Lieutenant-General Charles Griffiths (3 August 1763 – 31 May 1829) was a British soldier, foster brother to

Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus; 16 August 1763 – 5 January 1827) was the second son of George III, King of the United Kingdom and Hanover, and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A soldier by profess ...

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and Captain of Yarmouth Castle,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

Parents and marriage

Griffiths was the son of the Reverend John Griffiths and his wife Mary, the daughter of John Denham. Mary has been described as the foster-mother to the Duke of York, second son of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. Griffiths was thirteen days older than the Duke of York and has been described in turn as the latter's foster-brother. He married on 7 June 1796 Caroline Francis, the daughter of Sir

William Neville Hart William Neville Hart (27 December 1741 in St James's Palace, London – 23 October 1804, Inveraray Castle, Scotland) was a British banker, politician and diplomat. He was born to Denise Gougeon, the wife of Lewis Augustus Blondeau. His mother wa ...

and Elizabeth, the daughter of

Stanhope Aspinwall Stanhope Aspinwall (born 5 July 1713 in Liverpool, England and died on 17 January 1771) was a British diplomat. He was born to Richard Aspinwall and his wife Elizabeth Stanhope, the great granddaughter of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield, ...

. His elder brother, John Griffiths of Erryd, was a medical practitioner and surgeon to Queen Charlotte's Household 1792–1818. His elder brother's wife, Elizabeth, was the sister of his own wife.

Military career

In 1779, Griffiths was appointed ensign in the

15th Regiment of Foot 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious num ...

. He was placed on

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the Eng ...

in 1783, restored to full-pay in the 40th Regiment in 1786 and appointed

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 76th Regiment of Foot in 1787.

Service in India

During the

Third Anglo-Mysore War The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, and the Nizam of Hyderabad. It was the third of four Anglo- ...

, Griffiths served in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

(i.e.

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 ...

). He was present at the siege, assault, and capture of the town and fortress of

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, also at the siege and storming of the hill fort of Savendroog in the general action near

Seringapatam Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city wa ...

with

Tippu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He int ...

on 15 May 1791. He was wounded in the general action on 6 February 1792, when the enemy's lines were stormed under the walls of

and at the siege of that capital. It terminated in the peace of 19 March of that same year.

French Revolutionary Wars

Later, in 1794, Griffiths was promoted to a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

in the

14th Foot The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was, on ...

and with them he participated in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

. He served in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

with the army under the Duke of York, and was in the actions of 17/18 May, and at the storming of the village of Pontechin on 22 May, with the brigade under Major-General Henry Edward Fox, consisting of the 14th, 37th, and 53rd Regiments. He was in the action of Geldermansel or

Geldermalsen Geldermalsen () is a town and former municipality in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. Town of Geldermalsen The town centre of Geldermalsen contains a two-aisled Gothic church dating from the 15th century, with a Romanesque tower ...

, on the

Waal WAAL (99.1 FM "The Whale") is a commercial radio station licensed to Binghamton, New York. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. WAAL is the oldest FM radio station in the Binghamton metropolitan area. It is an ...

, under

Lord Cathcart Earl Cathcart is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1814 for the soldier and diplomat William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart. The Cathcart family descends from Sir Alan Cathcart, who sometime be ...

. He was appointed

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the 82nd Regiment in 1796, and served in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

with that Corps. Griffiths was promoted to

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

in ancient Irish Fencibles on 11 December 1800. He served with that corps in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, and was present at the

Siege of Alexandria Battle of Alexandria, Raid on Alexandria, or Siege of Alexandria may refer to one of these military operations fought in or near the city of Alexandria, Egypt: * Siege of Alexandria (169 BC), during the Syrian Wars * Siege of Alexandria (47 BC), d ...

Later career and the Napoleonic Wars

During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, Griffiths was subsequently placed on the staff in Ireland and England, and received the

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1810. In the following year he was appointed

of the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Regiment of Foot, which corps he joined at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. He received the rank of major-general on 4 June 1813, and was placed on the staff of the garrison at Gibraltar. In the neighbouring Straits he commanded for nearly two years the British auxiliary troops in the fortress of

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

. He attained the rank of

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in 1825. In 1820 he was appointed Captain of Yarmouth Castle on the Isle of Wight, a position he held until his death in 1829.

Notes

References

* ''Burke’s Landed Gentry''; 17th Edition 1952; under ''Copland-Griffiths of Potterne''; NOTE at bottom of 2nd column p. 1082, and page 1083, right hand column - ''4. Charles, Lt.-Gen''. * ''Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal: The Isabel of Essex Volume, Containing the Descendants of Isabel (Plantagenet), Countess of Essex & Eu'' by Ruvigny and Raineval Staff published by Genealogical Publishing Com, 1994; pp. 515 and 516. * ''The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle'' : Volume 99, 1829, the 22nd of a new series, 2nd Part, Aug. p. 180, ''Obituary.-Lt.-Gen. Charles Griffiths'', out of copyright and now in the public domain, edited. {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Charles, Lt.-Gen. 1763 births 1829 deaths British Army lieutenant generals British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Mysore War British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars East Yorkshire Regiment officers 40th Regiment of Foot officers 76th Regiment of Foot officers West Yorkshire Regiment officers Devonshire Regiment officers