Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings: Difference between revisions

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Extended confirmed users, Page movers, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers
874,344 edits
m Disambiguating links to Deccan (disambiguation) (link changed to Deccan Plateau) using DisamAssist.
Rescuing 2 sources and tagging 0 as dead. #IABot (v1.6.1) (Balon Greyjoy)
Line 98: Line 98:


However, Rawdon was forced to begin a gradual retreat to [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]]. He relieved the [[Siege of Ninety-Six]], evacuating its small garrison and conducting a limited pursuit of American troops. He withdrew his forces to Charleston. In July 1781, in poor health, he gave up his command. On his return to Great Britain, he was captured at sea by [[François Joseph Paul de Grasse]], but was exchanged.<ref>{{cite web
However, Rawdon was forced to begin a gradual retreat to [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]]. He relieved the [[Siege of Ninety-Six]], evacuating its small garrison and conducting a limited pursuit of American troops. He withdrew his forces to Charleston. In July 1781, in poor health, he gave up his command. On his return to Great Britain, he was captured at sea by [[François Joseph Paul de Grasse]], but was exchanged.<ref>{{cite web
|url= http://home.golden.net/~marg/bansite/friends/rawdon.html
|url = http://home.golden.net/~marg/bansite/friends/rawdon.html
|title= Lord Rawdon, Baron Rawdon, Earl of Moira, Marquess of Hastings
|title = Lord Rawdon, Baron Rawdon, Earl of Moira, Marquess of Hastings
|work= www.banastretarleton.org
|work = www.banastretarleton.org
|accessdate=26 October 2008
|accessdate = 26 October 2008
|author= Paul David Nelson
|author = Paul David Nelson
|date= 7 May 2007
|date = 7 May 2007
|deadurl = yes
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090129192247/http://home.golden.net/~marg/bansite/friends/rawdon.html
|archivedate = 29 January 2009
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref> After Rawdon's departure, the British evacuated Charleston as the war drew to a close. They took thousands of Loyalists and freed slaves with them, having promised freedom to slaves of rebels who joined their lines, resettling these groups in Nova Scotia and the Caribbean.
}}</ref> After Rawdon's departure, the British evacuated Charleston as the war drew to a close. They took thousands of Loyalists and freed slaves with them, having promised freedom to slaves of rebels who joined their lines, resettling these groups in Nova Scotia and the Caribbean.


Line 191: Line 195:
*[[Ninety Six National Historic Site]]
*[[Ninety Six National Historic Site]]
*[http://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/british_army_francis_rawdon.html Francis, Lord Rawdon – Colonel]
*[http://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/british_army_francis_rawdon.html Francis, Lord Rawdon – Colonel]
*[http://www.essortment.com/all/historiccamden_rlbc.htm Battle of Hobkirk's Hill]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080601044133/http://www.essortment.com/all/historiccamden_rlbc.htm Battle of Hobkirk's Hill]
*[http://www.hobkirkhill.org/hobkirk/orderofbattle.aspx#Rawdon Rediscovering Hobkirk's Hill]
*[http://www.hobkirkhill.org/hobkirk/orderofbattle.aspx#Rawdon Rediscovering Hobkirk's Hill]


Revision as of 15:16, 14 December 2017

George IV
Preceded byHon. Thomas Maitland
Succeeded byAlexander George Woodford
As Acting Governor
Personal details
Born(1754-12-09)9 December 1754
County Down, Kingdom of Ireland
Died28 November 1826(1826-11-28) (aged 71)
At sea off Naples
NationalityBritish
Spouse(s)Flora Campbell,
6th Countess of Loudoun
(1780–1840)
Military service
Allegiance Great Britain
Branch/serviceBritish Army
RankGeneral
CommandsCommander-in-Chief of India
Battles/warsAmerican War of Independence
French Revolutionary Wars

Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings,

Anglo-Irish British politician and military officer who served as Governor-General of India from 1813 to 1823. He had also served with British forces for years during the American Revolutionary War and in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. He took the additional surname 'Hastings' in 1790 in compliance with the will of his maternal uncle, Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon.[1]

Background, education and early military career

Hastings was born at

5th Foot
. He returned to England to join his regiment, and sailed for America on 7 May 1774.

