General Alexander Ross (1742–1827) was a British officer who served in the

American War of Independence 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 ...

and in India, rising to the rank of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

. He was a close friend of

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

Life

Alexander Ross was born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1742, the youngest of the five sons of Ross of Auchlossin. He entered the army as

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

50th Regiment of Foot The 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot to form the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment ...

in February 1760. He was gazetted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

14th Regiment of Foot 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 and preceding 15. In relation to the word "four" ( 4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a stella octangula number. ...

on 18 September 1765. After serving in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Ross returned to England in May 1775. Lieutenant Ross became captain on 30 May, and served with distinction throughout the

American war of independence 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 ...

. He was aide-de-camp to

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

and was sent home by him with the despatches of the

Battle of Camden The Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780), also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces under Lieutenant General ...

on 16 Aug. 1780. He was made major in the

45th Regiment of Foot The 45th (Nottinghamshire) (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1741. The regiment saw action during Father Le Loutre's War, the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War as w ...

on 25 October 1780. He represented Lord Cornwallis as commissioner in arranging the details of the

surrender of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

. In May 1782 he was sent to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to arrange for the exchange of Lord Cornwallis, which was only effected by the peace of 20 January 1783. In August 1783 Ross was appointed deputy adjutant-general in Scotland, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and he served in a similar capacity in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

under Lord Cornwallis. He became colonel on 12 October 1793. In August 1794 he went with Earl Spencer and

Thomas Grenville Thomas Grenville (31 December 1755 – 17 December 1846) was a British politician and bibliophile. Background and education Grenville was the second son of Prime Minister George Grenville and Elizabeth Wyndham, daughter of Sir William Wyndh ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on a special mission to arrange that Lord Cornwallis should command the allies against the French. Their efforts were unsuccessful. He accompanied Lord Cornwallis as major-general to Warley camp in April 1795, and two months later was nominated

Surveyor-General of the Ordnance The Surveyor-General of the Ordnance was a subordinate of the Master-General of the Ordnance and a member of the Board of Ordnance, a British government body, from its constitution in 1597. Appointments to the post were made by the crown under Le ...

in succession to

George Cranfield Berkeley Admiral Sir George Cranfield Berkeley GCB (10 August 1753 – 25 February 1818) was a British Royal Navy officer. An admiral, he was highly popular yet controversial in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain. Serving on several ...

. Ross was promoted lieutenant-general on 29 April 1802 and general on 1 January 1812. He became colonel of the

89th (The Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot The 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised on 3 December 1793. Under the Childers Reforms the regiment amalgamated with the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot to form the Princess Victor ...

in 1797, transferring to the

59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot The 59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1755 in response to the threat of renewed war with France. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regimen ...

in 1801. He was also

Governor of Fort George and Fort Augustus The Governor of Inverness or Governor of Fort George and Fort Augustus was a British Army officer who commanded the garrisons at Fort George and Fort Augustus in Inverness-shire. The office became a sinecure and was abolished in 1833. Governors ...

from 1804 to his death. He was one of the most intimate friends of Lord Cornwallis, whose correspondence, in three volumes, was edited in 1859 by his son, Charles Ross. He died in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 20 November 1827. On 15 October 1795 Ross married Isabella Barbara Evelyn, daughter of

Sir Robert Gunning, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Gunning, 1st Baronet (8 June 1731 – 22 September 1816) was a British diplomat. He served as the British minister in Denmark 1765–1771, in Prussia in 1771 and in Russia 1772–1776. Gunning was appointed a Knight Companion of the Ord ...

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Alexander 1742 births 1827 deaths Scottish military personnel British Army generals Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers West Yorkshire Regiment officers 59th Regiment of Foot officers Royal Irish Fusiliers officers Sherwood Foresters officers Place of birth missing British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War