Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Henry Spencer-Churchill (27 May 1828 – 3 April 1877) was a British army officer who fought in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

and the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

Life and career

He was the eldest son of

Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill (3 December 1794 – 28 April 1840) was a British army officer and politician. He was the second son of George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough and Lady Susan Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 7th Earl ...

, a veteran of the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, and he was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. On 10 October 1845, he purchased a second lieutenant's commission in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

. He served with the brigade during the Seventh Xhosa War. After the outbreak of the

, Spencer-Churchill purchased a captaincy on 4 August 1854. He was commended for gallantry by

Lord Raglan Baron Raglan, of Raglan in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 October 1852 for the military commander Lord FitzRoy Somerset, chiefly remembered as commander of the British troops ...

during the war, breveted major on 2 November 1855, and received the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in fi ...

, 5th class. On 17 June 1857, Spencer-Churchill exchanged into the

60th Regiment of Foot 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

and went out to India, where he took part in the suppression of the

and was present at the capture of Delhi. In 1862, Spencer-Churchill married Rosalie Lowther, daughter of the Reverend Gorges Paulin Lowther. He served with his regiment in Canada and was breveted lieutenant-colonel in the

60th Foot The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

on 5 September 1865, but went on temporary half-pay on 11 December 1866. His health had been permanently impaired by exposure during the Crimean War. On 13 January 1869, he exchanged from half-pay into the

68th Regiment of Foot The 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1758. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 106th Regiment of Foot (Bombay Light Infantry), 106th Bombay Light Infantry to ...

, and he retired the same day. He died of tuberculosis near

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

on 3 April 1877.

References

External links

Photograph taken in MontrealService details, 1860
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer Churchill, Charles Henry 1828 births 1877 deaths British Army personnel of the Crimean War King's Royal Rifle Corps officers People educated at Eton College Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 5th class Rifle Brigade officers 68th Regiment of Foot officers British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Charles Henry