Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

PC
Portrait by William Salter, c. 1830s
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
In office
27 February 1828 – 22 January 1829
MonarchGeorge IV
Prime MinisterThe Duke of Wellington
Preceded byThe Marquess Wellesley
Succeeded byThe Duke of Northumberland
In office
4 December 1830 – 12 September 1833
MonarchWilliam IV
Prime MinisterThe Earl Grey
Preceded byThe Duke of Northumberland
Succeeded byThe Marquess Wellesley
Personal details
Born
Henry William Bayley

17 May 1768 (1768-05-17)
London
Died29 April 1854(1854-04-29) (aged 85)
Tory
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1795; div. 1810)​
Children18
Parents
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
Years of service1793–1854
RankField Marshal
Commands7th Light Dragoons
Battles/warsFrench Revolutionary Wars

Napoleonic Wars

Awards
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order

Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey

PC (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member of parliament for Carnarvon and then for Milborne Port, he took part in the Flanders Campaign and then commanded the cavalry for Sir John Moore's army in Spain during the Peninsular War; his cavalry showed distinct superiority over their French counterparts at the Battle of Sahagún and at the Battle of Benavente, where he defeated the elite chasseurs of the French Imperial Guard. During the Hundred Days he led the charge of the heavy cavalry against Comte d'Erlon's column at the Battle of Waterloo. At the end of the battle, he lost part of one leg to a cannonball. In later life he served twice as Master-General of the Ordnance and twice as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
.

Background, education and politics

He was born Henry Bayley, the eldest son of Henry Bayley-Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge and his wife Jane (née Champagné), daughter of the Very Reverend Arthur Champagné, Dean of Clonmacnoise, Ireland.[1] His father assumed the surname Paget in 1770. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford.[2][3]

Paget entered parliament at the

Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds,[5] and again from the 1806 election[6] to January 1810, when he took the Chiltern Hundreds again.[7]

Military career

The Marquess of Anglesey's Column at Llanfairpwllgwyngyll

At the outbreak of the

lieutenant-colonel-commandant in December 1793.[2][8] As the 80th Regiment of Foot, the unit took part in the Flanders Campaign of 1794 under Paget's command.[3] He was formally commissioned into the British Army as a lieutenant in the 7th Regiment of Foot on 14 April 1795[9] and received rapid promotion, first to captain in the 23rd Regiment of Foot, also on 14 April 1795,[10] then to major in the 65th Regiment of Foot, on 19 May 1795[11] and then to lieutenant-colonel in the 80th Regiment of Foot on 30 May 1795.[12] He transferred to the command of the 16th Light Dragoons on 15 June 1795.[13] Promoted to colonel on 3 May 1796,[14] he was given command of the 7th Light Dragoons on 6 April 1797.[15] He commanded a cavalry brigade at the Battle of Castricum in October 1799 during the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland.[16]

Lord Paget by John Hoppner, 1798

Paget was promoted to

Earl of Uxbridge on his father's death in March 1812 and was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 4 January 1815.[19]

Waterloo

During the Hundred Days he was appointed cavalry commander in Belgium, under the still resentful eye of Wellington.[16] He fought at the Battle of Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815 and at the Battle of Waterloo two days later, when he led the spectacular charge of the British heavy cavalry against Comte d'Erlon's column which checked and in part routed the French Army.[20]

One of the last cannon shots fired that day hit Paget in the right leg, necessitating its amputation.[16] According to anecdote, he was close to Wellington when his leg was hit, and exclaimed, "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!" – to which Wellington replied, "By God, sir, so you have!"[21] The earliest account is that given in the diary of J. W. Croker on 8 December 1818, quoting Horace Seymour who was next to Uxbridge when he was hit and helped move the wounded general from the field: "Rode with Horace Seymour. He was next to Lord Uxbridge when he was shot; he cried out: “I have got it at last.” And the Duke of Wellington only replied: “No? Have you, by God?""[22] According to his aide-de-camp, Thomas Wildman, during the amputation Paget smiled and said, "I have had a pretty long run. I have been a beau these 47 years and it would not be fair to cut the young men out any longer."[21]

