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 ...
John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun, (17 August 1765 – 27 August 1823), known as The Honourable John Hope from 1781 to 1814 and as Lord Niddry from 1814 to 1816, was a
Scottish politician and
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.
Military career
Hopetoun was the only son of
John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun
John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun (7 September 1704 – 12 February 1781) was the son of Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun and Lady Henrietta Johnstone.
He married on 14 September 1733 to Anne Ogilvy, daughter of James Ogilvy, 5th Earl of Findlater ...
, by his second wife Jane or Jean Oliphant.
His mother died when he was only one year old.
[ He was commissioned into the 10th Light Dragoons in 1784.][ He sat as ]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 ...
for Linlithgowshire
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...
from 1790 to 1800.[
He took part in the capture of the ]French West Indies
The French West Indies or French Antilles (french: Antilles françaises, ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy fwansez) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:
* The two overseas departments of:
** Guadeloupe, ...
and Spanish West Indies
The Spanish West Indies or the Spanish Antilles (also known as "Las Antillas Occidentales" or simply "Las Antillas Españolas" in Spanish language, Spanish) were Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. In terms of governance of the Spanish Empire, The ...
in 1796 and 1797.[ In 1799 he was sent to ]Den Helder
Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base.
From here the Royal TESO fe ...
as Deputy Adjutant-General and was present at the Battle of Bergen and the Battle of Castricum
The Battle of Castricum (October 6, 1799) saw a Franco-Dutch force defeat an Anglo-Russian force near Castricum, Netherlands. The battle was fought during the War of the Second Coalition against Revolutionary France between French and Dutch forc ...
.[ In 1801 he was sent to ]Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
and then to Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
to take the surrender of the French garrison
A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
s there.[ He became Lieutenant-Governor of Portsmouth and General Officer Commanding South-West District in June 1805.
He commanded a division during the advance into ]Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and commanded the British left at the Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna (or ''A Coruña'', ''La Corunna'', ''La Coruña'' or ''La Corogne''), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a Briti ...
in 1809, succeeding to overall command when Sir John Moore was killed.[ Later that year he commanded the reserve army during the ]Walcheren Campaign
The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham ...
.[ He was appointed ]Commander-in-Chief, Ireland
Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, was title of the commander of the British forces in Ireland before 1922. Until the Act of Union in 1800, the position involved command of the distinct Irish Army of the Kingdom of Ireland.
History Marshal of Ireland
...
and was admitted to the Irish Privy Council in 1812.[ He then commanded the 1st Division under ]The Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
at the Battle of Nivelle
The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20, ...
and at the Battle of the Nive
The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French army on French soil ...
in 1813.[ He was captured fighting the French sortie at the ]Battle of Bayonne
The Battle of Bayonne (14 April 1814) saw the French garrison of Bayonne led by General of Division Pierre Thouvenot launch a sortie against a besieging force of British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops commanded by Lieutenant General John ...
in 1814.
He served as Lord-Lieutenant of Linlithgowshire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of West Lothian. The office was known as the Lord Lieutenant of Linlithgowshire until 1921.
* James Hope-Johnstone, 3rd Earl of Hopetoun 17 March 1794 – 29 May 1816
* John Hope, ...
from 1816 to 1823. On 17 May 1814, two years before he succeeded in the earldom, he was raised to the peerage in his own right as Baron Niddry, of Niddry Castle in the County of Linlithgow. In 1816 he succeeded his elder half-brother as fourth Earl of Hopetoun.
He died in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, 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 ...
on 27 August 1823.
Family
In 1798 Lord Hopetoun married firstly Elizabeth Hope Vere (or Weir) of Craigiehall, daughter of Charles Hope-Weir. After her death he married secondly Louisa Dorothea Wedderburn, daughter of John Wedderburn of Ballendean
Sir John Wedderburn of Ballindean, 6th Baronet of Blackness (1729–1803) was a Scottish landowner who made a fortune in slave sugar in the West Indies. Born into a family of impoverished Perthshire gentry, his father, Sir John Wedderburn, 5t ...
, and granddaughter of Sir John Wedderburn, 5th Baronet of Blackness
Sir John Wedderburn, 5th Baronet of Blackness, was a Perthshire gentleman who joined the 1745 rebellion of Charles Edward Stuart. He was captured at the Battle of Culloden, taken to London, and convicted of treason. He was hanged, his estates ...
.
On his death he was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son from his second marriage, John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
. Lady Hopetoun died in 1836.
Monuments
Following Lord Hopetoun's death, the Hopetoun Monument was erected on Byres Hill, East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the histo ...
, in 1824. This was followed in 1826 by a similar monument on Mount Hill in Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
. In 1824 the city of Edinburgh commissioned a bronze statue of Lord Hopetoun, by Thomas Campbell Thomas Campbell may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Thomas Campbell (poet) (1777–1844), Scottish poet
* Thomas Campbell (sculptor) (1790–1858), Scottish sculptor
* Thomas Campbell (visual artist) (born 1969), California-based visual artist ...
, and originally designed as a centrepiece for Charlotte Square
300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side
Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The square is located at the west end of George Street and was intend ...
in 1829, but which was eventually placed in St Andrew Square in 1834, in front of Dundas House
Dundas House is a Neoclassical building in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at 36 St Andrew Square, in the city's first New Town. The building was completed in 1774 as a private town house for Sir Lawrence Dundas by the architect Sir Will ...
where he had acted as vice governor of the bank.[ The text on the latter is by ]Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
. In the wake of the George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...
, a plaque was installed by its owners in June 2020 on the statue which reflected Lord Hopetoun's role in suppressing Fédon's rebellion
Fédon's rebellion (also known as the Brigands' War, or Fédon's Revolution, 2 March 1795 – 19 June 1796) was an uprising against British rule in Grenada. Although a significant number of slaves were involved, they fought on both sides (the majo ...
, an uprising against British rule on the island of Grenada
Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
.
Notes
References
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
*
*
* Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998.
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopetoun, John Hope, 4th Earl
1765 births
1823 deaths
British Army generals
British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
Earls of Hopetoun
Gordon Highlanders officers
King's Royal Rifle Corps officers
Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland
Lord-Lieutenants of West Lothian
42nd Regiment of Foot officers
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Members of the Royal Company of Archers
Peers of the United Kingdom created by George III