General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Robert Thomas Wilson (17 August 1777 – 9 May 1849) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and politician who served in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, and was seconded to the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

in 1812. He sat as the Whig Member of Parliament (MP) for

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

from 1818 to 1831. He served as the

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of ...

from 1842 until his death in 1849.

Early career

Born in London, he was the grandson of a Leeds wool merchant, and the fourth child of painter and portraitist Benjamin Wilson. Orphaned at the age of twelve he was raised and educated by his uncle and guardian, William Bosville, later attending

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

. He eloped in his twenties with Jemima, the daughter of Colonel William Belford. They had thirteen children in the following 15 years.

Military life

He had a distinguished career in the Army and the diplomatic service. In 1794, as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the 15th Light Dragoons, Wilson fought in the celebrated Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies where a handful of cavalry smashed a much larger French force. He was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in 1801. That year also saw him serving in Egypt under General Abercromby and later General Hely-Hutchinson as the French were driven out of Cairo and Alexandria. In 1804 he became a lieutenant-colonel in the 19th Light Dragoons. In 1805 as Lieutenant-Colonel of 200 from the 20th Light Dragoons he joined the forces for the invasion of the Cape of Good Hope, in January 1806. In 1806 he joined a diplomatic mission to Prussia led by Hutchinson, with whom he had served in Egypt. Wilson was present at the battle of Eylau and Friedland. He was briefly at Tilsit at the signing of the

Treaty of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit (), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (; ), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War o ...

and claimed to have crossed to the French side of the river while disguised as a Cossack in the company of a friend who was also a Cossack general. After the treaty was signed he travelled to St Petersburg and unaware of the secret clauses, campaigned vigorously for continued friendship between Britain and Russia. When the British ambassador discovered that Russia was about to declare war, Wilson was despatched to Britain with the news. It was hoped that he could overhaul a Russian courier who had been sent ahead of him, which he did in Stockholm. Having left St Peterburg on the eighth of November, he arrived in Scarborough Yorkshire, England on the thirtieth. By four AM on the second of December he was waking up the British Foreign Secretary,

George Canning George Canning (; 11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as foreign secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the U ...

, with the news. The early warning enabled Britain to detain then in its waters and unaware of the impending war declaration. During the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

he organised Portuguese soldiers into the Loyal Lusitanian Legion.Chandler, p 490 During the British retreat from the Iberian peninsula in January 1809, Wilson refused to comply with the withdrawal and instead decided to oppose the incoming 9,000-man corps commanded by the French General Pierre Belon Lapisse. He installed half of his 1,200 Lusitanian Legion in the fortress of Almeida and arranged the rest in a thin screen. He then harried the opposition with such remorseless energy that Lapisse, convinced he was confronted by a far more numerous enemy, switched entirely to the defensive.Gates, p 149 In summer 1809, Wilson's Legion again formed an important part of the Anglo-Portuguese network of advance posts and was placed on the Spanish frontier to provide early warning of French moves while the British commander

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

advanced on Oporto.Robertson, p 78 In Wellington's advance on Talavera in spring 1809, Wilson's Lusitanians again formed a valuable flank guard. Although heavily outnumbered, they managed to stop Marshal Victor's advance into Portugal by partially blowing up the bridge at Alcantara. In the aftermath of the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish ...

, when the French General Victor and his corps threatened to cut Wellington's forces off from the south, Wilson's small flank column of 1,500 men surprised Victor's 19,600 men from the north. In the face of this unclear threat, Victor panicked and precipitously withdrew to Madrid.Gates, p 186 On 12August 1809, Wilson with 4,000 men, including two battalions of the Legion, was defeated by French forces under Marshal

Michel Ney Michel Ney, 1st Prince de la Moskowa, 1st Duke of Elchingen (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The son of ...

at the

Battle of Puerto de Baños The Battle of Puerto de Baños (12 August 1809) saw a Portuguese-Spanish column led by Robert Wilson attempt to defend a mountain pass against Marshal Michel Ney's VI Corps. After a nine-hour combat, Wilson's force broke up and scattered into ...

. Facing treble the number of French, Wilson nevertheless managed to maintain his position for nine hours. He lost nearly 400 men while inflicting 185 casualties on the French. Wilson returned to Russia in 1812 as a liaison officer joining and describing in detail Kutuzov's campaign against Napoleon, showing that he was a sharp observer, an experienced general but also a British politician during the events of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's disastrous retreat from Moscow. In addition he assisted in the November 1815 escape of the Bonapartist Lavalette from Paris.

Parliament

In 1817, near the start of the

Great Game The Great Game was a rivalry between the 19th-century British Empire, British and Russian Empire, Russian empires over influence in Central Asia, primarily in Emirate of Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Qajar Iran, Persia, and Tibet. The two colonia ...

, he published the anti-Russian "A Sketch of the Military and Political Power of Russia". In 1818, Wilson became an MP for

. In 1821 and by now a Radical, he attended the funeral of Queen Caroline whose treatment by her husband George IV had made her popular. Her supporters became unruly, and soldiers fired over the heads of the crowd. Wilson intervened, stating that "It is quite disgraceful to continue firing in this manner, for the people are unarmed. Remember you are soldiers of Waterloo; do not lose your honours gained on that occasion. You have had cannon shot at your head, never mind a few stones." The firing ceased as the officer in charge recognised Wilson, and the troops backed off. A few weeks later Wilson was dismissed from the Army by the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

Later career

Wilson was reinstated in the Army and promoted to lieutenant-general in 1830. He reached the rank of full general in 1841 and was appointed

in 1842. He wrote a great deal about history and politics.

Death

Wilson died suddenly on 9May 1849 at Marshall Thompson's Hotel in

Cavendish Square Cavendish Square is a public square, public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square ...

, London. He is buried along with his wife in the north aisle at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

References

;Notes ;Some of his own works * * * (Third edition) * (Second edition, edited by Rev. Herbert Randolph) * (edited by Rev. Herbert Randolph) ;Secondary sources * * * * * * *