HONORABLE WILLIAM KEPPEL, fourth son of William-Anne, second
Earl of Albemarle, was gentleman of the horse to King George II.,
and an officer of the first foot guards, in which corps he attained
the rank of captain and lieut.-colonel on the 28th of April, 1751.
In 1760 he was nominated second major of that regiment with the
rank of colonel; and in 1761 he succeeded Lord Charles Manners in
the colonelcy of the Fifty-sixth foot, with which he embarked with
the armament fitted out against the Havannah, in the island of
Cuba, having the rank of major-general in the expedition. On the
surrender of the Havannah he took possession of fort La Punta, and
when his eldest brother, George, third Earl of Albemarle, sailed
for Europe, he was left in command at the Havannah, which city he
delivered to the Spaniards after the conclusion of a treaty of
peace in 1763. In 1765 he was removed to the Fourteenth Foot; in
1772 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general; in 1773 he was
commander-in-chief in Ireland; and was removed in 1775, to the
colonelcy of the TWELFTH Light Dragoons, which he retained until
his decease in 1782.
THE HONORABLE GEORGE LANE PARKER,
_Appointed 18th March, 1782_.
THE HONORABLE LANE PARKER, second son of George, second Earl of
Macclesfield, served many years in the first foot guards, in which
corps he attained the rank of lieutenant and captain in 1749;
captain and lieut.-colonel in 1755; he was promoted to the rank of
colonel in 1762, and to that of major-general in 1770; in which
year he was appointed second major of the regiment. In 1773 King
George III. gave him the colonelcy of the twentieth regiment, and
promoted him to the rank of lieut.-general in 1777. In 1782 he was
removed to the colonelcy of the TWELFTH Light Dragoons, and he
retained this appointment until his decease in 1791.
SIR JAMES STEUART, BARONET,
_Appointed 9th November, 1791_.
JAMES STEUART received a military education in Germany, and at
sixteen years of age King George III. presented him with a cornetcy
in the royal dragoons, his commission bearing the date the 17th
of March, 1761. He served the campaign of that and the following
year with the regiment in Germany; was at the battles of Kirch,
Denkern and Groebenstein, and took part in several skirmishes.
In 1763 he purchased a company in the Queen's royal highlanders,
and that corps being disbanded soon afterwards, he improved his
knowledge of the military profession by travelling in France and
Germany. In 1766 he purchased a troop in the second Irish horse,
now fifth dragoon guards; in 1769 he was appointed aide-de-camp to
the lord-lieutenant of Ireland (Lord Townshend): and in 1772 he
obtained the majority of the thirteenth dragoons, from which he
was removed, in 1775, to the first Irish horse, now fourth dragoon
guards. In 1776, he was nominated to the lieutenant-colonelcy of
the thirteenth dragoons, and having brought that regiment into an
excellent state of discipline and efficiency, he was rewarded with
the rank of colonel in 1782; in 1783 his regiment was constituted
a corps of light cavalry. In 1788 detachments from the cavalry
regiments in Ireland were assembled at Dublin, and placed under his
command, for the purpose of forming an improved system of interior
economy, discipline, and field movements for the cavalry; his
labours were honored with the approbation of his sovereign, and
his systems, particularly his field movements, having been more
completely defined and arranged by Sir David Dundas, were adopted
for the cavalry. His services were rewarded in 1791 with the
colonelcy of the TWELFTH Light Dragoons; and having been promoted
to the rank of major-general in 1793, he was placed on the staff of
Scotland, and appointed to superintend the formation and discipline
of the fencible cavalry in that country, which was encamped under
his orders in the summers of 1795, 1796, and 1797. In the autumn
of 1797 he was promoted to the local rank of lieut.-general in
Ireland, and appointed to the command of the southern district of
that kingdom, which district was, by his excellent arrangements,
preserved during the rebellion of 1798, in a state of tranquillity
not known in any other part of Ireland. He was rewarded with the
rank of lieut.-general, in June, 1798; and after the suppression
of the rebellion, he resigned his appointment on the Irish staff.
In 1803 he was promoted to the rank of general; and in 1815 he
obtained the colonelcy of the Scots greys; he was also honored with
the dignity of knight grand cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic
Order. His rank and age prevented him from participating in the
active measures which led to the wonderful military successes
from the recommencement of the war in 1803 to its termination in
1815. He represented in parliament his native county (Lanark)
for many years; his mansion at Coltness was proverbial as the
seat of kindness and hospitality; and his time, his talents, and
his property, were dedicated to the improvement of the district
around him. For several years he bore the sirname of Denham; but
afterwards discontinued it. He lived to be the eldest general and
the oldest soldier in the British army; and died at Cheltenham, on
the 5th of August, 1839, at the advanced age of ninety-five.
