General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir Thomas Hawker KCH (1777 – 13 June 1858) 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 ...

cavalry officer. Hawker began his career in the

11th Light Dragoons The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Prin ...

in 1795 and fought with them 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 ...

. In 1804, he purchased the rank of major with the 20th Light Dragoons and served with them in Spain during 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 promoted to command of the regiment in 1808. Hawker served in the force sent to occupy the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

in 1814 and shortly after was promoted to colonel and given command of a light cavalry brigade. Spending some time on half pay after the end of the Napoleonic Wars he returned to active service as lieutenant-colonel of the

13th Light Dragoons The 13th Hussars (previously the 13th Light Dragoons) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War and the First World War but then amalgamated w ...

. Hawker was in the East Indies between 1822--26 and 1830-36 and was promoted to major-general in 1825. He was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Royal Guelphic Order The Royal Guelphic Order (german: Königliche Guelphen-Orden), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name ...

in 1837 and colonel of the

6th Regiment of Dragoon Guards The Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1685 as the Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1740, the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabin ...

in 1839. Hawker was promoted to the brevet rank of general in 1854.

Military career

Born in 1777, Hawker entered the British Army on 16 May 1795 when he was commissioned as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

in the

. He was promoted to lieutenant on 9 April 1796 and captain on 10 July 1799. Hawker fought in the

in 1799. On 25 December 1800 he was appointed a captain in the

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and in 1803 was appointed an aide-de-camp to

William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart General William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart (17 September 175516 June 1843) was a British soldier and diplomat. Early life He was the son of Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart and his wife Ann Hamilton. Cathcart born at Petersham, Lon ...

who was Commander-in-Chief in Ireland. On 1 December 1804, he purchased the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the 20th Light Dragoons with which he served in the Mediterranean and Spain during the

from 1805 to 1814. Hawker was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 3 September 1808. Hawker later recounted that the most successful cavalry charge he was ever part of occurred during this war. A French cavalry regiment entered within

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighter ...

range and loosed a volley, upon which Hawker commanded his regiment to charge with the

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

. They reached the French unit before they were able to reholster their carbines and inflicted large numbers of casualties. This anecdote was discussed in an 1879 report on cavalry tactics in the journal of the

Royal United Services Institution The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank. ...

as part of an argument that the use of carbines by cavalry "on the field of battle is nothing short of insanity". Accompanying the expedition to the

Gulf of Genoa The Gulf of Genoa (''Golfo di Genova'') is the northernmost part of the Ligurian Sea. This Italian gulf is about wide from the city of Imperia in the west to La Spezia in the east. The largest city on its coast is Genoa, which has an important p ...

in April 1814, Hawker was given the

brevet rank In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

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 of ...

in June and given command of the

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was primarily rai ...

brigade; in 1815 the brigade joined an Anglo-Austrian force intended to depose

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...

, the

King of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou In 1382, the ...

, but the mission was abandoned after Murat's defeat. After the Napoleonic Wars he spent some time on half pay before returning to the army, on 9 August 1821, as lieutenant-colonel of the

. Hawker served in a command position in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

between 1822 and 1826 and was promoted to the rank of major-general on 27 May 1825. Hawker was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the 2nd Royal Tower Hamlets Militia on 7 June 1825. He held positions in the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

between 1830 and 1836. During this time he was appointed to a commission investigating the causes of the Mysore (or Nagar) Rebellion of 1830–31. The commission's report was published on 12 December 1833 and criticised the taxation regime of the local Indian ruler. Hawker was appointed a Military Knight Commander of the Royal Guelphic Order (KCH) in March 1837. He was appointed

of the 6th Regiment of Dragoons Guards on 20 June 1839 and was

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

in June 1854. Hawker died at his home in

Clifton, Bristol Clifton is both a suburb of Bristol, England, and the name of one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells. The eastern part of the suburb lies within the ward of Clifton Do ...

on 13 June 1858. The library of the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

holds a collection of his correspondence. A portrait of Hawker in 20th Light Dragoons uniform and his insignia of the Guelphic Order are in the collection of the

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the "Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public body. ...

, having been acquired in the 1950s – the rarity of the uniform and insignia being of interest. The insignia itself is also held in the museum's medal collection.

Personal life

Hawker married Anna Maria, a daughter of James Harrison, Esq. in 1818. A monument in

St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bathwick The Church of St Mary the Virgin is located on Darlington Street in the Bathwick area of Bath, Somerset, England. The church is Anglican and located near Pinch's Sydney Place (1808) and Bath's famed Sydney Pleasure Gardens. The church was cons ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, records the death of Hawker's first wife, "who died at sea on her return from India, March 21st 1836". Hawker had at least three sons from the marriage: the Reverend John Hawker, a vicar at Redhill, Hants; Lieutenant Thomas Jones Hawker of the

70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot The 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881. History Formation The ...

who died in the West Indies in 1839 and Francis Richard Hawker, who served as a captain in his father's regiment (the 6th Dragoon Guards) and died in Havant in 1855. In 1838 he married the eldest daughter of William Woodley, the widow of Frederick Noel, a Royal Naval captain. This second marriage was at

St George's Church, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Ann ...

in London. His second wife survived him. By 1856 he was resident at

Lansdown Crescent, Bath Lansdown Crescent is a well-known example of Georgian architecture in Bath, Somerset, England, designed by John Palmer and constructed by a variety of builders between 1789 and 1793. The buildings have a clear view over central Bath, being si ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawker, thomas 1777 births 1858 deaths British Army generals Date of birth missing Place of birth missing 19th-century British Army personnel People from Clifton, Bristol Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers 11th Hussars officers 13th Hussars officers British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Military personnel from Bristol