Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres and ''de jure'' 23rd Earl of Crawford (18 January 175227 March 1825) was the son of James Lindsay, 5th Earl of Balcarres. He was a general in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

Early life

He entered the army at the age of fifteen as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, in the

53rd Regiment of Foot The 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 85th (King's Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881. History E ...

. After attending

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

, he studied at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

for two years, and subsequently purchased a captaincy in the 42nd Highland Regiment in 1771. He saw action during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

; in 1775, he was appointed a major of the 53rd, and he commanded the

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often foug ...

companies at the

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

(1777), and surrendered there with Burgoyne. He was released from captivity in 1779. Around this time he founded the famous Haigh Ironworks with his partners, his brother Robert and James Corbett.

Marriage

On 1 June 1780, he married his first cousin, Elizabeth Bradshaigh Dalrymple, who had inherited

Haigh Hall Haigh Hall is a historic country house in Haigh, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Built between 1827 and 1840 for James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, it replaced an ancient manor house and was a Lindsay family home until 1947, when it was ...

and estate, in Haigh near Wigan,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

. They had five children: *Elizabeth Keith Lindsay (died 1825), second great-grandmother of

Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a memb ...

James Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford James Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford and 7th Earl of Balcarres (24 April 1783 – 15 December 1869) was an Earl in the Peerage of Scotland. Biography James Lindsay was born on 24 April 1783 at Balcarres House in Fife, the son of Alexander ...

(1783–1869) *Edwin Lindsay *Charles Robert Lindsay (1784–1835) *Anne Lindsay (died 1846)

Career

He was subsequently promoted to the rank of colonel and made lieutenant-colonel commandant of the second

71st Regiment of Foot The 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, raised in 1777. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry in 1881. History ...

made up of the four additional or recruiting companies of the 71st Highlanders in Scotland. He was chosen a representative peer for Scotland in 1784, and was re-elected through 1807, inclusive. On 27 August 1789, he was appointed colonel of the

63rd Regiment of Foot The 63rd Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms, it amalgamated with the 96th Regiment of Foot to form the Manchester Regiment in 1881. History Formation and service in the Seven Years' War The fo ...

, and was promoted major-general in 1793.

Governor of Jamaica

Commander of the forces in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...

from 1793 to 1794, he was then appointed

Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jama ...

. He was governor when the

Second Maroon War The Second Maroon War of 1795–1796 was an eight-month conflict between the Maroons of Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town), a Maroon settlement later re-named after Governor Edward Trelawny at the end of First Maroon War, located near Trelawny Pa ...

broke out, and he mishandled the situation so badly that he allowed a minor dispute over land to mushroom into a costly conflict that lasted months. In early 1795, worried at the prospect of an uprising, Balcarres sent representatives to Havana to purchase 100 Cuban bloodhounds, which in his words were " breed which are used to hunt down runaway negroes". Arriving a few months later, the bloodhounds were successfully employed against Maroons and runaways for the duration of the conflict, though their use provoked heavy criticism from

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

and

military officers An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contextu ...

in Britain. Balcarres underestimated the guerrilla fighting capabilities of the

Jamaican Maroons Jamaican Maroons descend from Africans who freed themselves from slavery on the Colony of Jamaica and established communities of free black people in the island's mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern parishes. Africans who were ensl ...

, who had the better of the skirmishes with the soldiers under the command of the governor's generals. Eventually, one of his generals, George Walpole, persuaded the leader of the Maroons of Cudjoe's Town,

Montague James Montague James (d. c. 1812) was a Maroon leader of Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town) in the last decade of eighteenth-century Jamaica. It is possible that Maroon colonel Montague James took his name from the white superintendent of Trelawny Town, Jo ...

, to surrender on condition they would not be deported. However, Balcarres reversed Walpole's promise and transported the Trelawny Maroons to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. In the aftermath of the Second Maroon War, Balcarres struggled to disperse the runaway community of

Cuffee Cuffee, Cuffey, or Coffey is a first name and surname recorded in African-American culture, believed to be derived from the Akan language name Kofi, meaning "born on a Friday". This was noted as one of the most common male names of West African ...

in the Cockpit Country in western

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

. Hundreds of runaway slaves secured their freedom by fighting alongside Trelawny Town in the Second Maroon War, and many of them joined Cuffee's community. He was promoted lieutenant-general in 1798, and resigned the governorship in 1801. On 25 September 1803, he was promoted to general.

Later life

After his return from the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, he was introduced to

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

, who had led several attacks on his position at Saratoga. Balcarres snubbed Arnold as a traitor, and a duel ensued, neither party being injured. After being maimed in an accident he retired to the family's second home at

, near Wigan. On his death, he was succeeded by his eldest son James, the 7th Earl. After James had successfully pressed his claim to the title of Earl of Crawford in 1848, the title was conferred posthumously on Alexander, even though he had not claimed it himself. His younger son, Edwin Lindsay, an Indian army officer, was declared insane after refusing to fight in a duel and was sent to

Papa Stour Papa Stour ( sco, Papa Stour) is one of the Shetland Islands in Scotland, with a population of under fifteen people, some of whom immigrated after an appeal for residents in the 1970s. Located to the west of mainland Shetland and with an area o ...

in the

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the n ...

islands. He spent 26 years there as a prisoner before the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

preacher Catherine Watson arranged for his release in 1835.

Memorial

His memorial, in the Crawford chapel of All Saints' Church, Wigan, reads:

"Alexander VIth Earl of Balcarres Lord Lindsay and Balneill born 18 Jan 1750 General in the army and Governor of Jersey and Jamaica during the revolutionary War succeeded as XXIIIth Earl of Crawford in 1808 died 25 March 1825 and lies buried in this chapel "Except the Lord build the house they labour in vain that build it".

References

External links

Earls of Balcarres
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balcarres, Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl Of British Army generals British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Earls of Balcarres 1752 births 1825 deaths British duellists Governors of Jersey 42nd Regiment of Foot officers King's Shropshire Light Infantry officers People educated at Eton College University of Göttingen alumni 63rd Regiment of Foot officers Governors of Jamaica 71st Highlanders officers Scottish representative peers

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

Earls of Crawford Scottish Freemasons