This is a list of general officers of the British Armed Forces who were killed or died while on active service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. This comprises the period of 1793–1815, and includes British general officers who were serving in the British Army or attached to the allied Portuguese Army. Officers of the rank of colonel are included if they were acting in the position of a general officer, that being a brigade or larger, at the time of their death, despite them not themselves being general officers. Officers are also included if they had recently left a command at the time of their death, and their active service was the cause of it.
Background edit
The death and injury rate of senior officers fighting in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars was unusually high. General officers of the period regularly demonstrated their courage and served to the forefront in battles, placing themselves in positions of high jeopardy. Sanitary and living conditions on military campaigns in the period were also poor, leading to a number of general officers succumbing to illness and disease while on service.[1]
The historian Rory Muir contrasts this style of service for British general officers with that of their successors fighting in the First World War, saying that the added risks officers of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars put themselves in meant that their troops "never felt the alienation from their senior officers which developed during the First World War".[2] The highest rate of death among general officers occurred during the Peninsular War, where fifteen per cent who served were killed, having a sixty per cent higher chance of dying than their junior officers.[1]
Generals edit
| Image | Name | Branch | Date of death | Cause of death | Location | Command | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | William Grinfield | British Army | 19 October 1803 | Yellow fever | Barbados, West Indies | Windward and Leedward Islands | [3][4][5] |
Lieutenant-Generals edit
| Image | Name | Branch | Date of death | Cause of death | Location | Command | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sir John Vaughan | British Army | 30 June 1795 | Bowel complaint, possibly poison | Martinique, West Indies | Windward Islands | [6] |
 | Sir Ralph Abercromby | British Army | 28 March 1801 | Hostile fire (small arms)[Note 1] | Alexandria, Egypt | Egypt Army | [8][7] |
| Sir William Myers | British Army | 29 July 1805 | Illness | Barbados, West Indies | Windward and Leeward Islands | [9] | |
 | Sir John Moore | British Army | 16 January 1809 | Hostile fire (cannonball) | Coruña, Spain | Coruña Army | [10][11][12] |
 | Alexander Mackenzie Fraser | British Army | 13 September 1809 | Illness | Britain (illness caught on active service) | 4th Division, Walcheren campaign | [8][13] |
 | Sir Thomas Picton | British Army | 18 June 1815 | Hostile fire (small arms) | Waterloo, Belgium | 5th Division | [10][14][15] |
Major-Generals edit
| Image | Name | Branch | Date of death | Cause of death | Location | Command | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Mansel | British Army | 26 April 1794 | Hostile fire (small arms) | Beaumont, France | Brigade of Dragoons, Flanders campaign | [16][17] | |
| Thomas Dundas | British Army | 3 June 1794 | Yellow fever | Basseterre, Guadeloupe | Governor of Guadeloupe, West Indies campaign | [18] | |
| William Clephane | British Army | 4 November 1803 | Illness | Grenada, West Indies | Lieutenant-Governor of Grenada | [19] | |
| Patrick Wauchope | British Army | 31 March 1807 | Hostile fire (small arms) | Rosetta, Egypt | Second-in-command, Alexandria expedition | [10][20][21] | |
| John Randoll Mackenzie | British Army | 28 July 1809 | Hostile fire (small arms) | Talavera, Spain | 3rd Division | [10][22][23] | |
 | Coote Manningham | British Army | 26 August 1809 | Fatigue | Britain (fatigue caused on active service) | 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Coruña campaign | [8][11] |
| Richard Stewart | British Army | 19 October 1810 | Fell off balcony while delirious with eye infection | Lisbon, Portugal | Brigade, 2nd Division | [8][24] | |
