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 ...

Sir William Eyre KCB (21 October 1805 – 18 September 1859) was an officer in 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 ...

Biography

Eyre was the younger son of Vice-Admiral Sir George Eyre. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

; commissioned as an ensign in 1823. He received a company in the 73rd Regiment in 1829. Ten years later he was a major.H. M. Stephens, 'Eyre, Sir William (1805–1859)’, rev. James Lunt, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 ;online edn, Jan 200
Retrieved 30 July 2010
/ref> He served in Cape Frontier War of 1847 and was 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 colonel. ...

the same year. In the Cape Frontier War of 1851 he defeated the Xhosha at the

battle of Quibigui River A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and the battle of Committees Hill. In 1852 he commanded the right wing in the punitive attack on

Moshoeshoe I Moshoeshoe I () ( – 11 March 1870) was the first king of Lesotho. He was the first son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bamokoteli lineage, a branch of the Koena (crocodile) clan. In his youth, he helped his father gain power over som ...

at Berea in Basutoland. The same year he was appointed

Companion 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 ...

, served as '' aide-de-camp'' to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, and was promoted to

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 1854 he commanded the 3rd Brigade and later the 3rd Division in

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

and was 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 1855 he accepted appointment as commander of Her Majesty's forces in British North America and was appointed

Knight Commander 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 in the following year, 1856, he was decorated by France and Turkey. His health had been broken during the Crimean War and he resigned due to ill health in June 1859. He died on 18 September of that year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyre, William 1805 births 1859 deaths British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Crimean War 73rd Regiment of Foot officers People educated at Rugby School Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath