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 ...
Sir Henry Torrens (1779 – 23 August 1828) was an
Adjutant-General to the Forces
The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General (AG), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the British Army. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel polic ...
.
Early life
Torrens was born in
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
, Ireland in 1779. He was the youngest son of the Reverend Thomas Torrens and his wife Elizabeth Curry. He lost both his parents at an early age, and was educated at a military academy in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
Court of Common Pleas (Ireland)
The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is still ...
52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot
The 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India du ...
in 1793 at the age of 14. In 1796 he served under
Abercrombie
Abercrombie may refer to:
People
* Abercrombie Lawson (1870–1927), botanist and professor
* Abercrombie (surname) (list of people with the family name Abercrombie)
Places Americas
* Abercrombie, North Dakota, United States, city in Richland ...
in the West Indies, where he displayed great bravery, was wounded, and rewarded with a company. He served in Portugal in 1798; in Holland under the
Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...
in 1799; and afterwards in Nova Scotia, Egypt, and India.
In 1799 Torrens went to
Den Helder
Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base.
From here the Royal TESO fe ...
Egmond aan Zee
Egmond aan Zee () is a village on the North Sea coast in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, about 9 km west of Alkmaar.
Egmond aan Zee was a separate municipality until 1978, when it merged with E ...
: at the latter, he was wounded by a bullet. In 1805 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. After seeing service at
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
in 1807, he accompanied
Sir Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
as military secretary to Portugal in 1808, and was present at the battles of
Roliça
Bombarral () is a municipality in the District of Leiria in Central Portugal. The population in 2011 was 13,193, in an area of . It includes four civil parishes ( pt, freguesia) that provide local services.
History
It is known that the area of ...
and
Vimeiro
Vimeiro () is a freguesia (civil parish) in the municipality of Lourinhã in west-central Portugal. It is in the District of Lisboa. The population in 2011 was 1,470,
Torrens rose to be appointed Military Secretary in 1809. He attained the rank of major-general in 1814, and was gazetted K.C.B. and then
Adjutant-General to the Forces
The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General (AG), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the British Army. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel polic ...
in 1820.
Torrens died while out riding with his wife and daughters at Welwyn, Hertfordshire on 23 August 1828, aged 48.
Family
In 1803 he married Sarah Patton at St. Helena, the daughter of the Governor of St. Helena, and together they went on to have four sons and two daughters.