| Daniel Hoghton | British Army | 16 May 1811 | Hostile fire (small arms) | Albuera, Spain | Brigade, 2nd Division (had replaced Stewart) | [10][25][26] | |
.jpg) | Henry MacKinnon | British Army | 19 January 1812 | Hostile fire (magazine explosion) | Ciudad Rodrigo, Spain | Brigade, 3rd Division | [10][27] |
 | Robert Craufurd | British Army | 24 January 1812 | Hostile fire (small arms) | Ciudad Rodrigo, Spain | Light Division | [10][28] |
| Barnard Foord Bowes | British Army | 23 June 1812 | Hostile fire (small arms) | Salamanca, Spain | Brigade, 6th Division | [10][29] | |
 | John Le Marchant | British Army | 22 July 1812 | Hostile fire (small arms) | Salamanca, Spain | Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division | [10][30] |
| William Wheatley | British Army | 1 September 1812 | Typhus | San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain | Brigade, 1st Division | [31][32] | |
| Richard Hulse | British Army | 7 September 1812 | Typhus | Arévalo, Spain | 5th Division | [31][33] | |
| Andrew Ross | British Army | 26 September 1812 | Fever | Cartagena, Spain | Cartagena garrison | [31][34][35] | |
-2_(cropped).png) | Sir Isaac Brock | British Army | 13 October 1812 | Hostile fire (small arms) | Queenston, Upper Canada | Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada | [10][36][37] |
 | Sir William Erskine | British Army | 13 February 1813 | Suicide by jumping out of a window | Lisbon, Portugal | 2nd Cavalry Division | [31][38] |
| William Frederick Spry | Portuguese Army | 16 January 1814 | Illness[Note 2] | Southampton, Britain (illness caught on active service) | 3rd Portuguese Brigade, 5th Division | [31][40][41][42] | |
| Eberhardt Otto George von Bock | British Army | 21 January 1814 | Drowned | At sea, off Pleubian, France | Heavy Dragoon Brigade, King's German Legion | [31][43] | |
| John Byne Skerrett | British Army | 10 March 1814 | Hostile fire (small arms) | Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands | Brigade, Bergen op Zoom | [10][44][45] | |
 | Andrew Hay | British Army | 14 April 1814 | Hostile fire | Bayonne, France | Brigade, 1st Division | [10][46] |
 | Robert Ross | British Army | 12 September 1814 | Hostile fire (small arms) | North Point, United States | Brigade, United States | [10][47] |
 | Sir Robert Rollo Gillespie | British Army | 31 October 1814 | Hostile fire (small arms) | Kalunga, India | Meerut Division, Bengal Army | [10][48] |
.jpg) | Sir Samuel Gibbs | British Army | 8 January 1815 | Hostile fire | New Orleans, United States | Second-in-command, New Orleans expedition | [10][49][50] |
 | Sir Edward Pakenham | British Army | 8 January 1815 | Hostile fire (small arms) | New Orleans, United States | New Orleans expedition | [10][51] |
 | Sir William Ponsonby | British Army | 18 June 1815 | Hostile fire (small arms)[Note 3] | Waterloo, Belgium | 2nd Cavalry Brigade, Cavalry Corps | [10][53] |
Brigadier-Generals edit
| Image | Name | Branch | Date of death | Cause of death | Location | Command | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Symes | British Army | 19 July 1794 | Hostile fire (small arms)[Note 4] | Saint Kitts, West Indies | Brigade, Invasion of Guadeloupe, West Indies campaign | [55] | |
| Colin Lindsay | British Army | 22 March 1795 | Suicide by shooting | Grenada, West Indies | Grenada, Fédon's rebellion | [56] | |
| Stephens Howe | British Army | 20 July 1796 | Yellow fever | Port Royal, Jamaica | [57] | ||
| John Henry Yorke | British Army | 1 November 1805 | Drowned | At sea, off Brazil | Royal Artillery, Cape of Good Hope expedition | [8][58] | |
| Robert Anstruther | British Army | 14 January 1809 | Pneumonia | Coruña, Spain | 1st Brigade, Reserve Division, Coruña campaign | [8][59] | |
| Ernst Eberhard Cuno Langwerth von Simmern | British Army | 28 July 1809 | Hostile fire (grapeshot) | Talavera, Spain | 3rd Brigade, 1st Division | [10][60][61] | |
| James Catlin Craufurd | British Army | 25 September 1810 | Malaria | Abrantes, Portugal | Brigade, 2nd Division | [8][62] | |
| William Campbell | Portuguese Army | 2 January 1811 | Illness | Trocifal, Lines of Torres Vedras, Portugal | 5th Portuguese Brigade | [31][63] | |
| Charles Millar | Portuguese Army | February 1811 | Illness | Portugal | Portuguese Militia | [31] | |
