General Lord George Augustus Frederick Paget (16 March 1818 – 30 June 1880), was a British soldier during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

who took part in the famous

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to se ...

. He later became a Whig politician.

Early life

Lord George Augustus Frederick Paget was born on 16 March 1818. Paget was the youngest son of

Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member ...

by his second wife Lady Charlotte, daughter of

Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan Charles Sloane Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan (29 September 1728 – 3 April 1807) was a British peer and Whig politician. Early life Cadogan was the only son of Charles Cadogan, 2nd Baron Cadogan and his wife, the former Elizabeth Sloane. His ma ...

. Among his siblings were Lady Emily (wife of

John Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney John Robert Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney (9 August 1805 – 14 February 1890), known as The Viscount Sydney between 1831 and 1874, was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. In a ministerial career spanning over 30 years, he was twice ...

Lord Clarence Paget Admiral Lord Clarence Edward Paget (17 June 1811 – 22 March 1895) was a British naval officer, politician, and sculptor. Naval career Born the younger son of the 1st Marquess of Anglesey, Paget in 1827 like many younger sons of nobility enter ...

, Lady Mary Paget (wife of

John Montagu, 7th Earl of Sandwich John William Montagu, 7th Earl of Sandwich PC (8 November 1811 – 3 March 1884), styled Viscount Hinchingbrooke from 1814 to 1818, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He served under Lord Derby as Captain of the Honourable Corps o ...

Lord Alfred Paget Lord Alfred Henry Paget (26 June 1816 – 24 August 1888) was a British soldier, courtier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1837 and 1865. Early life Paget was the sixth son of William Paget, the 1st Marquess of An ...

(MP for

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...

), and

Lady Adelaide Paget Lady Adelaide Cadogan (née Paget; 1820–1890) was a British noblewoman and prodigious author, most noted for her seminal work on plays and card games. She used her title in her publications and that is how she is generally styled. Biography ...

(wife of Frederick William Cadogan). He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

. His parents were both previously married, and divorced; his father to Lady Caroline Villiers (later the

Duchess of Argyll The Duchess of Argyll is typically the wife of the Duke of Argyll, an extant title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom created in 1892. The Duke is also Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of Scotland, which was originally created in the 1701. The ...

), and his mother to Henry Wellesley (later 1st

Baron Cowley Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

). From his mother's previous marriage, his elder half-siblings included Hon. Charlotte Wellesley (wife of

Robert Grosvenor, 1st Baron Ebury Robert Grosvenor, 1st Baron Ebury PC (24 April 1801 – 18 November 1893), styled Lord Robert Grosvenor from 1831 to 1857, was a British courtier and Whig politician. He served as Comptroller of the Household between 1830 and 1834 and as Treas ...

Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley Henry Richard Charles Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley, (17 June 1804 – 15 July 1884), known as The Lord Cowley between 1847 and 1857, was a British diplomat. He served as British Ambassador to France between 1852 and 1867. Background and educati ...

, and the Very Rev. Hon. Gerald Valerian Wellesley. From his father's previous marriage, his elder half-siblings included Lady Caroline Paget (wife of

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond, (3 August 179121 October 1860), of Goodwood House near Chichester in West Sussex, was a British peer, soldier and prominent Conservative politician. Origins He was born "Charles Lennox", the son an ...

Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey (6 July 1797 – 7 February 1869), styled Lord Paget 1812 and 1815 and Earl of Uxbridge from 1815 to 1854, was a Welsh peer and Whig politician. He served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household between 1839 ...

, Lady Jane Paget (wife of

Francis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham, KP, GCH, PC (11 June 1797 – 17 July 1876), styled Lord Francis Conyngham between 1816 and 1824 and Earl of Mount Charles between 1824 and 1832, was an Anglo-Irish soldier, courtier, po ...

), Lady Georgina Paget (wife of

Edward Crofton, 2nd Baron Crofton Edward Crofton, 2nd Baron Crofton (1 August 1806 – 17 December 1869), known as Sir Edward Crofton, 4th Baronet, from 1816 to 1817, was an Anglo-Irish Conservative politician. Crofton was the son of the Hon. Sir Edward Crofton, 3rd Baronet, son of ...

), Lady Augusta Paget (wife of

Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Templemore Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Templemore (8 January 1797 – 26 September 1837) was a British soldier, politician and courtier. Chichester was born in Westminster, London, the eldest son of Lord Spencer Chichester, third son of Arthur Chichester, ...

), Lord William Paget, and Lady Agnes Paget (wife of

George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford George Stevens Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford, PC (8 June 1806 – 29 October 1886), styled Viscount Enfield between 1847 and 1860, of Wrotham Park in Middlesex (now Hertfordshire) and of 5 St James's Square, London, was a British peer and Whig p ...

Career

Paget served in the

and fought at

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...

and Balaclava in command of the 4th (The Queen's Own) Light Dragoons. He is frequently quoted for his references to the Russian engagement in Balaklava on the Crimean Peninsula: "Every fool at the outposts, who fancies he hears something, has only to make a row, and there we all are, Generals and all... Well I suppose 500 false alarms are better than one surprise". This quote was supposedly written just before the Russians surprised the camp. He is famous for having charged with the Light Brigade while smoking a

cheroot The cheroot is a filterless cylindrical cigar with both ends clipped during manufacture. Since cheroots do not taper, they are inexpensive to roll mechanically, and their low cost makes them popular. The word 'cheroot' probably comes via Portugu ...

(a type of cigar favoured by soldiers who served in India).

Member of Parliament

Apart from his military career, Paget sat in Westminster as the

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 ...

(MP) for

Beaumaris Beaumaris ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from ...

between 1847 and 1857. He was made a KCB in 1870.

Personal life

On 27 February 1854, Paget married his first cousin Agnes Charlotte Paget, daughter of Sir Arthur Paget. They had two sons. After her death on 10 March 1858, just six days after the birth of her child, he married secondly Louisa Elizabeth, daughter of

Charles Fieschi Heneage Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, in 1861. Paget died at his residence in Farm Street,

Mayfair, London Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

, in June 1880, aged 62. His widow remarried, as his third wife, to

Arthur Capell, 6th Earl of Essex Arthur Algernon Capell (27 January 1803 – 11 September 1892) was an English aristocrat who succeed to the title Earl of Essex in 1839. Early life Arthur Algernon Capell was the son of Hon. John Thomas Capel and Lady Caroline Paget (eldest daug ...

, in 1881. She died in January 1914.www.victorianweb.org

References

External links

*
Brigadier General Lord George Paget C.B.: Lord George Paget (1818-1880), Colonel 4th Light Dragoons
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paget, George British Army personnel of the Crimean War Younger sons of marquesses British Army generals Whig (British political party) MPs for Welsh constituencies 4th Queen's Own Hussars officers UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Beaumaris People educated at Westminster School, London Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath 1818 births 1880 deaths

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...