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 William Draper KB (1721 – 8 January 1787), 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 ...

officer and cricketeer who led

the expedition ''The Expedition'' is the live album by the American metal band Kamelot, released in October 2000 through Noise Records. The last three tracks are rare studio recordings: "We Three Kings" (instrumental) and "One Day" are additional material from ...

which captured

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in 1762 and was involved in the unsuccessful defence of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

in 1782. He was also involved in a key 1774 meeting which agreed on an early set of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

rules including the

leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was instead in ...

rule.

Biography

Draper was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, then the second largest city in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, to a young

customs officer A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government. Canada Canadian customs officers are members of the Canada Border Services Agency. It was created in 2003 and preceded by the Canada Customs and ...

. His father died the following year and the family struggled financially for many years, spending some time in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Draper was educated at

Bristol Cathedral School Bristol Cathedral Choir School is a mixed gender non-selective musical Secondary Academy, located in the Cabot area of Bristol, England. Until 2008 it was known as Bristol Cathedral School. It is situated next to Bristol Cathedral, in the cent ...

, then

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, to which he won a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

in 1733, and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

. In 1744, during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

, he was joined the

at the rank of

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 ...

Lord Henry Beauclerk Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

's regiment. Drape was appointed as an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

in the

1st Regiment of Foot Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

in 1746, and rose to the ranks of

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 sub ...

and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1749. In 1756 he married his first wife, Caroline, daughter of

Lord William Beauclerk Lord William Beauclerk (22 May 1698 – 1733) was a British army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1724 to 1733. Beauclerk was the second son of Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, and his wife Lady Diana de Ver ...

. He married his second wife, Elizabeth March sometime afterwards, until she forsook him 1773 in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

due to her dislike of him.

Seven Years' War

In the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

he commanded the 79th Regiment of Foot, raised by himself, at the

Siege of Madras The siege of Madras was a siege of Madras, which was then under British Raj, British rule, between December 1758 and February 1759 by France, French forces under the command of Thomas Arthur, comte de Lally, Comte de Lally during the Seven Yea ...

from 1758 to 1759. A

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 1762, he had his greatest triumph when he led together with

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 F ...

officer

Samuel Cornish Samuel Eli Cornish (1795 – 6 November 1858) was an American Presbyterian minister, abolitionist, publisher, and journalist. He was a leader in New York City's small free black community, where he organized the first congregation of black Pre ...

an expedition against Spanish-held

, capturing the city on 6 October 1762. The

British occupation of Manila The British occupation of Manila was an episode in colonial history of the Philippines when the Kingdom of Great Britain occupied the Spanish colonial capital of Manila and the nearby port of Cavite for twenty months from 1762 to 1764. The ...

lasted until 1764, after which it was returned to Spain. During the capture Draper had signed an agreement, known as the "Manila Ransom", by which the Spanish would pay the British a large amount of money. News of Manila's capture arrived too late to affect the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

, and under its terms the British returned the city to the Spanish, the ransom being only 1/4th paid.

Peacetime

Draper returned home expecting to receive commendations for his capture of Manila, but the reaction was more mixed. In 1765 he was colonel of the

16th Regiment of Foot The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

. In December 1765 he became

Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

and defended the

Marquis of Granby Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

against Junius in 1769. In 1769 he lost his wife and went on a tour through the American colonies. In North America, he married Susanna De Lancey, daughter of Oliver De Lancey, the head of one of the leading families in the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...

. Draper entertained a hope that he might be appointed as a Royal Governor, but this came to nothing. In 1774, Draper chaired the committee that formulated some early

laws of cricket The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code which specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744 and, since 1788, it has been owned and maintained by its custodian, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lond ...

. They were settled and revised at the Star and Garter in Pall Mall on Friday 25 February 1774. The committee included the

Duke of Dorset Duke of Dorset was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1720 for the politician Lionel Sackville, 7th Earl of Dorset. History The Sackville family descended from Sir Richard Sackville. His only surviving son, Thomas Sa ...

, the

Earl of Tankerville Earl of Tankerville is a noble title drawn from Tancarville in Normandy. The title has been created three times: twice in the Peerage of England, and once (in 1714) in the Peerage of Great Britain for Charles Bennet, 2nd Baron Ossulston. His f ...

Harry Peckham Harry Peckham (1740 – 10 January 1787) was a King's Counsel, judge and sportsman who toured Europe and wrote a series of letters which are still being published over 200 years later. Peckham was a member of the committee that drew up early l ...

and other "Noblemen and Gentlemen of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, and

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 ...

".Cricketana
by James Mycroft, 1865 This meeting was one of the earlier sets of cricket rules and is acknowledged as being the first where the

rule was introduced.Pall Mall, South Side, Past Buildings: Nos 94-95 Pall Mall: The Star and Garter
Survey of London: volumes 29 and 30: St James Westminster, Part 1 (1960), pp. 351–352. Retrieved 8 June 2008.

American Revolutionary War

A lieutenant-general in 1777, he became lieutenant-governor of

, 1779–1782, until the island was captured by a combined Franco-Spanish expedition during the invasion of Menorca. He preferred unsubstantiated charges of

misconduct Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...

against Lieutenant General James Murray, who had suspended him. He was reprimanded by a general

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

in 1783. He died on 8 January 1787 and was buried in the old

Abbey Church A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

in Bath, where a monument has been erected to his memory.

References

Sources

Pitt's Gallant Conqueror

NY Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Draper, William 1721 births 1787 deaths British Army lieutenant generals British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Grenadier Guards officers English cricket administrators British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Bristol Cathedral Choir School British people in colonial India British expatriates in the Philippines De Lancey family