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 Duff (1752–1839) was a British army officer, who fought in the Napoleonic wars and
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(1784–1789).
Life
Duff was the eldest illegitimate son of
James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife
James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife (29 September 1729 – 1809) was a Scottish aristocrat and Member of Parliament.
Heritage
James Duff was second son of William Duff, 1st Earl Fife, and Jean Grant (daughter of Sir James Grant of Pluscardine, Baron ...
(1729–1809), and Margaret Adam, of Keith. As his mother was of humble status, her three children with Fife were placed in the guardianship of William Rose, Fife's factor. Fife liked Duff and took good care of him, sending him to
Keith Academy
Lowell Catholic is a private, not-for-profit, college preparatory school in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and is a Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School.
Lowell Catholic High School was establishe ...
and at
King's College, Aberdeen
King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...
, where he graduated MA in 1771, and after he entered the army paid for Duff's promotions.
Duff entered the army as an ensign in the
1st Foot Guards
"Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it."
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = Slow: " Scipio"
, mascot =
, equipment =
, equipment ...
on 18 April 1769. He was promoted lieutenant and captain on 26 April 1775, and made adjutant of his battalion in 1777, and on 30 April 1779 he was knighted as proxy for the celebrated diplomatist Sir
James Harris, afterwards 1st Earl of Malmesbury (and a close friend of his father), at his installation as a
knight of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...
. James Duff was promoted captain and lieutenant-colonel, on 18 July 1780, colonel on 18 November 1790. His regiment was part of the expeditionary force sent to
Flanders to campaign against the French as part of the
First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...
(the British contingent under the command of
Prince Frederick, Duke of York
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus; 16 August 1763 – 5 January 1827) was the second son of George III, King of the United Kingdom and Hanover, and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A soldier by profess ...
). He fought at the
Battle of Valenciennes commanding the guards' light infantry battalion in 1794. On 30 October he was promoted to major-general.
In 1797, Duff received the command of the
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 ...
district. While there he rendered important services during the
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...
, and managed to keep his district quiet in spite of the state of affairs elsewhere. His name is associated with the
Gibbet Rath executions
The Gibbet Rath executions , sometimes called the Gibbet Rath massacre, refers to the execution of several hundred surrendering rebels by government forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 at the Curragh of Kildare on 29 May 1798.
Backgro ...
where men under his command massacred several hundred people, who had previously received amnesty. He was elected M.P. for
Banffshire
Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray ...
(1784–9), and colonel of the
50th Regiment of Foot
The 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot to form the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment ...
from 1798 to death.
Duff was promoted lieutenant-general on 1 January 1801, and general on 25 October 1809, and at the time of his death, at
Funtington, near Chichester, on 5 December 1839, he was the most senior general in the British army, and was one of the few officers who held a commission for over seventy years.
He had as aides-de-camp during his Limerick command two famous officers,
William Napier and
James Dawes Douglas. There are numerous allusions to him in the ''Life of Sir William Napier''.
According to the ''
Legacies of British Slave-Ownership
The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery, formerly the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership, is a research centre of University College, London (UCL) which focuses on revealing the impact of Britis ...
'' at the
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
, Duff was awarded a compensation payment as a slave owner in the aftermath of the
Slavery Abolition Act 1833
The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provided for the gradual abolition of slavery in most parts of the British Empire. It was passed by Earl Grey's reforming administrati ...
and the
Slave Compensation Act 1837
The Slave Compensation Act 1837 (1 & 2 Vict. c. 3) was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, signed into law on 23 December 1837. It authorised the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt to compensate slave owners in the Briti ...
. The British Government took out a £15 million loan (worth £ in ) with interest from
Nathan Mayer Rothschild
Nathan Mayer Rothschild (16 September 1777 – 28 July 1836) was an English-German banker, businessman and financier. Born in Frankfurt am Main in Germany, he was the third of the five sons of Gutle (Schnapper) and Mayer Amschel Rothschild, an ...
and
Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family based in London, afte ...
which was subsequently paid off by the British taxpayers (ending in 2015). Duff was associated with "Jamaica Hanover 455 (Grange Sugar Estate)", he owned 202 slaves in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
and received a £4,101 payment at the time (worth £ in ). This is recorded by the Slave Compensation Commission and the records held at the
National Archives at
Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...
, London.
Family
On 12 August 1785, Duff married Basilia (d. 1849), daughter and heir of James Dawes, of Rockspring, Jamaica, through whom he gained control of a considerable fortune. They had one son and three daughters.
Notes
References
*
*; Endnotes:
*Royal Military Calendar
*''
Gentlemen's Magazine
''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...
'' March 1840
*''Life of Sir William Napier''.
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duff, Sir James
1752 births
1839 deaths
British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies
Scottish slave owners
Recipients of payments from the Slavery Abolition Act 1833
People from Funtington