Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake
The Viscount Lake | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Aylesbury | |
In office 1790–1802 | |
Preceded by | William Wrightson |
Succeeded by | Robert Bent |
Personal details | |
Born | 27 July 1744 Harrow, Middlesex, Great Britain |
Died | 20 February 1808 London | (aged 63)
Military service | |
Allegiance | Great Britain United Kingdom |
Branch/service | British Army |
Years of service | 1758–1808 |
Rank | General |
Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Irish Rebellion of 1798 Second Anglo-Maratha War |
Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake (27 July 1744 – 20 February 1808) was a
Background
He was the son of Lancelot Charles Lake (d. 1751) of
Lake entered the foot guards in 1758, becoming lieutenant (captain in the army) in 1762, captain (lieutenant-colonel) in 1776, major in 1784, and lieutenant colonel in 1792, by which time he was a general officer in the army. He served with his regiment in Germany between 1760 and 1762, and with a composite battalion in the
In 1790, he became a major-general, and in 1793 was appointed to command the Guards Brigade in the Duke of York and Albany's army in Flanders during the French Revolutionary Wars. He was in command at the successful Battle of Lincelles on 18 August 1793, and served on the continent (except for a short time when seriously ill) until April 1794. He later sold his lieutenant-colonelcy in the guards, and became colonel of the 53rd Regiment of Foot and governor of Limerick in Ireland. In 1797 he was promoted to lieutenant-general.[2]
American War of Independence
As lieutenant-colonel Lake went out with drafts to America in the spring of 1781, made the campaign in North Carolina under Lord Cornwallis, and commanded the grenadiers of the guards and of the old 80th royal Edinburgh regiment in a sortie, under Colonel Robert Abercromby, from the British lines at York Town, which inflicted heavy loss on the French and American besiegers, on 11 October that year. After the surrender of Cornwallis's force [on 19 October 1781] Lake remained prisoner on parole until the end of the war.[3] Hugh Wodehouse Pearse reports that "Lake was one of the three field officers selected by lot to take charge of the troops in captivity, but, as he was anxious for private reasons to proceed to England, Major Gordon of the 76th [sic] [80th] Regiment generously volunteered to take his place. Major, then Lieut.-Colonel, Gordon died in captivity.[4]
1798 rebellion in Ireland
In December 1796 he was appointed commander in Ulster and issued a proclamation ordering the surrender of all arms by the civil population,[2] during which time he was 'untroubled by legal restraints or by his troops' violent actions'.[5] Historians have generally seen Lake's Dragooning of Ulster in 1797 as effective in disarming and crippling the Society of United Irishmen in that province, although his effectiveness has been questioned.[6] Lake succeeded Sir Ralph Abercromby as Commander-in-Chief, Ireland in April 1798 and turned his attention to Leinster, where 'public floggings and torture of suspected rebels became widespread and added to the general atmosphere of terror'.[5] Rather than cowing the province into submission, 'his crude methods probably contributed to the outbreak of insurrection' in May 1798.[5] Lake continued to deal harshly with opposition, and issued orders to take no prisoners during the rebellion.[1]
In May Lake commanded troops in
Lake then took overall command of a force of some 20,000 troops to crush the
Cornwallis sent Lake to oppose a French expedition of 1,000 troops which had landed at Killala Bay, County Mayo on 23 August. On 29 August, Lake arrived at Castlebar with a force of 1,700 (composed of mainly of militia, fencibles and yeomanry) and witnessed the rout of his troops under General Hely-Hutchinson (afterwards 2nd Earl of Donoughmore) at the Battle of Castlebar.[8] Lake failed to rally his largely inexperienced troops and was forced to retreat to Tuam; the speed of which (and abandonment of material, artillery and Lake's personal baggage) led the rout to become known as the 'Races of Castlebar'. Hely-Hutchinson shouldered much of the blame, but it was accepted that Lake's troops were inexperienced and a head-on battle with the seasoned French force was probably to be avoided.[9] However, rumours also abounded that Lake had been drinking heavily the night before the battle and was only woken with difficulty while the French were already attacking.[5]
He defeated the French at the Battle of Ballinamuck on 8 September.[10]
Indian campaigns
In 1799, Lake returned to England, and soon afterwards travelled to
On the outbreak the
Operations continued against
Lord Wellesley in a despatch attributed much of the success of the war to Lake's matchless energy, ability and valour. For his services, Lake received the thanks of Parliament,[13] and, in September 1804, was rewarded by being created Baron Lake of Delhi and Laswary and of Aston Clinton in the County of Buckingham. From 1801 to 1805 Lake was Commander-in-Chief, India, then again from 1805 to 1807 as his successor John Graves Simcoe had died before heading off to India. At the conclusion of the war he returned to England, and in 1807 he was created Viscount Lake of Delhi and Laswary and of Aston Clinton in the County of Buckingham.[citation needed]
One of his sons Major George Augustus Frederick Lake accompanied him in Ireland and then India, acting as his aide-de-camp and military secretary during the campaign: at one stage offering his mount when the elder Lake's horse had been shot from under him at an engagement near the village of Mohaulpoor. Minutes after seeing his father mounted Major Lake was seriously wounded in the presence of his father. Major G A F Lake recovered from his wound and went on to command the 29th Regiment of Foot during the Peninsular Campaign. He was killed in action at the Battle of Roliça, Portugal on 17 August 1808.[14]
Parliamentary career
Like many contemporaries, Lake pursued both a parliamentary and military career. He represented
Later years
Viscount Lake was recorded as being an inveterate gambler who lost most of his family's fortune. He died in London on 20 February 1808 leaving his children with little or no inheritance. This was seen by many at court and the then prime minister the Duke of Portland, as a sad end for such a stalwart of Empire and his children. Portland made a special request to King George III to remedy the situation, particularly with respect to the unmarried Lake daughters.[15]
Notes
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15900. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b c d e Chisholm 1911, p. 85.
- ^ Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 31, "Lake, Gerard" by Henry Manners Chichester
- ^ Pearse, Hugh Wodehouse (1908). Memoir of the life and military services of Viscount Lake: Baron Lake of Delhi and Laswaree, 1744–1808. W. Blackwood and Sons. p. 64.
- ^ a b c d Quinn, James (2009). "Lake, Gerard". Dictionary of Irish Biography.
- ISBN 0521661099.
- ^ Quinn, James (2012). "Cornwallis, Charles Earl Cornwallis". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ Kleinman, Sylvie (2012). "Humbert, Jean-Joseph Amable". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ISBN 0521629896.
- ^ "Battle of Ballinmuck". LibraryIreland. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
- ^ The fourth assault was on 20 February 1805 with a fifth assault the following day. The Gentleman's magazine (1805) Vol. 75, Part 2, p. 854
- ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 85–86.
- ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 86.
- ^ Philippart, John (1826). "Containing the Services of General and Field Officers of the Indian Army". The East India Military Calendar. 3: 511.
- ^ (King of Great Britain), George III (1808). The Later Correspondence of George Iii (Vol Five ed.). CUP Archive. pp. 22–23.
References
- See H Pearse, Memoir of the Life and Services of Viscount Lake (London, 1908); GB Malleson, Decisive Battles of India (1883); J Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas (1873); short memoir in From Cromwell to Wellington, ed. Spenser Wilkinson.[1]
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lake, Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 85–86. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 86.