Sir John Burgoyne, 7th Baronet (1739–1785) was an English general, seventh baronet, of

Sutton, Bedfordshire Sutton is a rural village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It lies east of Bedford. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census, its population was 299. Main features ...

, and cousin of Lieutenant-General

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several batt ...

Life

Burgoyne entered the army at an early age. After serving in the 7th Fusiliers and other corps, he obtained the lieutenant-colonelcy of the

58th Foot The 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Northamptonshire Regiment in 1881. Hist ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1764. Some years later he was transferred to that of the

14th Light Dragoons The 14th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 20th Hussars to form the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 192 ...

, then on the Irish establishment. The ' Calendar of Home Office Papers,' 1770–2, pars. 224, 639, shows these appointments to have been dictated by political as well as professional considerations. In 1781 Burgoyne was commissioned to raise a regiment of light dragoons for service in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, the first European cavalry sent out to that country. This corps, originally known as the 23rd Light Dragoons, was formed out of drafts from other regiments, and had its rendezvous at Bedford. Standards, now in possession of the 19th Hussars, were presented to it by

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, and early in 1782 it embarked, with other reinforcements, on board the

East India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadh ...

fleet under convoy of Admiral Sir R. Bickerton, and landed at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

towards the end of the year. Under its changed name of the

19th Light Dragoons The 19th Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army created in 1781 for service in British India. The regiment served in India until 1806, and in North America during the War of 1812, and was disbanded in Britain in 1821. History ...

it subsequently won great renown on Indian battle-fields. Burgoyne was promoted to the rank of major-general on the Madras staff in 1783. He died at Madras in 1785. He had married Charlotte, daughter of General Johnstone of Overston,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, and by this lady, who afterwards married, secondly, Lieutenant-general

Eyre Power Trench Eyre may refer to: Name *Eyre (given name) *Eyre (surname) Places Australia National *Eyre Highway, a highway connecting South Australia and Western Australia South Australia * Eyre Peninsula (disambiguation) * Eyre, South Australia, a suburb ...

, he left several children. Burgoyne's eldest son, Sir Montague Roger Burgoyne, 8th Baronet, was also a cavalry officer, and like his father ultimately became a major-general. He entered the army as cornet in the

Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard ...

in 1789, and in 1795 became lieutenant-colonel of the short-lived 32nd Light Dragoons. He was afterwards for some years one of the inspecting field-officers of yeomanry and volunteer corps. He died at his mother's residence in

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, on 11 August 1817. Shortly before his death Burgoyne was the object of a curious and vexatious prosecution, in which the vicar of his parish sued him for penalties under an old law for not having attended divine service during a period exceeding twelve months. The proceedings fell through.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgoyne, John 1739 births 1785 deaths British Army major generals Baronets in the Baronetage of England People from Sutton, Bedfordshire