The British Field Marshals 1736-1997 by T. A. Heathcote

Author:T. A. Heathcote [Heathcote T. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783461417
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Published: 2013-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

HARDINGE

Sir HENRY, 1st Viscount Hardinge, GCB (1785–1856) [41]

Henry Hardinge, the third son of a wealthy clergyman, was born on 30 March 1785 at Wrotham, Kent. His first commission, dated 8 October 1798, was as an ensign in the Queen’s Rangers, a colonial corps localized in Upper Canada. On 25 March 1802 he became a lieutenant in the 4th Foot, on the half-pay list. He transferred to the 1st Foot, the Royal Scots, on the full-pay list in 1803 and exchanged to the 57th Foot with promotion to captain on 7 April 1804. Between February 1806 and November 1807 he attended the Senior Department of the newly-formed Royal Military College, High Wycombe, and so became one of the British Army’s first properly trained staff officers. As such, he obtained a staff appointment in the contingent sent to reinforce the British army in Portugal in August 1808 and was at Rolica (17 August 1808) and Vimiero (21 August 1808), where he was wounded. He returned to the Peninsula in Sir John Moore’s army later in 1808, where he served as a staff officer in the retreat to Corunna. Hardinge was at the battle of Corunna (16 January 1809) and was involved in organizing the subsequent British embarkation. Hardinge was promoted to major on 13 April 1809 and was selected for service with the Portuguese Army under the command of Marshal Beresford. He was with the Portuguese at the passage of the Douro (Oporto, 12 May 1809); Busaco (27 September 1810); Albuera (16 May 1812); Ciudad Rodrigo (8–19 January 1812); Badajoz (6 April 1812); Salamanca (22 July 1812); Vittoria (21 June 1813), where he was wounded; the Pyrenees (27–30 July 1813); Pamplona (August-September 1813); the Nivelle (10 October 1813); the Nive (10–18 December 1813); Orthez (27 February 1814) and Toulouse (10 April 1814). Hardinge became a lieutenant colonel in the British Army on 30 May 1811 and in the 40th Foot on 12 April 1814. He joined the 1st Foot Guards on 25 July 1814, as a captain in the regiment and lieutenant colonel in the Army, and was awarded the KCB in January 1815. In the Hundred Days campaign Sir Henry Hardinge was appointed British commissioner with the Prussian army under Field Marshal Prince von Blücher. He was wounded at Ligny (16 June 1815), where he lost a hand. He rejoined the Prussians in Paris two weeks later and remained with them until the Army of Occupation was withdrawn in November 1818.

Hardinge entered Parliament as MP for Durham in 1820 and retained his seat until 1844. He was promoted to colonel on 19 July 1821 and married, in December 1821, Lady Emily James, the widowed half-sister of the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. He became Clerk of the Ordnance in 1823, when the Duke of Wellington [24] became Master General of the Ordnance. Hardinge was appointed Secretary at War in May 1828 and, as such, acted as Wellington’s second in his duel with Lord Winchilsea. He was a government minister as Secretary for

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.