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 ...

William Anne Villettes, (20 August 175413 July 1808) was a senior officer of 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 ...

during the early nineteenth century. His career saw service in the Mediterranean, particularly during the Invasion of Corsica in 1794 and at the Malta Protectorate after British occupation in 1800. He died in 1808 while serving as military commander in

British Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was Invasion of Jamaica (1655), captured by the The Protectorate, English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British Empire, British colon ...

and is buried at Half Way Tree.

Life

Villettes was born in 1754 to a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

family, the son of diplomat Arthur Villettes, British ambassador to the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy (German language, Modern German: ; historically , after the Swiss Reformation, Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ...

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. He was educated in

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

and then at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, but subsequently persuaded his father to purchase a commission in the

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

in 1775. He remained with the regiment until 1787, when he became a major in the

12th Light Dragoons The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...

. For most of this period he served as aide to Sir William Pitt in Ireland, until in 1791 he became the lieutenant colonel of the

69th Regiment of Foot The 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881. History Formation Th ...

. Following the outbreak of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

his regiment was posted to the Mediterranean and he served at the Siege of Toulon in 1793. After the withdrawal he joined the army engaged in the Invasion of Corsica and led the 1,200 strong army at the Siege of Bastia. At the conclusion of the siege he was appointed governor of the town and in 1796 led a force to put down a rebellion inland, although terms were reached before he could press the attack. He returned to Britain late in the year and in 1797 briefly joined an expedition 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 ...

as the colonel of the

1st Dragoon Guards The 1st King's Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment was raised by Sir John Lanier in 1685 as the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse, named in honour of Queen Mary, consort of King James II. It was renamed the 2nd K ...

. He later served in the household of

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, (Edward Augustus; 2 November 1767 – 23 January 1820) was the fourth son and fifth child of King George III. His only legitimate child became Queen Victoria. Prince Edward was created Duke of Kent an ...

. In 1798 he was promoted to major-general and the following year was sent on a mission to

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

to raise an army of

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

irregulars, although this proved impossible. In 1801 he joined the garrison of the Malta Protectorate, which had been captured the year before and in 1802 became the commander in chief of the British Army in the Mediterranean. During this service he raised the

Royal Regiment of Malta The Royal Regiment of Malta was an infantry regiment in the British Army which existed from 1804 to 1811. It was raised in Malta, then a British protectorate, with the intention of being sent in overseas expeditions. The unit was raised following ...

; managed the aftermath of a major ammunition explosion and in 1807 helped to put down the Froberg mutiny. In 1805 he was promoted to lieutenant general. He was recalled to Britain in 1807, and then sent to the Colony of Jamaica as military commander in chief. In July 1808 he left on a tour of the island but took ill at Union, and swiftly died. He was buried at Half Way Tree on the outskirts of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. A memorial was erected in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

.Villettes, William Ann
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Robert Holden and Desmond Gregory, (subscription required), Retrieved 9 September 2017

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villettes, William 1754 births 1808 deaths British Army generals British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars 10th Royal Hussars officers 12th Royal Lancers officers 69th Regiment of Foot officers Alumni of the University of St Andrews