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 James Dawes Douglas (14 January 1785 – 6 March 1862) was a British Army officer, who had a long and illustrious military career, which included commanding Portuguese troops in 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 ...
.
Life
Douglas was the elder son of Major
James Sholto Douglas, who was first cousin of the
sixth and seventh Marquises of Queensberry, by Sarah, daughter of James Dawes. He entered the army as an ensign in the 42nd regiment, or
Black Watch
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...
, and was at once taken on the staff of Major-general Sir
James Duff, commanding at
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
, where he became an intimate friend of his fellow aide-de-camp,
William Napier.
In 1801, he was promoted lieutenant and joined the Royal Military College at
Great Marlow
Great Marlow is a civil parishes in England, civil parish within Wycombe district in the England, English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the Ha ...
. He was promoted captain in 1804, and, being pronounced fit for a staff situation, was appointed deputy-assistant quartermaster-general with the force sent to South America in 1806. His conduct was praised in despatches, and in 1807 he was nominated in the same capacity to the corps proceeding to Portugal under
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 ...
. He was present at the
battle of Roliça
In the Battle of Roliça (17 August 1808) an Anglo-Portuguese army under Sir Arthur Wellesley defeated an outnumbered Imperial French division under General of Division Henri François Delaborde, near the village of Roliça in Portugal. The ...
and
battle of Vimeiro
In the Battle of Vimeiro (sometimes shown as "Vimiera" or "Vimeira" in contemporary British texts) on 21 August 1808, the British under General Arthur Wellesley (who later became the Duke of Wellington) defeated the French under Major-Gene ...
. He advanced into Spain with
Sir John Moore, and served with the 2nd division through the retreat from
Salamanca
Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...
and at the
Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna (or ''A Coruña'', ''La Corunna'', ''La Coruña'' or ''La Corogne''), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a Briti ...
. When
William Carr Beresford
General William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, (; 2 October 1768 – 8 January 1854) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician. A general in the British Army and a Marshal in the Portuguese Army, he foug ...
was sent to Portugal in 1809 to organise the Portuguese army, Douglas was one of the officers selected to accompany him, and he was in February 1809 promoted major in the English army and appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 8th Portuguese regiment. He got his regiment fit for service, and was present at the passage of the
Douro River
The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part of ...
in May 1809, and at the close of the year his regiment was attached to
Thomas Picton
Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton (24 August 175818 June 1815) was a British Army officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respected for his courage and feared for his irascible t ...
's, the 3rd division, and brigaded with the 88th and 45th regiments. At the
battle of Busaco
The Battle of Buçaco () or Bussaco, fought on 27 September 1810 during the Peninsular War in the Portuguese mountain range of Serra do Buçaco, resulted in the defeat of French forces by Lord Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army.
Having o ...
this brigade had to bear the brunt of the French attack, and Douglas's Portuguese received praise for its conduct, mentioned in Lord Wellington's despatch.
He commanded this regiment all through the campaign of 1811, and in 1812, when the Portuguese were brigaded alone, it formed part of
Sir Denis Pack's Portuguese brigade. This was the brigade which distinguished itself 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 ...
by its attempt to carry the hill of the Arapiles, and Douglas's name was again mentioned in despatches. At the beginning of 1813 Major-general Pack was removed to the command of an English brigade, and Douglas, who had been promoted lieutenant-colonel in May 1811, succeeded him in the 7th Portuguese brigade, which formed part of Sir
John Hamilton's Portuguese division. At the head of this brigade, he distinguished himself at the battles of the Pyrenees, where he was wounded, of the Nivelle, the Nive, Orthes, and Toulouse, where he was again twice severely wounded and lost a leg. At the conclusion of the war he received a gold cross and three clasps for the battles in which he had been engaged with a regiment or brigade, was made K.T.S. and K.C.B. on the extension of the order of the Bath.
He was deputy quartermaster-general in Scotland (1815–22) and in Ireland (1825–30). Douglas was promoted colonel in 1819 and major-general in 1830, when he received the command of the south-western district of Ireland. From 1837 to 1842 he was
Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
The Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown. The role of the Lieutenant Governor is to act as the ''de facto'' head of state in Guernsey ...
. He was promoted lieutenant-general in 1838, and was made a G.C.B. in 1860. He had been made colonel of the 93rd foot in 1840 and of the 42nd Highlanders in 1850, and was promoted general in 1854. After leaving Guernsey he retired to
Clifton
Clifton may refer to:
People
*Clifton (surname)
*Clifton (given name)
Places
Australia
* Clifton, Queensland, a town
**Shire of Clifton
*Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong
*Clifton, Western Australia
Canada
*Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
, where he died on 6 March 1862, aged 77.
References
*
;Attribution
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, James
1785 births
1862 deaths
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
British Army generals
42nd Regiment of Foot officers
British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
History of Guernsey
Recipients of the Army Gold Cross