In May 1789 he acted as the Duke of York's second in his duel with Lieut.-Colonel Lennox on Wimbledon Common.[1]

American War of Independence

See also: American Revolutionary War

Battle of Bunker Hill

The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill

Rawdon was posted at

The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Rawdon is in the far background holding the British ensign
.

Winter quarters 1775–1776

During the Boston winter quarters, Rawdon made his stage debut, delivering a prologue for

Henry Clinton, and sailed with him on the expedition to Brunswick Town, North Carolina, on the Cape Fear River, and then to the repulse at Fort Moultrie, Charleston, South Carolina. He returned with him to New York. On 4 August, he dined with General Clinton, Admiral Lord Howe, Lord Cornwallis, General Vaughan, and others.[7] During the Battle of Long Island
, he was at headquarters with Clinton.

Landing at Kip's Bay

Main article: Landing at Kip's Bay

On 15 September, Rawdon led his men at

Kip's Bay, an amphibious landing on Manhattan island.[8] The next day, he led his troops in support of the Light Infantry that attacked Harlem Heights
until the Americans withdrew.

White Plains

Main article: Battle of White Plains

He participated at the landings at

Pell's Point. The British pressed the Americans to White Plains, where on 1 November the Americans withdrew from their entrenchments.[citation needed
]

Rhode Island, England, and New York

On 8 December Rawdon landed with Clinton at

British Navy. On 13 January 1777, with Clinton, he departed for London, arriving 1 March. During a ball at Lord George Germain's, he met Lafayette, who was visiting London.[9]

Returning to America in July, while Howe went to his Philadelphia campaign, Rawdon went with Clinton to the New York headquarters. He participated in the battles of the New York Highlands, where on 7 October, Fort Constitution (opposite West Point) was captured. However, this was too late to link up with General Burgoyne at Albany.[10]

Rawdon was sent to Philadelphia with dispatches and returned to New York for the winter, where he raised a regiment, called the Volunteers of Ireland, recruited from deserters and Irish Loyalists. Promoted colonel in command of this regiment, Rawdon went with Clinton to Philadelphia.[11] starting out on 18 June 1778, he went with Clinton during the withdrawal from Philadelphia to New York, and saw action at the Battle of Monmouth.[12] He was appointed adjutant general. Rawdon was sent to learn news of the Battle of Rhode Island.[13]

At New York, on 3 September 1779, he quarreled with Clinton, and resigned his position as adjutant general.

Lord Stirling on 15 January 1780.[15]

Southern Campaign

Main article: Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War

He went south to the

Lord Cornwallis posted him at Camden (16 August 1780)[1] as the British sought to occupy South Carolina. Rawdon commanded the British left wing at the Battle of Camden. When Cornwallis went into Virginia
, he left Rawdon in effective command in the South.

Perhaps his most noted achievement was the victory in 1781 at the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill, in which, in command of only a small force, he defeated by superior military skill and determination, a much larger body of Americans. Thinking (in error) that General Nathanael Greene had moved his artillery away, Rawdon attacked Greene's left wing, forcing the Americans to retire.[16]

However, Rawdon was forced to begin a gradual retreat to

Siege of Ninety-Six, evacuating its small garrison and conducting a limited pursuit of American troops. He withdrew his forces to Charleston. In July 1781, in poor health, he gave up his command. On his return to Great Britain, he was captured at sea by François Joseph Paul de Grasse, but was exchanged.[17]
After Rawdon's departure, the British evacuated Charleston as the war drew to a close. They took thousands of Loyalists and freed slaves with them, having promised freedom to slaves of rebels who joined their lines, resettling these groups in Nova Scotia and the Caribbean.

