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 ...

Hugh Henry Mitchell, CB (9 June 1770 – 20 April 1817) was a British military leader, of Irish birth, who fought in several decisive battles 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 ...

, including 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 ...

and 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 ...

, and was commended by the Duke of Wellington.

Career

He was born in 1770 in Dublin. His father was Hugh Henry Mitchell senior, a prosperous Irish

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and prominent member of the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

. His mother was Margaret Gordon of Ellon. His father suffered severe financial losses in the late 1770s, and it was his uncle, General Alexander Gordon who encouraged him to join the army at the tender age of eleven. Mitchell was commissioned in January 1782 as an

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 101st Regiment of Foot. He was promoted to lieutenant in June 1783 and served in Canada from 1786 to 1796. He became a major on 17 March 1804. He fought in the

Egyptian Campaign The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the pr ...

in 1801 and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 12 December 1805 in the service of the

26th Regiment of Foot The 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the Scots Army and subsequently a Scottish infantry regiment of the British Army, active from 1689 to 1881. Although the regiment took the name of its first colonel as James Dougla ...

. Mitchell commanded a battalion of the 26th Regiment of Foot from 1805 to 1811 and the 51st Regiment of Foot from 13 June 1811 until 1814, 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 ...

. He gained the rank of colonel on 4 June 1813. In the Waterloo campaign Mitchell commanded the 4th Brigade of the 4th Division, consisting of the 3rd battalion of the 14th foot, the 1st Battalion of 23rd Fusiliers, and the 1st Battalion of the 51st Light Infantry, a total of around 2,000 officers and men. "As the light was beginning to fail (on 17 June 1815) Colonel Mitchell led his brigade to the position ... on the extreme right near

Braine-l'Alleud Braine-l'Alleud (; nl, Eigenbrakel ; wa, Brinne-l'-Alou) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about south of Brussels. The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud (includ ...

, and here the regiments bivouaced for the night, the rain continuing to fall in torrents." Mitchell's brigade was engaged early in the battle when the French attacked Hougoumont Farm." He was conferred with the honour of Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

on 4 June 1815 and received the Russian

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

. He was one of the few officers below the rank of general to be mentioned by the Duke of Wellington's Waterloo Dispatch. He died on 20 April 1817 at age 46 at Queen Anne Street, London, England.

Family

Mitchell married Lady Harriet Isabella Somerset, daughter of

Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort (16 October 1744 – 11 October 1803) was an English courtier and politician. He was the only son of Charles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort and Elizabeth Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort. Styled Marque ...

and Elizabeth Boscawen, on 3 July 1804. The children of Colonel Hugh Henry Mitchell and Lady Harriet Isabella Somerset were:The Marquis of Ruvigny and Raineval, Melville Henry Massue.

The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal Melville Amadeus Henry Douglas Heddle de La Caillemotte de Massue de Ruvigné, "9th Marquis of Ruvigny and 15th of Raineval" (25 April 1868 – 6 October 1921) was a British genealogist and author, who was twice president of the Legitimist Jacobit ...

Being A Complete Table of All the Descendents Now Living of Edward III, King of England. London, England: T.C. & E. C. Jack, 1905–1911. * Margaret Harriet Isabella Mitchell (4 June 1806 – 29 June 1876), who married, on 15 January 1833, the Rev. Thomas Walpole, Canon of

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

, elder brother of Home Secretary

Spencer Horatio Walpole Spencer Horatio Walpole (11 September 1806 – 22 May 1898) was a British Conservative Party politician who served three times as Home Secretary in the administrations of Lord Derby. Background and education Walpole was the second son of Tho ...

, and had issue. * Charlotte Gertrude Elizabeth Mitchell (6 December 1807 – 4 August 1876), who married, on 18 April 1825, John

Leveson-Gower Leveson-Gower ( ), also Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, is the name of a powerful British noble family. Over time, several members of the Leveson-Gower family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the family include the duke ...

and had issue. * Col. Hugh Andrew Robert Mitchell (12 September 1816 – 21 August 1857), of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, who married, on 30 July 1844, Sarah Lowndes and had issue.

References

External links

* http://www.thepeerage.com/p1213.htm#i12129 * http://www.wtj.com/archives/wellington/1815_06f.htm * https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/198259224/hugh-henry-mitchell {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Hugh Henry 1770 births 1817 deaths British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars People of the Battle of Waterloo People of the Peninsular War Companions of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers Military personnel from Dublin (city)