Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir George Cathcart (12 May 1794 – 5 November 1854) was a British general and diplomat.

Military career

He was born in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

, son of

William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart General William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart (17 September 175516 June 1843) was a British soldier and diplomat. Early life He was the son of Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart and his wife Ann Hamilton. Cathcart born at Petersham, Lon ...

. After receiving his education at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, he was commissioned into the Life Guards in 1810. In 1813 he went to Russia to serve as '' aide-de-camp'' to his father, who was ambassador and military commissioner. George Cathcart was present at the battles between the Russian and the French army in 1813 and he followed the Russian army through Europe, entering Paris in March 1814. British General Cathcart death at Inkerman

British General Cathcart death at Inkerman

When Napoleon returned in 1815, Cathcart served as ''aide-de-camp'' to 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 ...

and was present at the battles of

Quatre Bras Quatre Bras (, French for crossroads; literally "four arms") is a hamlet in the municipality of Genappe, Wallonia, Belgium. It lies on the crossroad of the Charleroi-Brussels road (currently named N5) and the Nivelles-Namur road south of Genappe ...

and Waterloo. After the war he was commissioned in the 7th Hussars, promoted to

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 1826. He then joined the 57th Regiment in 1828, the

8th Hussars The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in force ...

in 1830 and the

1st Dragoon Guards The 1st King's Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment was raised by Sir John Lanier in 1685 as the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse, named in honour of Queen Mary, consort of King James II. It was renamed the 2nd K ...

in 1838. Cathcart was promoted to colonel in 1841. In 1852 to 1853, as Governor of the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

, he granted the first constitution to the colony, ending the 8th Cape Frontier War and defeating the Basutos at the

Battle of Berea The Battle of Berea was a battle between British forces under Sir George Cathcart and Basuto- Taung forces under King Moshoeshoe I that took place on 20 December 1852. The battle began when British forces broke into three columns and crossed t ...

. In 1853 he was appointed

Adjutant-General to the Forces The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General (AG), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the British Army. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel polic ...

. At the start of 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 ...

, he was appointed to command the 4th infantry division. The

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

gave him a "dormant commission" which meant that if something were to happen to

Lord Raglan Baron Raglan, of Raglan in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 October 1852 for the military commander Lord FitzRoy Somerset, chiefly remembered as commander of the British troops ...

, Cathcart would take command. At the

Battle of the Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) was a battle in the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septemb ...

in September 1854, his division saw no action and after the

Battle of Balaclava The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), an Allied attempt to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russian Empire, Russia's principal naval base on the Bl ...

, where his division was called into action, his dormant commission was revoked. He advised an infantry assault on

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, thinking it could be taken, but was turned down by Lord Raglan. He took command of the 1st Brigade during the

Battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain and Second French Empire, France against the Imperial Russian Empire, Russian Army. Th ...

, where there was great confusion, was told to "Support the Guards", and then led his men too far, and was shot through the heart while charging up a hill with a company of 50 men from the 20th Regiment of Foot on 5 November 1854.

References

Bibliography

* George Cathcart, ''Commentaries on the War in Russia and Germany in 1812 and 1813'', London: 1850. , - 1794 births 1854 deaths British Army major generals Governors of the Cape Colony People educated at Eton College British Army personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel killed in the Crimean War People from Renfrewshire British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Younger sons of earls Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath British Life Guards officers {{UK-army-bio-stub