| George Drummond | British Army | 8 September 1811 | Trench mouth | Fuenteguinaldo, Spain | 2nd Brigade, Light Division | [8][64] | |
 | Francis Colman | Portuguese Army[Note 5] | 12 December 1811 | Fever | Lisbon, Portugal | 6th Portuguese Brigade, 7th Division | [31][66][67][68][69] |
| Richard Collins | Portuguese Army | 17 February 1813 | Exhaustion | Gouveia, Portugal | 6th Portuguese Brigade, 7th Division | [31][70][71] | |
| William Harvey | Portuguese Army | 10 June 1813 | Illness[Note 6] | At sea, en route to Britain | 9th Portuguese Brigade, 4th Division | [31][73][72][74] | |
| Arthur Gore | British Army | 8/9 March 1814 | Hostile fire | Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands | Brigade, Bergen op Zoom | [10][45] |
Colonels edit
| Image | Name | Branch | Date of death | Cause of death | Location | Command | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | James Wynch | British Army | 6 January 1811 | Dysentery | Lisbon, Portugal | 2nd Brigade, Light Division | [8][75][76] |
| George Wilson | British Army | 5 January 1813 | Fever | Moraleja, Spain | Brigade, 2nd Division | [31][77] | |
| Henry Cadogan | British Army | 21 June 1813 | Hostile fire | Vitoria, Spain | 1st Brigade, 2nd Division | [78] | |
| Georg Carl August du Plat | British Army | 21 June 1815 | Hostile fire | Waterloo, Belgium | 1st Brigade, King's German Legion, 2nd Division | [10][79] |
Notes and citations edit
Notes edit
- ^ Died of septicaemia after being shot in the leg at the Battle of Alexandria.[7]
- ^ Recorded as dying from wounds received at the Siege of San Sebastián, or of an illness caught there.[39]
- ^ Also recorded that he was stabbed to death by Polish lancers.[52]
- ^ Died of wounds (gangrene) received on 1 July.[54]
- ^ Colman held only a Portuguese commission, having mistakenly resigned his British commission in 1805.[65]
- ^ Caused by wounds taken at the Siege of Badajoz.[72]
Citations edit
- ^ a b Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 229.
- ^ Muir (2000), p. 161.
- ^ Howard (2015), p. 117.
- ^ Howard (2015), p. 120.
- ^ Cannon (1842), p. 67.
- ^ Thomas (2008).
- ^ a b Gates (2007).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 231.
- ^ Burke & Burke (1844), p. 351.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 230.
- ^ a b Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 262.
- ^ Sweetman (2011).
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 43.
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 55.
- ^ Clayton (2015), p. 410.
- ^ Haythornthwaite (1996), p. 22.
- ^ Haythornthwaite (1996), p. 34.
- ^ Houlding (2008).
- ^ Thorne, R. G. "MACLEAN CLEPHANE, William Douglas (1759-1803), of Kirkness, Kinross". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 28.
- ^ Pocock (2005), p. 80.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 192.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 194.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), pp. 278–279.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 140.
- ^ Lloyd & Gates (2005).
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), pp. 199–201.
- ^ Heathcote (2010), pp. 39–40.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), pp. 54–55.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), pp. 168–170.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 232.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 308.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), pp. 144–145.
- ^ Soulsby & Stearn (2004).
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 162.
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 49.
- ^ Sweetman (2004a).
- ^ Heathcote (2010), pp. 49–50.
- ^ Maclean (1868), p. 71.
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 292.
- ^ Glover (2001), p. 130.
- ^ "Portsmouth, Saturday, January 29, 1814". Hampshire/Portsmouth Telegraph. Leeds, England. 31 January 1814.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), pp. 50–52.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 258.
- ^ a b Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 51.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 133.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 254.
- ^ Chichester & Lunt (2004).
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 50.
- ^ Rapson & Harfield (2008).
