Colonel John Bazalgette (15 December 1784 – 28 March 1868) was an army

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

actively involved in the affairs of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

for forty-three years. He was born in London, the second son of Jean Louis Bazalgette (1750-1830), a French immigrant born in

Ispagnac Ispagnac (; oc, Espanhac) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. See also *Communes of the Lozère department The following is a list of the 152 communes of the Lozère department of France France (), official ...

, in the

Lozère Lozère (; oc, Losera ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and Catherine, née Metivier (c.1762-1785), also from a French family in London. His nephew was the prominent Victorian civil engineer, Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (1819-1891) Bazalgette had previously served with the British Army in other colonial posts before arriving in Nova Scotia in 1811. A

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the 80th Foot, he was promoted

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

99th Foot The 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1824. It amalgamated with the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment) in 1881. History Formation The ...

(later renumbered

98th Foot The 98th (Prince of Wales) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was originally raised in 1824 as the 98th Regiment of Foot, before assuming the title of the 98th (Prince of Wales) Regiment of Foot in 1876. Later, in 1 ...

) without purchase in 1805. By 1830 he was a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the 98th Foot. In 1837 he was promoted

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

in the Army. He was made administrator of the provincial government for Lieutenant-Governor Sir

John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...

from 30 May to 30 September 1851 and from 22 March to 5 August 1852. This period included the debate on

Joseph Howe Joseph Howe (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, public servant, and poet. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer ha ...

's railway policy. It appears from correspondence with the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

that he had a good sense of balance between colonial needs and his responsibility to England. While stationed in Bermuda, he married Sarah Crawford Magdalen Van Norden (1794–1866), and the marriage produced 15 children: 6 girls and 9 boys, of whom seven in turn went into the Army. By 1854 he was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and Deputy Quartermaster-General of Nova Scotia. In that year he purchased the

cy of the

2nd West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

. He returned to England the same year and retired in 1858. His long tenure in Canada shows an unusual loyalty to a colonial posting by a British officer of that time.

References

* South Staffordshire Regiment officers West India Regiment officers Governors of the Colony of Nova Scotia 1784 births 1868 deaths British expatriates in colonial Nova Scotia {{UK-army-bio-stub