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 ...
Sir James Bathurst (4 May 1782 – 13 April 1850) was a
British Army commander from the Bathurst family.
Early life and family
Bathurst was likely born in
Oxford, where he was baptised at three weeks old
by his father,
Henry Bathurst, then
canon of
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
and later
Bishop of Norwich (1805–1837). James was the second son; his elder brother was Rev.
Henry Bathurst while his younger brother
Benjamin Bathurst, a diplomat, disappeared in
1809 in Germany
Events from the year 1809 in Germany.
Incumbents
Kingdoms
* Kingdom of Prussia
** Monarch – Frederick William III of Prussia (16 November 1797 – 7 June 1840)
* Kingdom of Bavaria
** Maximilian I (1 January 1806 – 13 October 1825)
* Ki ...
and is believed to have been murdered. His father was a nephew of the
1st Earl Bathurst. His mother was Grace Coote, sister of
Charles Coote, 2nd Baron Castle Coote and Sir
Eyre Coote.
Career
Bathurst entered the army in May 1794 as a volunteer and was promoted to ensign that December, to lieutenant in April 1795,
and to captain in 1800. He served in Egypt against the
French campaign and was present in the action around Alexandria with Sir
Ralph Abercromby's army in Egypt, including the
siege of Marabout. He purchased a commission in the
60th as a major in 1803, and he served with the
7th West India Regiment at Gibraltar and in the West Indies, including the
Battle of Suriname (1804).
In 1805, he went to
Hanover on the staff of
Lord Cathcart, and on 10 October was appointed to the staff of 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 ...
as Military Commissary, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
In 1807, he served with the Russian Army, and was present at the actions fought for the
relief of Dantzig, as well as in those of
Lomitten,
Deppen, Gutstadt,
Heilsberg, and
Friedland
Friedland may refer to:
Places
Czech Republic
* Frýdlant v Čechách (''Friedland im Isergebirge'')
* Frýdlant nad Ostravicí (''Friedland an der Ostrawitza'')
* Frýdlant nad Moravicí (''Friedland an der Mohra'')
France
* , street in P ...
.
Sub sequently he served at Rügen and at the
siege of Copenhagen in that year.
During the
Peninsular War, he accompanied Sir
Brent Spencer
General Sir Brent Spencer ( – 29 December 1828) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army, seeing active service during the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Peninsular War he became General Wellesl ...
to the coast of Spain in 1808. In 1808 and 1809, he served in Portugal as assistant quartermaster-general and as ''aide-to-camp'' to the
Duke of Wellington. He was present in the
battles of Roliça ,
Vimeiro,
Corunna,
Talavera, and
Buçaco, for which battles he had received a gold cross. He was also at the
Wellington's passage of the Douro in 1809.
Bathurst was appointed a Commander of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1815, and knighted in the same order (KCB) by
William IV on 28 September 1831.
In 1816, he succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel
Charles Napier as Lieutenant-Governor of the Virgin Islands.
He was appointed
Governor of Berwick in 1833.
Personal life
On 16 January 1815, Bathurst married Lady Caroline Stewart, daughter of the
1st Earl Castle Stewart, at
St Marylebone Parish Church. They had six sons and two daughters:
*
Stuart Bathurst (1815–1900), an Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism during the
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
,
Frederick Bathurst
The Ven. Frederick Bathurst (7 March 1827 – 23 September 1910) was an English Anglican clergyman from the Bathurst family. He played first class cricket and he was later Archdeacon of Bedford from 1873 to 1910.
Life
Bathurst was the sixth ...
(1827–1910)
He died at Kilworth Rectory in South Kilworth
South Kilworth is a village and civil parish in the southern part of Leicestershire, England, south of North Kilworth. The parish has a population of 430, according to the 2001 Census, and is part of the district of Harborough.
The population ha ...
, Leicestershire.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bathurst, James
1782 births
1850 deaths
James
Military personnel from Oxford
British Army lieutenant generals
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
West India Regiment officers
King's Royal Rifle Corps officers
Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire officers