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 ...

Sir Colin Halkett (7 September 1774 – 24 September 1856) was a

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 Gurk ...

officer who became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.

Family

Halkett came from a military family. His father was

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Frederick Godar Halkett and his younger brother was

Hugh Halkett.

Military career

Halkett began his military career in the Dutch Guards and served in various companies for three years, leaving as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1795. From 1800 to 1801 he commanded Dutch troops on the Island of

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

. On 28 July 1803, a letter of service was issued to

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 ...

Halkett (and 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 colone ...

von der Decken von der Decken is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * von der Decken family, a German noble family * Georg von der Decken (1836–1898), German politician (DHP), grandson of Johann Friedrich von der Decken * Johann Friedrich von d ...

) empowering him "to raise a battalion of infantry with an establishment of four hundred and fifty-nine men" and offering him the rank of lieutenant colonel should he increase the number to eight hundred men. These men formed the nucleus of what was to become the

King's German Legion The King's German Legion (KGL; german: Des Königs Deutsche Legion, semantically erroneous obsolete German variations are , , ) was a British Army unit of mostly expatriated German personnel during the period 1803–16. The legion achieved th ...

in December 1803. On 17 November 1803, Halkett was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of the 2nd Light Infantry

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

. This Battalion was involved in Cathcart's expeditions to

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Peninsular War & Waterloo Campaign

In 1811 he was given command of the Light Brigade of the

. He held this command throughout 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 ...

from Albuera to Toulouse. On 1 January 1812 he was promoted to

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 ...

. At the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, so ...

(22 July 1812), he commanded 1st Brigade of the 7th Division under Major General

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

. Halkett was promoted to Major General on 4 June 1814. On 18 June 1815, at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

he commanded the 5th Brigade in the 3rd Division, under the command of Major General

Carl von Alten Field Marshal Sir Charles (Carl) August von Alten (21 October 1764 – 20 April 1840) was a Hanoverian and British soldier who led the famous Light Division during the last two years of the Peninsular War. At the Battle of Waterloo, he commande ...

. He was wounded four times during the course of the battle. Late in the afternoon, Wellington rode up to the 5th Brigade. The situation was desperate, and casualties were mounting. Halkett asked the Duke, 'My Lord, we are dreadfully cut up; can you not relieve us for a little while?’ 'Impossible!’ Wellington replied. 'Very well My Lord, we'll stand until the last man falls', was Halkett's answer. https://museums.calderdale.gov.uk/waterloo-online-exhibition

Governor

Halkett became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey in 1821 and was the first Lieutenant Governor to reside in the St Saviour

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

, still in use today. During this time he married Letitia Cricket, widow of Captain Tyle of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. He had a son, Frederick (John) Colin Halkett, on 10 June 1826. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 22 July 1830 and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the

Bombay Army The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of Presidencies and provinces of British India, British India. It was established in 1662 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India A ...

in January 1832. He was Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea from 1849 until his death in 1856. He was appointed colonel of the

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 ...

on 21 September 1829. On 28 March 1838 he was removed to the

31st Regiment of Foot The 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881. History Origins ...

, and to 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 12 July 1847. Two streets in Saint Helier are named after him.

Distinctions

*Britain **

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

(GCB) ** Gold Cross for Albuera, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nive ** Waterloo Medal *Hanover **

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order The Royal Guelphic Order (german: Königliche Guelphen-Orden), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name ...

(GCH) *Portugal ** Order of the Tower and Sword, 2nd rank *Bavaria ** Order of Maximilian Joseph, 2nd rank *Netherlands **

Military Order of William The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Oran ...

, 2nd rankBeamish, ''History of the King's German Legion Vol 2'', p.524ff ---- ---- Halkett Place Ruette Morier Jersey

References

Literature

*N. Ludlow Beamish; ''History of the King's German Legion Vol 1''. 1832-37 (new edition: Naval and Military Press 1997 ) *N. Ludlow Beamish; ''History of the King's German Legion Vol 2''. 1832-37 (new edition: Naval and Military Press 1997 ) *Mike Chappell; ''The King's German Legion (2) 1812-1816''. Osprey 2000

External links

* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Halkett, Colin 1774 births 1856 deaths British Army generals British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Governors of Jersey King's German Legion Commanders-in-chief of Bombay Recipients of the Waterloo Medal Recipients of the Army Gold Cross Commanders of the Military Order of Max Joseph Knights Third Class of the Military Order of William