Major General Sir Howard Elphinstone, 1st Baronet (4 March 1773 – 28 April 1846) was a commander of the Royal Engineers 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 ...

. Elphinstone was the youngest son of John Elphinstone, a captain 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 ...

and for a period a vice-admiral in the Russian Navy. His mother was Amelia, daughter of John Warburton.

Military service

On 24 April 1793, Elphinstone was appointed a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers. He was present for the expedition that took the Cape of Good Hope in 1795, and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 5 February 1796 and captain on 1 July 1800. Elphinstone commanded the engineers in Sir David Baird's Indian army sent to help expel the French from Egypt in 1801. Sent on a mission to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in 1806, he was the commanding engineer at the Battle of Montevideo in 1807, under the overall command of

John Whitelocke John Whitelocke (1757 – 23 October 1833) was a British Army officer. Military career Educated at Marlborough Grammar School and at Lewis Lochée's military academy in Chelsea, Whitelocke entered the army in 1778 and served in Jamaica and in S ...

. He was posted to Portugal in 1808, commanding the Royal Engineers of the Peninsular army. He saw his first service in the

at the Battle of Roliça, where he was badly wounded and subsequently left the theatre. On 1 January 1812, he was breveted major and returned to the Peninsula, where he served until the end of the war. Promoted regimental

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 colo ...

on 21 July 1813, after the battles of

Nivelle Nivelle () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department * Nivelle Offensive The Nivelle offensive (16 April – 9 May 1917) was a Franco-British operation on the Western Front ...

and the Nive, Elphinstone commanded the engineers at the crossing of the Adour and the siege and

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 ...

. After the war, the Peninsular commanders were honoured, and Elphinstone was no exception. He was created 1st Baronet of Elphinstone, of Sowerby in the County of Cumberland, in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 25 May 1816, and nominated a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

. He saw no further active service, but was promoted regimental

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

on 2 December 1824 and

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 ...

on 10 January 1837.

Family

Elphinstone married his first cousin Frances Warburton (daughter of John Warburton, junior, and niece of

John Clater Aldridge 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 * Second ...

) on 14 February 1803. They had one son and three daughters: *

Sir Howard Elphinstone, 2nd Baronet Sir Howard Elphinstone, 2nd Baronet (9 June 1804 – 16 March 1893) was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig politician He was elected as member of parliament (MP) for Hastings (UK Parliament constituency), Hastings at the 1835 United ...

(1804–1893) *Frances Elphinstone (d. 31 October 1905), married on 6 September 1836 to

William Masters Smith William Masters Smith (20 March 1802 – 24 December 1861) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for West Kent from 1852 to 1857. He married Frances Elphinstone, daughter of Sir Howard Elphinstone, 1st ...

*Harriet Elphinstone (d. 13 February 1892), married on 25 April 1849 to Rev. William Twiss Turner *Louisa Elphinstone (d. 3 October 1903), married first on 1 October 1832 to Robert Anstruther (1805–1856), of Thirdpark, married second on 15 August 1861 to Andrew Bonar Elphinstone died at

Ore Place Ore Place are the ruins of a significant late medieval manor house in the northern outskirts of Hastings, East Sussex, England. The remaining parts of the building consist of walls up to 3m high and 0.7m thick and below ground archaeological rema ...

, at Ore, Sussex (near

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

) on 28 April 1846.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elphinstone, Howard Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Army major generals British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars British Army personnel of the Peninsular War Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Engineers officers 1773 births 1846 deaths