Peace years

Rawdon became active in associations in London. He was F.R.S. (Fellow of the Royal Society ?) 1787 and F.S.A. (Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries ?) 1793. For 1806-8 he was Grand Master of the Free Masons.[18]

French Revolutionary Wars

See also:
French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1794

Following the declaration of war in 1793 of France upon Great Britain, Rawdon-Hastings (as he was now known) was appointed major general, on 12 October 1793. Sent by the

Alost. The French general Pichegru, with superior numbers, forced the British back toward their base at Antwerp. Rawdon-Hastings left the expedition, feeling Pitt had broken promises.[21]

Political career

Rawdon sat for

Regency Crisis
.

In 1789, he took the surname Hastings in accordance with his uncle's will. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Moira on 20 June 1793, and thereafter served in the House of Lords for three decades.

Plot to become Prime Minister

In 1797 it was rumoured briefly that Rawdon (Moira) would replace Pitt as Prime Minister. There was some discontent with Pitt over his policies regarding the war with France. Additionally Pitt's long tenure in office had given him ample opportunity to annoy various political grandees, including but not limited to The Duke of Leeds and Lords Thurlow and Lansdowne.

In mid-May a combination of these various figures, coupled with a handful of Members of Parliament, proposed to make Rawdon (Moira) the Prime Minister. Having fought in the American War and having led an expedition to Quiberon, he commanded widespread respect. His relationship to the Prince of Wales also established him as a potential rival to Pitt, who was supported strongly by King George III.[23]

The prime motivation for the plan of having Rawdon (Moira) become Prime Minister was to secure peace with France, the plotters having come to believe (somewhat unfairly) that Pitt was an obstacle to this objective. But their plan collapsed barely a month later in mid-June because of a lack of support from the political establishment. Additionally when Rawdon (Moira) wrote to the King to propose the change of chief ministers, the monarch ignored him. Thus the proposal came to nothing.[24]

He became

general in September 1803.[25]

Later politics

Rawdon was a long-standing advocate of Irish issues, in particular

Catholic Emancipation. At one point he was described by the Irish revolutionary Wolfe Tone as "The Irish Lafayette".[26]

Becoming a

Prince-Regent, Moira was asked by him to form a Whig government after the assassination of Spencer Perceval in 1812 ended that ministry. Both of Moira's attempts to create a governing coalition failed. The Tories returned to power under the Earl of Liverpool. On 6 December 1816, Moira was raised to the rank of Marquess of Hastings together with the subsidiary titles Viscount Loudoun and Earl of Rawdon.[27]

He also became the patron of Thomas Moore, the Irish poet. Moore visited his patron's new seat, Donington Hall, and wrote about his impressions of it. "I thought it all exceedingly fine and grand, but most uncomfortable."[28] Moore was later disappointed when Moira, having been appointed Governor General of India, did not offer to take him to India on his staff. The two men met but once again.[29]

Governor-General of India

The Marquess of Hastings as Governor-General of India

Through the influence of the Prince-Regent, Moira was appointed Governor-General of India on 11 November 1812.

Marathas in 1818; and the purchase of the island of Singapore in 1819.[31]

After delays clearing affairs, he reached

Bombay. He commanded an army of 15,000 British regulars, a Bengal army of 27 regiments of native infantry, and eight regiments of cavalry; a Madras army, led by General John Abercrombie of 24 regiments of native infantry, and eight regiments of native cavalry.[32]

Anglo-Nepalese War

Main article: Anglo-Nepalese War

In May 1813, the British declared war against the

Sugauli Treaty.[33]

Third Anglo-Maratha War

See also: Third Anglo-Maratha War

After raids by

Holkar at the Battle of Mahidpur
.

Diplomacy

Rawdon was active diplomatically, protecting weaker Indian states. His domestic policy in India was also largely successful, seeing the repair of the Mughul canal system in Delhi in 1820, as well as educational and administrative reforms. He confirmed the purchase of Singapore from the Sultan of Jahore, by Sir Stamford Raffles, in January 1819.

