Hudson Lowe
John Wilson | |
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Personal details | |
Born | 28 July 1769 Galway, Ireland |
Died | 10 January 1844 | (aged 74)
Military service | |
Allegiance | Lieutenant-general |
Commands | Royal Corsican Rangers General Officer Commanding, Ceylon |
Sir Hudson Lowe .
Early life
The son of John Lowe, an army
Career
Corsica
Lowe arrived back at
When he recovered, Lowe returned to
Lowe later saw active service successively in
Napoleonic Wars
After the
In the course of 1809, Lowe and his Corsicans helped in the capture of
He was knighted and promoted to major-general; he also received decorations from the
At the time of Lowe's appointment, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, Lord Bathurst, wrote to Wellington:
I do not believe we could have found a fitter person of his rank in the army willing to accept a situation of so much confinement, responsibility and exclusion from society.[8]
Saint Helena
On his arrival at
The news that rescue-expeditions were being planned by Bonapartists in the United States led to the enforcement of stricter regulations in October 1816. Lowe ordered sentries to be posted round the garden of Napoleon's residence, Longwood House, at sunset instead of at 9 p.m.[7] He assigned a British officer the task of catching sight of Napoleon every day. Lowe created a set of petty rules that included restricting Napoleon to the Longwood Estate and requiring that the British not address Napoleon by his Imperial titles but only as a general. He demanded that Napoleon pay for part of his imprisonment, so Napoleon offered up some Imperial silver for sale. This created such a backlash in Europe that the demand had to be cancelled. Then he reduced the amount of firewood for Longwood. News that Napoleon was burning his furniture to stay warm again caused such a backlash of public sympathy that the supply of firewood was restored.
All of this and more offended Napoleon and his followers, who campaigned against Lowe.
In addition, modern scholars debate Lowe's role in Napoleon's death. Lowe's restriction of the former Emperor of the French to what amounts to "house arrest," not just "exile," certainly affected Napoleon's exercise and general health, but some have gone so far as to suggest that Lowe may have had him poisoned.
After the death of the Emperor Napoleon in May 1821, Lowe returned to England. On the publication of O'Meara's book, Lowe resolved to prosecute the author, but his application was too late.[7] Ironically, O'Meara's book was softer on Lowe than what the doctor really thought of him and of his role as "executioner" at St. Helena. His true attitudes are revealed in the letters he passed clandestinely to a clerk at the Admiralty.[9]
Apart from the thanks of
He contributed to the abolition of slavery on the island.[11]
After Saint Helena
In June 1822 he was appointed Colonel in Chief of the
In 1825–30, he commanded the forces in
Lowe died at Charlotte Cottage, near Sloane Street, Chelsea, of paralysis, on 10 Jan. 1844, aged 74.[13]
Family
In London on 30 December 1815
Portrayals in fiction
Sir Hudson Lowe was portrayed by Orson Welles in Sacha Guitry's film Napoléon (1955), by Ralph Richardson in Eagle in a Cage (1972), by Vernon Dobtcheff in L'Otage de l'Europe (1989), by David Francis in the Napoleon miniseries (2002), and by Richard E. Grant in Monsieur N. (2003). He appears in the play La Dernière Salve by Jean-Claude Brisville (1995). He is a character in Tom Keneally’s book Napoleon’s Last Island (2015).
References
- ^ Gregory p.17-18
- ^ Rose 1911, p. 72.
- ^ Gregory p.18-19
- ^ Gregory p.19-22
- ^ Gregory p.22
- ^ Rose 1911, pp. 72–73.
- ^ a b c d e Rose 1911, p. 73.
- ^ Wellesley 1864, p. 56.
- ^ Barry O'Meara's clandestine letters[usurped] Albert Benhamou, 2012
- ^ Lord Rosebery, Napoleon: The Last Phase, 1900, pp. 68–69.
- ^ George, Barbara B.; Caesar, Lucinda (2012). St Helena, Slavery and the Abolition on the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (PDF). Saint Helena: Museum of St Helena. p. 8.
- ^ Scottish Highlands: Highland Clans and Regiments
- ^ a b Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
- ISBN 978-0-8386-3657-2.
- ^ "Free Family History and Genealogy Records —". Familysearch.org. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- Bibliography
- Obit
- Desmond Gregory Napoleon's Jailer: Lt. General Sir Hudson Lowe: A Life. Associated University Presses, 1996.
- Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, Napoleon: The Last Phase, London 1900.
- Wellesley, Arthur Richard, ed. (1864). Supplementary Despatches, Correspondence and Memoranda of Field Marshal Arthur Duke of Wellington KG. Vol. XI Occupation of France by the Allied Armies: Surrender of Napoleon and the Restoration of the Bourbons. J. Murray.
Attribution:
- public domain: Rose, John Holland (1911). "Lowe, Sir Hudson". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 72–73. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- Gilbert Martineau, Napoleon's St Helena (1968)
- Kitching, G. C. (July 1948). "Sir Hudson Lowe and the East India Company". The English Historical Review. 63 (248). Oxford University Press: 322–341. JSTOR 555342.
External links
- Succinct chronology of Napoleon's Captivity[usurped] by Albert Benhamou