Lieutenant-General Sir Kenneth MacKenzie Douglas, 1st Baronet (1754–1833), born Kenneth MacKenzie, was the first baronet of the Douglas of Glenbervie, Kincardine Baronetcy (second creation). He was created baronet in 1831.''A New General Biographical Dictionary'', Hugh James Rose
/ref> Born as Kenneth MacKenzie in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

in 1754, his father was Kenneth Mackenzie, of

Kilcoy Kilcoy is a rural town and locality in the Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Kilcoy had a population of 1,996 people. Geography The township is on the D'Aguilar Highway, north west of the state capital, Brisban ...

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

, and his mother Janet, a daughter of Sir Robert Douglas, 6th Baronet of Glenbervie (first creation).David Gates
‘Mackenzie, Kenneth (later Sir Kenneth Douglas, first baronet) (1754–1833)’
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'',

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, 2004. Retrieved 19 June 2008 He was commissioned 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

33rd Foot The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

in 1767, and was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1775. MacKenzie transferred to the

14th Foot The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was, ...

in 1783. He served in

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, the

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, and

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. He joined the 90th Foot in 1794, when, under Thomas Graham, (later Lord Lynedoch), he trained light company troops. On the death of Lieutenant-Colonel Ogilvie of the 44th Foot, Mackenzie transferred to that regiment, taking command. Following a decision by the British Army to train some line regiments in

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

techniques, Sir John Moore, a proponent of the light infantry model, offered his own regiment of line infantry, the

52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot The 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India dur ...

, for this training, at Shorncliffe Camp.Chappell, p. 11 Mackenzie was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 52nd. They formed a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

with the 95th Rifles, and three line regiments. Much of the training was undertaken by Lieutenant-Colonel Kenneth MacKenzie, who devised many of the tactics of light infantry training,Chappell, p. 12 He was responsible for many of the drills and exercises of the " Shorncliffe System". Injured after a fall from a horse in late 1803, he took leave, during which time he married Rachel Andrews, of Shorncliffe. (They had 6 sons and one daughter.) He saw some active service at Cadiz, but his health remained poor, and he spent most of the war convalescing in England. In 1811 he was given command of the light infantry troops then in England. In early 1814 he served under

Thomas Graham Thomas Graham may refer to: Politicians and diplomats *Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch (1748–1843), British politician and soldier * Thomas Graham Jr. (diplomat) (born 1933), nuclear expert and senior U.S. diplomat *Sir Thomas Graham (barriste ...

in the Netherlands, commanding the 2nd Division in the Expeditionary Corps. During the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

he commanded the

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. Made baronet in 1831 he also changed his surname to Douglas that year. He died in 1833 and was succeeded by his son Robert Andrew Douglas.

Notes

References

* Chappell, Mike; (2004) ''Wellington's Peninsula Regiments (2): The Light Infantry'', Oxford:

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External links

*
Monument inscription, Hythe Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Kenneth 1754 births 1833 deaths British Army lieutenant generals 33rd Regiment of Foot officers 44th Regiment of Foot officers 52nd Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars 601 People from Ross and Cromarty