He became increasingly estranged from the

Governor of Malta in 1824 and died at sea off Naples two years later, aboard HMS Revenge. Following his directions, his right hand was cut off and preserved, to be buried with his wife when she died. This request was observed, and his hand was interred, clasped with hers in the family vault at Loudoun Kirk.[18]

Donington Hall

Inheriting Donington Hall from his uncle, Rawdon rebuilt it in Gothic style; Wilkins was the architect. He placed the estate at the disposal of the Bourbon Princes upon their exile in England following the French Revolution. He is said to have left a signed cheque-book in each bedroom for the occupant to use at pleasure.[28]

Legacy

Family

On 12 July 1804, at the age of 50, he married

Flora Campbell, 6th Countess of Loudoun, daughter of Major-General James Mure-Campbell, 5th Earl of Loudoun
and Lady Flora Macleod. They had six children:

In popular culture

  • The character of Rawdon Crawley in William Makepeace Thackeray's novel Vanity Fair is named after him. He is also Francis Rawdon Hastings, the Second Earl of Moira, in Stephanie Barron's novel "Jane and the Barque of Frailty."

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Beevor, p.58
  2. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 21)
  3. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 22)
  4. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 27)
  5. ISBN 9780838640715
    .
  6. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 32)
  7. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 42)
  8. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 47)
  9. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 55)
  10. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 56)
  11. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 61)
  12. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 62)
  13. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 65)
  14. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 67)
  15. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 69)
  16. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 95)
  17. ^ Paul David Nelson (7 May 2007). "Lord Rawdon, Baron Rawdon, Earl of Moira, Marquess of Hastings". www.banastretarleton.org. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ a b Beevor, p.59
  19. ^ Brown, J. (1851) A History of the Highlands and of the Highland Clans, Vol.IV.
  20. ^ James, C. (1805) A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary, 2nd ed.
  21. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 121)
  22. ^ "No. 12419". The London Gazette. 1 March 1783. p. 1.
  23. ISBN 978-0-00-714719-9. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help
    )     p.407
  24. ^ Hague p.407
  25. ^ "Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  26. ^ Kelly p.228
  27. ^ "No. 17198". The London Gazette. 7 December 1816. p. 2314.
  28. ^ a b Beevor, p.60
  29. ^ Kelly pp.226–229
  30. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 148)
  31. ^ "Francis Rawdon- Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings | eHISTORY". ehistory.osu.edu. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  32. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, p. 162)
  33. ^ (Paul David Nelson 2005, pp. 164–165)
  34. ^ Morley p.286.
  35. ^ Boyce, Gerald E. (1967). Historic Hastings, Belleville: Hastings County Council.

Sources

External links
Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by
Member of Parliament for Randalstown
 –1783
With: John O'Neill
 Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by
Commander-in-Chief, Scotland

1803–1806 		Succeeded by
William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, India
1813–1823 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Colonel of the
27th Regiment of Foot

1804–1826 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Master-General of the Ordnance
1806–1807 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Governor-General of India
1813–1823 		Succeeded by
John Adam
(acting)
Preceded by
Governor of Malta

1824–1826 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets

1806–1826 		Succeeded by
Masonic offices
Preceded by Acting Grand Master of the
Premier Grand Lodge of England
1790–1812 		Succeeded by
The Duke of Sussex
(as Grand Master)
Preceded by
The Earl of Dalhousie
(as Grand Master)
Acting Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of Scotland

1806–1808 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Marquess of Hastings
1816–1826 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by
Earl of Moira

1793–1826 		Succeeded by
New creation
Baron Rawdon

1783–1826 		Succeeded by
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Elizabeth Rawdon
 Baron Hastings
1808–1826 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Francis_Rawdon-Hastings,_1st_Marquess_of_Hastings&oldid=815389515"