Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Sir Thomas Arbuthnot,
KCB (11 September 1776 – 26 January 1849
["''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''"]) was a
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
commander.
Military career
He was born in
Rockfleet Castle
Rockfleet Castle, or Carrickahowley Castle ( Irish: ''Carraig an Chabhlaigh''), is a tower house near Newport in County Mayo, Ireland. It was built in the mid-fifteenth century, and is most famously associated with Grace O'Malley
Grace O' ...
,
County Mayo,
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 ...
, the sixth son of
John Arbuthnot, Sr of Rockfleet.
He entered the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
as an
ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
in the
29th Regiment of Foot in November 1795.
He was promoted to lieutenant in the
40th Regiment of Foot in May 1796 and to
captain in the
8th West India Regiment
The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...
in June 1798.
He then joined the Quarter-master General's department and served under Sir
John Moore on the
Peninsula from May 1803.
Arbuthnot was promoted to major in the
5th West India Regiment in the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
in April 1808 before being appointed assistant adjutant-general in
General Picton's division for the greater part of 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 ...
.
He was twice wounded, once in the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
and again in one of the actions in the Peninsula. 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 colo ...
, he became deputy quartermaster general at the
Cape of Good Hope in May 1810.
He was appointed an
aide-de-camp to
the Prince Regent
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
in February 1812, promoted to
brevet 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 ...
in June 1814 and appointed a
Knight of the Order of the Bath in 1815.
Promoted to
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 ...
in May 1825, Arbuthnot was sent next year to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
in command of a brigade. He afterwards commanded a district in Ireland, and having attained the rank of lieutenant-general in June 1838, was appointed, in 1842, to the command of the
Northern and Midland Districts in England, which command he retained until his death.
He also served as colonel in turn of the
99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot
The 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1824. It amalgamated with the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment) in 1881.
History Formation
The ...
from August 1836, of the
52nd 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 du ...
from December 1839, of the
9th Regiment of Foot
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
from December 1844 and of the
71st Highlanders from February 1848.
He died unmarried at his residence in The Crescent,
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
.
Family
He was brother of General Sir
Robert Arbuthnot, KCB and
Charles Arbuthnot
Charles Arbuthnot (14 March 1767 – 18 August 1850) was a British diplomat and Tory politician. He was Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire between 1804 and 1807 and held a number of political offices. He was a good friend of the Duke of Welling ...
and bishop
Alexander Arbuthnot.
He was uncle of Sir
Alexander John Arbuthnot, Major General
George Bingham Arbuthnot and Lieutenant General Sir
Charles George Arbuthnot.
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Arbuthnot, Thomas
1776 births
1849 deaths
29th Regiment of Foot officers
52nd Regiment of Foot officers
57th Regiment of Foot officers
71st Highlanders officers
British Army lieutenant generals
British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Military personnel from County Mayo
South Lancashire Regiment officers
Worcestershire Regiment officers
Thomas Arbuthnot