SIR WILLIAM PAYNE, BARONET,
_Appointed 12th January, 1815_.
SIR WILLIAM PAYNE first entered the army, as cornet in the royal
dragoons, on the 25th of January, 1776; and having served in the
subordinate commissions, was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the
regiment in 1794. He served in the Netherlands under his Royal
Highness the Duke of York, and was present at the principal actions
during the campaign of 1794. In 1796 he was removed from the
lieutenant-colonelcy of the royal dragoons to the third dragoon
guards; in 1798 he was promoted to the rank of colonel in the army;
and in 1805 he was removed to the tenth light dragoons. He was
promoted to the rank of major-general in the same year, and served
four years on the staff in Ireland. In November, 1807, he obtained
the colonelcy of the twenty-third light dragoons; and in 1809, he
proceeded to Portugal with the local rank of lieutenant-general,
and served the campaign of that year under Sir Arthur Wellesley.
He took an active part in the operations by which the French were
driven from Oporto; and commanded the British cavalry at the
memorable battle of Talavera, fought on the 27th and 28th of July,
1809, for which he received a medal. He was promoted to the rank
of lieutenant-general on the 4th of June, 1811; was removed from
the twenty-third to the nineteenth light dragoons in July, 1814,
and to the TWELFTH Light Dragoons in January, 1815. He was further
advanced to the rank of general on the 27th of May, 1825, and, in
the following month, he obtained the colonelcy of the third dragoon
guards. He died in April, 1831.
SIR COLQUHOUN GRANT, K.C.B., K.C.H.,
_Appointed 2nd June, 1825_.
This officer was appointed ensign of the thirty-sixth foot in
1793, and joined his regiment at Trichinopoly immediately after
his appointment. In 1797 he exchanged to the twenty-fifth light
dragoons, with which corps he served the Mysore campaign, and was
at the taking of Seringapatam. In 1800 he was appointed captain
in the ninth dragoons; and he was promoted to the majority of the
twenty-eighth light dragoons in the following year. In 1802 he
obtained the lieut.-colonelcy of the seventy-second foot, which
regiment he commanded at the capture of the Cape of Good Hope in
1806, and was wounded; "but the heroic spirit of this officer
was not subdued by his misfortune, and he continued to lead his
men to glory, as long as an enemy was opposed to his Majesty's
seventy-second regiment[8]." In 1808 he exchanged to the fifteenth,
the King's Hussars. He commanded the fifteenth in Spain in 1808,
and highly distinguished himself at Sahagun, where he was wounded,
and he was rewarded with a gold medal. In 1811 he was appointed
aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent, and promoted to the rank of
colonel. He embarked with his regiment for the Peninsula in 1813;
and commanded the hussar brigade at the action at Morales, where he
was wounded; he also commanded the hussar brigade at the battle of
Vittoria, and was rewarded with an additional honorary distinction.
He subsequently commanded a brigade composed of the thirteenth
and fourteenth light dragoons. On the 4th of June, 1814, he was
promoted to the rank of major-general; he was also honored with
the dignity of a knight commander of the order of the Bath, and in
May, 1815, he was appointed groom of the bedchamber to His Royal
Highness the Duke of Cumberland. At the battle of Waterloo he
commanded a brigade of hussars (seventh and fifteenth British.,
and second hussars King's German Legion), and had several horses
killed under him. His services were further recompensed with the
grand cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order; and he obtained
permission to accept the Orders of Wladimir of Russia, and Wilhelm
of the Netherlands. In 1825 he was appointed colonel of the
Twelfth Royal Lancers, and was removed in 1827, to the Fifteenth
King's Hussars; in July, 1830, he was promoted to the rank of
lieut.-general. He died in December, 1835.
THE RIGHT HONORABLE SIR R. H. VIVIAN, BARONET, _now_ LORD VIVIAN,
K.C.B., G.C.H.,
_Appointed 22nd January, 1827_.
Removed to the First (Royal) regiment of dragoons, 20th January,
1837.
SIR H. J. CUMMING, K.C.H.,
_Appointed 20th January, 1837_.
FOOTNOTE:
[8] Major-General Sir David Baird's despatch.
LONDON: PRINTED BY HARRISON & CO., ST. MARTIN'S-LANE.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example,
out-post, outpost; foot-guards, foot guards; sirname; shalloon;
accoutred.
Pg 13, 'without lappels' replaced by 'without lapels'.
Pg 31, 'and and advanced to' replaced by 'and advanced to'.
Pg 79, 'colonelcy of the TWELTFH' replaced by 'colonelcy of the
TWELFTH'.