'

artificial limb fitted. The prosthetic legs he had commissioned (from one James Potts) which had movable joints became known as 'Anglesey legs' and he is credited with popularising the style. He became known as 'One-Leg'.[24]

Paget was created

general on 12 August 1819.[27]

Social life

Paget was the commodore of the Royal Irish Yacht Club, based at Sackville Street, Dublin (now O'Connell Street) in 1832 at the time when he served as lord-lieutenant of Ireland.[28]

Later career

Paget's support of the proceedings against

Wellington ministry, he accepted the appointment of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in February 1828.[33]

In December 1828, Paget addressed a letter to

Earl Grey's administration in November 1830, he again became Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.[29][16] In this capacity he introduced state-aided education for 400,000 children.[1] In July 1833, the ministry resigned over the Irish question. Still an impressive horseman even with a cork leg, George Whyte-Melville recalled the crowds that formed to cheer Paget as his well-ridden hack wended the London route from Piccadilly into Albemarle Street.[34] Paget spent the following thirteen years out of office, then joined Lord John Russell's administration as Master-General of the Ordnance in July 1846.[35] He was promoted to field-marshal on 9 November 1846[36] and, having been appointed Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire on 31 January 1849,[37] he finally retired from the Government in March 1852.[38]

Paget also served as honorary colonel of the 7th Light Dragoons[39] and later of the Royal Horse Guards.[40] He died of a stroke at Uxbridge House in Burlington Gardens on 29 April 1854 and was buried at Lichfield Cathedral, where a monument is erected to his honour.[41] He was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage, Henry.[42]

Family

Lady Caroline Villiers, (Lady Paget and later Duchess of Argyll), with her eldest son, Henry, by John Hoppner, 1800

Paget was first married on 5 July 1795 in London to Lady Caroline Elizabeth Villiers (16 December 1774 – 16 June 1835), daughter of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey and Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey. They had eight children:[42]

In 1809, Paget scandalously eloped with Lady Charlotte Cadogan (born 12 July 1781), the wife of Henry Wellesley and daughter of Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan and Mary Churchill. On 28 March 1809, Charlotte's brother, Henry Cadogan, challenged Paget to a duel:

"My Lord, I hereby request you to name a time and place where I may meet you, to obtain satisfaction for the injury done myself and my whole family by your conduct to my sister. I have to add that the time must be as early as possible, and the place not in the immediate neighbourhood of London, as it is by concealment alone that I am able to evade the Police."[44]

The contest took place on Wimbledon Common on the morning of 30 May with Hussey Vivian as Lord Paget's second and Captain McKenzie as Cadogan's. Both men discharged their pistols, honour was satisfied and the parties left the field uninjured.[45]

Caroline Paget divorced her husband on 29 November 1810, after which he married Lady Charlotte.[42] They had ten children, of whom seven survived infancy:[42]