- ^ Heathcote (2010), p. 99.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 234.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 231.
- ^ Brown (2018), p. 194.
- ^ Brown (2018), pp. 192–194.
- ^ Turnbull (1795), p. 76.
- ^ Thorne, R. G. "Howe, Stephens (1758–96), of 22 Marley Street, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 24.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 23.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), pp. 166–167.
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 265.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 87.
- ^ Ward (1975), p. 106.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), pp. 100–101.
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 291.
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 268.
- ^ Bremner, Robert (2012). "Brigadier Francis John Colman: His Death in Lisbon and its Consequences". The British Historical Society of Portugal. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ Reid (2019), pp. 261–262.
- ^ Ward (1975), pp. 106–107.
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 279.
- ^ Gaudencio & Burnham (2021), p. 290.
- ^ a b Reid (2019), p. 176.
- ^ Burnham & McGuigan (2010), p. 276.
- ^ Ward (1975), p. 108.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham (2017), p. 101.
- ^ "Colonel James Wynch". King's Own Royal Regiment Museum Lancaster. 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ Reid (2019), pp. 241–242.
- ^ Sweetman (2004b).
- ^ Clayton (2015), p. 352.
References edit
- Brown, Steve (2018). By Fire and Bayonet: Grey's West Indies Campaign of 1794. Solihull: Helion. ISBN 978-1-91286-694-6.
- Burnham, Robert; McGuigan, Ron (2010). The British Army against Napoleon. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-84832-562-3.
- Burke, John; Burke, John Bernard (1844). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland, and Scotland. London: John Russell Smith.
- Cannon, Richard (1842). Historical Record of the Eighty-Sixth, or The Royal County Down Regiment of Foot. London: John W. Parker.
- Chichester, H. M.; Lunt, James (2004). "Gillespie, Sir Robert Rollo". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Clayton, Tim (2015). Waterloo: Four Days that Changed Europe's Destiny. London: Abacus. ISBN 978-0-349-12301-1.
- Gaudencio, Moises; Burnham, Robert (2021). In the Words of Wellington's Fighting Cocks: The After-Action Reports of the Portuguese Army during the Peninsular War 1812–1814. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-52676-168-2.
- Gates, David (2007). "Abercromby, Sir Ralph, of Tullibody". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Glover, Michael (2001). Wellington as Military Commander. London: Penguin Books.
- Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1996). Die Hard! Dramatic Actions from the Napoleonic Wars. London: Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-245-6.
- Heathcote, T. A. (2010). Wellington's Peninsular War Generals & Their Battles. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-84884-061-4.
- Houlding, J. A. (2008). "Dundas, Thomas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Howard, Martin R. (2015). Death Before Glory! The British Soldier in the West Indies in the French Revolutionary & Napoleonic Wars. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-78159-341-7.
- Lloyd, E. M.; Gates, David (2005). "Hoghton, Daniel". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Maclean, John (1868). Parochial and Family History of the Parish of Blisland in the County of Cornwall. London: Nichols and Sons.
- McGuigan, Ron; Burnham, Robert (2017). Wellington's Brigade Commanders. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-47385-079-8.
- Muir, Rory (2000). Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon. London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-30014-768-1.
- Pocock, Tom (2005). Stopping Napoleon. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6604-5.
- Rapson, E. J.; Harfield, Alan (2008). "Gibbs, Sir Samuel". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Reid, Stuart (2019). Wellington's History of the Peninsular War. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-52673-764-9.
- Soulsby, B. H.; Stearn, Roger T. (2004). "Ross, Andrew". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Sweetman, John (2004a). "Brock, Sir Isaac". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Sweetman, John (2004b). "Cadogan, Henry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Sweetman, John (2011). "Moore, Sir John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Thomas, Peter D. G. (2008). "Vaughan, Sir John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Turnbull, Gordon (1795). A Narrative of the Revolt and Insurrection of the French Inhabitants in the Island of Grenada. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable.
- Ward, S. G. P. (Summer 1975). "The Portuguese Infantry Brigades, 1809–1814". Journal of the Society for Army History Research. 53 (214): 103–112.
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