Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Sir John Grey (baptised 18 March 1782 – 19 February 1856) was an officer of

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 ...

and the

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 ...

forces, and was the Commander-in-chief of 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 ...

from 30 December 1850 to 22 November 1852.

Military career

He was a younger son of Charles Grey of Morwick Hall,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

and his first wife, Catherine (or Katherine) Maria Skelly, granddaughter of the

Duke of Gordon The title Duke of Gordon has been created once in the Peerage of Scotland and again in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Dukedom, named after the Clan Gordon, was first created for the 4th Marquess of Huntly, who on 3 November 1684 was c ...

. His mother died 21 June 1786, aged 33. He was a grandson of John Grey of Howick, youngest brother of

Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey, (circa 23 October 1729 – 14 November 1807) was a British Army general in the 18th century and a scion of the noble House of Grey. He was a distinguished soldier in a generation of exceptionally capable military an ...

. He entered the army on 18 January 1798 as ensign of the 75th Foot, and became lieutenant on 8 May 1799. He served with the 75th in the war against Tipu Sahib, including the battle of Malavelly and the storming and capture of

Seringapatam Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city wa ...

(where he was awarded a medal). He became captain in the 15th battalion, army of reserve, 31 October 1803, exchanged to the

82nd Foot The 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Prince of Wales ...

the year after, became major 9th garrison battalion 27 November 1806, and exchanged to the

5th Foot The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Scots_Brigade, Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III of England, William III to England in the ...

, with the 2nd battalion of which he served in the

Peninsula 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, ...

. He was at the combat of El Bodon, the siege of

Ciudad Rodrigo Ciudad Rodrigo () is a small cathedral city in the province of Salamanca, in western Spain, with a population in 2016 of 12,896. It is also the seat of a judicial district. The site of Ciudad Rodrigo, perched atop a rocky rise on the right bank ...

, including the scaling of the faussebraie and storming of the greater breach, which was carried by the 2nd-5th, during which operations he was twice wounded, and in the action at

Fuenteguinaldo Fuenteguinaldo is a village and large municipality in the province of Salamanca, western Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. It is located from the provincial capital city of Salamanca and has a population of 860 people. Geo ...

(Peninsular medal). Grey became lieutenant-colonel in 1812, and commanded the 2nd battalion of his regiment at home until it was disbanded in 1816. After many years on half-pay, Grey, who became a major-general in 1838, was appointed to a divisional command in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, which he held from 1840 to 1845. In the Gwalior campaign, at the head of the left wing of the army, he defeated a force of twelve thousand Mahrattas at Punniar on 29 December 1843, the day when the main body of the Mahratta army was defeated by

Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, (3 November 1779 – 2 March 1869) was an Irish officer of the British Army. After serving as a junior officer at the seizure of the Cape of Good Hope during the French Revolutionary Wars, Gough com ...

Maharajpore Maharajpur is a tehsil and a nagar palika parishad in Chhatarpur district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Geography Chhatarpur is located at . It has an average elevation of . Demographics As of the 2011 Census of India The 2011 ...

. For this service Grey was made K.C.B. Grey was commander-in-chief of the

and second member of the council at Bombay from 1850 to 1852. He was appointed colonel of the

73rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot The 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, raised in 1777. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry in 1881. History ...

from 1846 to 1849, transferring as colonel to the

5th (Northumberland Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and ...

on 18 May 1849. He was promoted lieutenant-general in 1851 and full general in 1855. Grey died at Morwick Hall on 19 February 1856.

Family

Grey married in 1830 Rosa Louisa, only daughter of Captain Sturt of the Royal Navy, by whom he had no issue. His elder brother (Charles Grey, captain 85th foot, killed at New Orleans in 1815) having predeceased him, the Morwick branch of the Greys of Howick became extinct at Grey's death.

References

, - , - ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, John 1780s births 1856 deaths British Army lieutenant generals Commanders-in-chief of Bombay Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath