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 Isaac Campbell Coffin ( bap. 24 August 1801 – 1 October 1872) was an officer of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

's military service who served during the company's rule in India, the

First Anglo-Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmese ...

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 ...

. He rose to the rank of

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 ...

after a long career in India.

Family and early life

Coffin was born c. 1801, the son of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Francis Holmes Coffin and baptized on 24 August 1801 at St Mary the Virgin,

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. His sister Emily was the mother of

Francis Cunningham Scott Major-General Sir Francis Cunningham Scott, (1834 – 26 June 1902) was a British Army officer who commanded in the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War in 1895–1896. Biography Scott was born in India in 1834, the son of Carteret George Scott, of Malle ...

. After receiving his education, part of which took place in France, he joined the military arm of the East India Company on 3 June 1818, and sailed to India, arriving on 12 January 1819. In 1821 he was posted as lieutenant to the 21st Madras Pioneers, and from 4 June 1824 he served as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

to the 12th Madras Native Infantry. The company took part in the

, and Coffin was present at the attacks on

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

on 9 and 15 December 1824.

Promotions

A series of posts followed, Coffin was

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

, interpreter, and

paymaster A paymaster is someone appointed by a group of buyers, sellers, investors or lenders to receive, hold, and dispense funds, commissions, fees, salaries (remuneration) or other trade, loan, or sales proceeds within the private sector or public secto ...

to the 12th Madras Native Infantry from 27 October 1826, and was advanced to

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 ...

on 26 July 1828. Further posts and promotions saw Coffin appointed paymaster to the Nagpur subsidiary force on 30 June 1829, and paymaster in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

on 7 January 1834. Coffin was promoted 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 ...

on 24 July 1840, and then 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. ...

on 15 September 1845, being appointed to the 3rd (Palamcottah) regiment of the Madras native light infantry several weeks later on 7 October 1845. He was raised 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 ...

on 20 June 1854, taking command of the Hyderabad subsidiary force from 6 November 1855 and commanding them with the rank of

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

during the

. Coffin was promoted to

on 29 May 1857, after the mutiny had been put down. He took command of a division of the Madras army from 28 March 1859 to 28 March 1864, and was finally 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 18 July 1869.

Family and later life

Coffin was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

in 1866. He married Marianne Harrington on 12 February 1824. She died on 13 February 1864. He married, secondly, on 23 October 1866 at the British Embassy in Berlin Catherine Eliza Shepherd. General Isaac Coffin died suddenly on 1 October 1872, at his home at 9 St John's Park South,

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

, London. He was survived by his wife and several children which included

Clifford Coffin Major General Clifford Coffin (10 February 1870 – 4 February 1959) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...

V.C.

Notes

;Attribution

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coffin, Isaac Campbell 1800s births 1872 deaths British East India Company Army generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India British military personnel of the First Anglo-Burmese War British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857