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 ...

James Stuart was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who served in North America during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and took part in various campaigns in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He was the first General Officer Commanding, Ceylon and second

Military Governor A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

British Ceylon British Ceylon ( si, බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ලංකාව, Britānya Laṃkāva; ta, பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between ...

. He was appointed on 1 March 1796 and was Governor until 1 January 1797. He was succeeded by Welbore Ellis Doyle.

Early life

Stuart was born on 2 March 1741. He was the third son of John Stuart of Blairhall in Perthshire. His mother was Anne, daughter of Francis Stuart, 7th Earl of Moray. Stuart was educated at schools in

Culross Culross (/ˈkurəs/) (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cuileann Ros'', 'holly point or promontory') is a village and former royal burgh, and parish, in Fife, Scotland. According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 395. Originally, Culross ...

and

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

, Scotland. He studied law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and then joined the British Army, serving in the

American war of independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Military career

India and Ceylon

Promoted to major in the

78th Foot The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highlanders in 1881. ...

, he arrived in India in 1782 and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 14 February. He took part in Sir

Eyre Coote Eyre Coote may refer to: *Eyre Coote (East India Company officer) (1726–1783), Irish soldier and Commander-in-chief of India *Eyre Coote (British Army officer) (1762–1823), Irish-born general in the British Army * Eyre Coote (MP) (1806–1834), ...

's campaign against Hyder in the

Second Anglo-Mysore War The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company from 1780 to 1784. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the conflict between Britain against the French and Dutch in ...

, and was present at the

siege of Cuddalore The siege of Cuddalore was a siege attempt by British troops against a combined French and Mysorean garrison at the fortress of Cuddalore in the Second Anglo-Mysore War. The siege ended when news arrived of a preliminary peace treaty betwee ...

where he commanded the attack on the right of the main position in the assault of 13 July 1782. He served in the campaign of 1790, under General Sir

William Medows General Sir William Medows KB (31 December 1738 – 14 November 1813) was an Englishman and a general in the British Army. He entered the army in 1756 and saw action in North America, the Cape, and India. In 1788 he was appointed Governor of Bom ...

, against

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He int ...

, attacking the fortresses of

Dindigul Dindigul, also spelt Thindukkal (), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Dindigul district. Dindigul is located southwest from the state capital, Chennai, away from Tiruchirappalli, away ...

and Palghaut. He served under

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

during the campaigns of 1791–2, and led the siege of Seringapatam, commanding the centre column in the assault of 6 February 1792. Promoted to colonel in August, he returned to Madras in 1794. Promoted to major-general in 1795, he took command of the expedition against Dutch possessions in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

that year. After the whole island was secured in 1796, Stuart became commander-in-chief in the same year of the forces in Madras. He was made colonel of the 82nd Regiment of Foot in 1797, transferring the following year to the

72nd Regiment of Foot The 72nd Highlanders was a British Army Scottish regiment, Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line. Raised in 1778, it was originally numbered 78th, before being redesignated the 72nd in 1786. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 78 ...

, a position he held until his death. In 1799 he commanded the

Bombay Army The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of Presidencies and provinces of British India, British India. It was established in 1662 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India A ...

in the last war against Tipu, which occupied Coorg, and repulsed Tipu at Seedaseer on 6 March. On 15 March he joined with Major General George Harris (afterwards Lord Harris) before the 1799

Battle of Seringapatam A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and took charge of the operations on the northern side of the city. After its capture he received the thanks of both

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

Later career and death

He became commander-in-chief of the

Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government ...

in 1801. Promoted to lieutenant-general in 1802, he took part in the

Second Anglo-Maratha War } The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. Background The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War, ...

in 1803 but in 1805 returned to England in bad health. He was promoted to the rank of full general on 1 January 1812. He died without issue at Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London, on 29 April 1815 and was buried in a vault in St. James's Chapel, Hampstead Road, London.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, James 1741 births 1815 deaths British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War British military personnel of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War British Army generals Commanders-in-chief of Bombay British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Maratha War Governors of British Ceylon British expatriates in Sri Lanka 19th-century British people General Officers Commanding, Ceylon Alumni of the University of Edinburgh