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 ...

James Sebastian Rawlins (18 March 1823 – 18 October 1905) was a senior

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

officer during the second half of the nineteenth century. Rawlins was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Addiscombe Military Seminary The East India Company Military Seminary was a British military academy at Addiscombe, Surrey, in what is now the London Borough of Croydon. It opened in 1809 and closed in 1861. Its purpose was to train young officers to serve in the East India ...

. He commissioned into an

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 ...

regiment, the 44th Regiment,

Bengal Native Infantry The regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, alongside the regiments of Bengal European Infantry, were the regular infantry components of the East India Company's Bengal Army from the raising of the first Native battalion in 1757 to the passing int ...

on 20 December 1844. A captain by the time of the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 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 ...

, Rawlins was shut up for several months in

Agra Fort The Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India also known as the Red Fort. Rebuilt by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1565 and completed in 1573, it served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when t ...

following the mutiny there by native soldiers of his own regiment. The 44th Bengal Native Infantry was disbanded following the Rebellion, and Rawlins transferred to the new

Indian Staff Corps The Indian Staff Corps was a branch of the British Indian Army, Indian Army during the British Raj. Separate Staff Corps were formed in 1861 for the Bengal Army, Bengal, Madras Army, Madras and Bombay Army, Bombay Armies, which were later combined ...

in 1861, now part of the British Indian Army. He was promoted to Major on 10 June 1863. After becoming a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1869, Rawlins transferred to the 1st Goorkha Regiment to become its commanding officer. He oversaw the regiment's first overseas deployment, to

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

in 1875 during the

Perak War The Perak War (1875–76) took place between British and local forces in Perak, a state in northwestern Malaysia. The sultan of Upper Perak and other local chiefs attempted to end foreign influence in the region and remove the British adminis ...

, after which he was made a 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 ...

. Shortly afterwards the regiment took part in the

Second Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

in 1878 where, under Rawlins, they were part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade and won the Theatre Honour "Afghanistan 1878–80". Rawlins subsequently returned to the Staff Corps, rising to the rank of Major General and being made a Companion of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

for his services. Following his retirement he returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and bought Ellenborough Park, near

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

. He had married Emma Augusta Wilmot Parke, daughter of Major George Thomas Parke, in 1854 at

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

. Together they had twelve children, one of which was Arthur Rawlins. He died on the 18 October 1905.Officer casualties of the Indian armies 1803-1946, p443

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawlins, James 1823 births 1905 deaths Graduates of Addiscombe Military Seminary British East India Company Army officers Indian Staff Corps officers Royal Gurkha Rifles officers Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Military personnel from Somerset British Indian Army generals British military personnel of the Perak War British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War People educated at Harrow School