Gallery

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/21112. Retrieved 22 February 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  2. ^ a b c d Chisholm 1911, p. 16.
  3. ^ a b c Heathcote, p. 235
  4. ^ a b Stooks Smith, p. 594
  5. ^ "No. 15711". The London Gazette. 16 June 1804. p. 744.
  6. ^ "No. 15978". The London Gazette. 25 November 1806. p. 1538.
  7. ^ "No. 16339". The London Gazette. 3 February 1810. p. 178.
  8. ^ "No. 13604". The London Gazette. 17 December 1793. p. 1129.
  9. ^ "No. 13769". The London Gazette. 11 April 1795. p. 329.
  10. ^ "No. 13769". The London Gazette. 11 April 1795. p. 330.
  11. ^ "No. 13780". The London Gazette. 19 May 1795. p. 499.
  12. ^ "No. 13782". The London Gazette. 26 May 1795. p. 537.
  13. ^ "No. 13788". The London Gazette. 16 June 1795. p. 627.
  14. ^ "No. 13892". The London Gazette. 14 May 1796. p. 460.
  15. ^ "No. 13999". The London Gazette. 4 April 1797. p. 316.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i Heathcote, p. 236
  17. ^ "No. 16142". The London Gazette. 3 May 1808. p. 622.
  18. ^ Fletcher, p. 95
  19. ^ "No. 16972". The London Gazette. 4 January 1815. p. 18.
  20. ^ Barbero, pp. 85–187
  21. ^ a b "Obituary: The 7th Marquis of Anglesey". The Telegraph. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  22. ^ A. McK. Annand, "COLONEL SIR HORACE SEYMOUR, K.C.H., M.P. (1791-1851)" in Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol. 47, No. 190 (Summer 1969), pp. 86-88
  23. ^ BBC History Magazine, vol. 3, no. 6, June 2002
  24. S2CID 201782008
    .
  25. ^ "The Marquess of Anglesey's Column & Nelson's Monument". Places to visit. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  26. ^ "No. 17340". The London Gazette. 14 March 1818. p. 473.
  27. ^ "No. 17505". The London Gazette. 12 August 1819. p. 1441.
  28. ^ "Charles Halliday pamphlets". Royal Irish Academy Library. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  29. ^ a b c Chisholm 1911, p. 17.
  30. ^ "No. 17732". The London Gazette. 3 August 1821. p. 1605.
  31. ^ "No. 18240". The London Gazette. 22 April 1826. p. 936.
  32. ^ "No. 18357". The London Gazette. 1 May 1827. p. 961.
  33. ^ "No. 18447". The London Gazette. 29 February 1828. p. 409.
  34. ^ Riding Recollections, 5th ed. by G. J. Whyte-Melville. Pages 90-91. Accessed 5 September 2022.
  35. ^ "No. 20621". The London Gazette. 10 July 1846. p. 2534.
  36. ^ "No. 20660". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 10 November 1846. p. 3987.
  37. ^ "No. 20941". The London Gazette. 2 February 1849. p. 314.
  38. ^ Heathcote, p. 237
  39. ^ "No. 15366". The London Gazette. 16 May 1801. p. 550.
  40. ^ "No. 20180". The London Gazette. 23 December 1842. p. 3820.
  41. ^ Paget, p. 35
  42. ^ a b c d G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume III, page 208. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
  43. ^ "Key to Mr Leslie's picture of Queen Victoria receiving the Holy Sacrament at her Coronation". National Portrait Gallery.
  44. ISBN 978-1-4738-1689-3
    .
  45. ^ Sir Walter Scott (1811). The Edinburgh Annual Register. John Ballantyne and Company. p. 151.
  46. ^ Lady Cadogan's Illustrated Games of Patience or Solitaire (1914).

Sources

Caricature of Henry William Paget

Attribution:

Further reading

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henry William Paget.
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Carnarvon
1790–1796
 Succeeded by
Preceded by
Mark Wood
1800
With: Robert Ainslie
 Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Parliament of Great Britain
1801–1804
With: Robert Ainslie 1801–1804
Hugh Leycester
1802–1804 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Milborne Port
1806–1810
With: Hugh Leycester 		Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by Colonel of the 7th (or Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons
1801–1842 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues)
1842–1854 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Master-General of the Ordnance
1827–1828 		Succeeded by
The Viscount Beresford
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1828–1829 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1830–1833 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Sir George Murray
 Master-General of the Ordnance
1846–1852 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Lord Lieutenant of Anglesey

1812–1854 		Succeeded by
Vice-Admiral of North Wales
and Carmarthenshire

1812–1854 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire
1849–1854 		Succeeded by
Court offices
Vacant
Title last held by
The Lord Erskine 		Lord High Steward
1821 		Vacant
Title next held by
The Duke of Hamilton
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Marquess of Anglesey
1815–1854 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by
Earl of Uxbridge

2nd creation
1812–1854 		Succeeded by
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Baron Paget
(descended by acceleration
)
1812–1832 		Succeeded by
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