General Sir Harry Burrard, 1st Baronet (1 June 1755 – 17 October 1813) was a British soldier who fought in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

and in the

Peninsular 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 ...

Biography

Burrard was born at

Walhampton Walhampton is a hamlet in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Boldre. It is approximately half a mile east of Lymington, on the east bank of the Lymington River. The Solent Way, a long-distance footpat ...

on 1 June 1755, the elder son of George Burrard of Walhampton, Hampshire, who was the third son of Paul Burrard, M.P. for

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

from 1706 to 1736, and younger brother of Sir Harry Burrard, M.P. for Lymington from 1741 to 1784 and created a baronet in 1769. Burrard became an ensign in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

in 1772. He was promoted lieutenant and captain in 1773, and in 1777 exchanged into the

60th Foot The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

, in order to see service in the

. With his regiment he served under Sir William Howe in 1778 and 1779—He was captured during a raid on the Bruges canal in 1798. He led the 2nd Brigade during the 1799

Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland The Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland (or Anglo-Russian expedition to Holland, or Helder Expedition) was a military campaign from 27 August to 19 November 1799 during the War of the Second Coalition, in which an expeditionary force of British and ...

, fighting at the battles of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Egmont and

Castricum Castricum () is a municipality and a town in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. Castricum is a seaside town in the province of North Holland. It draws in a fair share of tourists who mainly come to visit the beach and nearby dune ...

. In 1780 returned to England on being elected M.P. for

through the influence of his uncle Sir Harry. He served under

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

in America in 1781 and 1782. After peace had been declared he returned to the guards in 1786 as lieutenant and captain in the grenadier guards, and was promoted captain and lieutenant-colonel in 1789. With the guards he served in Flanders from 1793 to 1795, and was promoted colonel in 1795, and major-general in 1798. In 1804 he became lieutenant-colonel commanding the

1st Foot Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, and in 1805 he was promoted lieutenant-general. In 1807 he received his first command in the expedition to Copenhagen under

Lord Cathcart Earl Cathcart is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1814 for the soldier and diplomat William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart. The Cathcart family descends from Sir Alan Cathcart, who sometime be ...

, when he commanded the 1st Division, and as senior general under Cathcart acted as second in command. He had very little to do in the expedition; yet on his return he was created a baronet, and also made governor of Calshot Castle. In 1808 he was selected to supersede Sir Arthur Wellesley. He arrived on the coast of Portugal on 19 August, and wisely decided not to interfere with Sir Arthur Wellesley's arrangements. On 21 August Junot attacked Sir Arthur's position at

Vimeiro Vimeiro () is a freguesia (civil parish) in the municipality of Lourinhã in west-central Portugal. It is in the District of Lisboa. The population in 2011 was 1,470,Ferguson to pursue the beaten enemy, when Burrard assumed the chief command, and, believing the French had a reserve as yet untouched, forbade Ferguson to advance. The very next day Sir Hew Dalrymple assumed the chief command, and made the

Convention of Cintra The Convention of Cintra (or Sintra) was an agreement signed on 30 August 1808, during the Peninsular War. By the agreement, the defeated French were allowed to evacuate their troops from Portugal without further conflict. The Convention was sign ...

, with the full concurrence of Burrard, while Wellesley was ordered to do so due to his opposition to the convention. All three generals were recalled, and a court of inquiry was appointed to examine their conduct. Burrard succinctly declared the reasons for his course of action on 21 August. While the inquiry officially absolved all three, unofficially the blame fell on Burrard and Dalrymple. Wellesley soon returned to active duty in Portugal, while Burrard and Dalrymple were pushed into a series of obscure administrative posts and never again held an active command. Burrard never applied for another command, but in 1810 as senior lieutenant-colonel he assumed the command of the Brigade of Guards in London. He died at

Calshot Castle Calshot Castle is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII on the Calshot Spit, Hampshire, England, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire and ...

near Fawley, Hampshire, on 17 October 1813. He was buried in Lymington churchyard. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

(1793–1870), an officer who rose to the rank of admiral in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and on whose death in 1870 the baronetcy became extinct.

Family

On 20 February 1789 he married Hannah, the daughter of Harry Darby, a London merchant; they had five sons and two daughters. All the sons served in the army or the navy. Two sons were killed in 1809 one of whom was acting as aide-de-camp to Sir John Moore 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 ...

. He lost a third at the

siege of San Sebastian A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

which is said to have caused him to die of a broken heart. His wife survived him.

Miscellaneous

*He was nicknamed ''Betty'' by his troops. *The

Burrard Inlet french: Baie Burrard , image = Burrard Inlet 201807.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Aerial view of Burrard Inlet , image_bathymetry = Burrard-Inlet-map-en.svg , alt_bathymetry ...

was named after his cousin, also named Sir Harry Burrard (1765–1840), by

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...

in June 1792. *One of Burrard's sons was killed 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 ...

and another died in the breach at the

Siege of San Sebastian A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

. *He appears in

Naomi Novik Naomi Novik (born April 30, 1973) is an American author of speculative fiction. She is known for the ''Temeraire'' series (2006–2016), an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars involving dragons, and her ''Scholomance'' fantasy series (2020 ...

's fifth '' Temeraire'' novel, ''

Victory of Eagles ''Victory of Eagles'' is the fifth novel in the '' Temeraire'' alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. The series follows the actions of William Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire. The book was released in hardcover in ...

''. *He appears in

Dewey Lambdin Dewey Lambdin (January 26, 1945 – July 26, 2021) was an American nautical historical novelist. He was best known for his Alan Lewrie naval adventure series, spanning the American Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Besides the Alan Lewrie serie ...

's novel ''Kings and Emperors'', book 21 of the

Alan Lewrie Alan Lewrie ( KB BT) is the fictional hero and main character of Dewey Lambdin's naval adventure series of novels set during the American and the French Revolutions and the Napoleonic Wars. The series spanned some twenty-five novels with a 26th ...

series

Notes

References

* ;Attribution * Endnotes **Wellington Despatches, vol. iii.; **Napier's History of the Peninsular War, vol. i. book ii.; **Memorial written by Sir Hew Dalrymple. Bart., of his proceedings as connected with the affairs of Spain, and the commencement of the Peninsular War, 1830; **The Whole Proceedings of the Court of Inquiry upon the conduct of Sir Hew Dalrymple relative to the Convention of Cintra, held in the Great Hall, Chelsea College, from Monday, 14 Nov., to Wednesday, 14 Dec. 1808.

Biography

Family

Miscellaneous

Notes

References

Further reading