Lt.-General Sir William Warre (15 April 1784 – 26 July 1853) was an English 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 Gurkha ...

. He saw service in 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 Spai ...

and was colonel of the

94th Foot The 94th Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised as the Scotch Brigade in October 1794. It was renumbered as the 94th Regiment of Foot in December 1802 and disbanded in December 1818. The regiment was reformed in Decemb ...

Early life and education

Warre was born in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, Portugal, the eldest son of wine merchant James Warre, a partner in Warre & Co., and his wife, Eleanor Greg, daughter of Thomas Greg of Belfast. The Warres had been settled in Porto for generations as exporters of the region's famed

Port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...

. The company is still operating as Warre's, and Sir William's portrait hangs in the city's famed

Factory House The British Factory House ( pt, Feitoria Inglesa), also known as the British Association House, is an 18th-century Neo-Palladian building located in the northern Portuguese centre of Porto, associated with the influence of Britain in the Porto Wi ...

. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

, but apparently left early to return to Portugal and join the family business. The boy was placed in the office of his uncle, also named William Warre, to learn the trade. However, a mischievous prank, in which he used

sealing wax Sealing wax is a wax material of a seal which, after melting, hardens quickly (to paper, parchment, ribbons and wire, and other material) forming a bond that is difficult to separate without noticeable tampering. Wax is used to verify something su ...

to affix the ponytail of the Portuguese member of the firm to his desk, ended his career as a merchant. He was sent to

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

to study with a private tutor. His nephew

Edmond Warre Edmond Warre (12 February 1837 – 22 January 1920) was an English rower and Head Master of Eton College from 1884 to 1905. Early life and education Warre was born in London, the son of Henry Warre, of Bindon House, near Milverton, Somerset. ...

, who later published a collection of his letters, ''Letters from the Peninsula, 1808–1812'', shared a story in the preface about his uncle's adventures in Bonn. He and another student decided to join the Austrians in their war against France and were promptly taken prisoner. They were brought before a French general who realised they were mere boys and English to boot. The French General told them they were lucky they were not brought before "The Iron Marshal"

Louis-Nicolas Davout Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and t ...

, "for he would have hanged you without mercy on the nearest tree. Now go back to your books and your tutor and don't meddle with affairs which do not concern you." Edmond places the story shortly before 1803 but identifies the French general as General Custine, who was briefly the commander of the

Army of the North The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...

(28 May – 16 July 1793) before he was executed by guillotine, when William was not yet 10 years old.

Career

On 5 November 1803, Warre was commissioned as an ensign in 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 ...

. He purchased a promotion to lieutenant on 2 June 1804, followed by a commission on 25 April 1806 in the 98th Foot. Four months later he exchanged into the 23rd Light Dragoons. Warre attended

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

in the summer of 1807 and the following May was appointed '' aide-de-camp'' to Major-General Sir Ronald Craufurd Ferguson. A few months later, Warre returned to his native Portugal where he saw action at the battles of

Roliça Bombarral () is a municipality in the District of Leiria in Central Portugal. The population in 2011 was 13,193, in an area of . It includes four civil parishes ( pt, freguesia) that provide local services. History It is known that the area of ...

(17 August) and

Vimeiro Vimeiro () is a freguesia (civil parish) in the municipality of Lourinhã in west-central Portugal. It is in the District of Lisboa. The population in 2011 was 1,470,dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

. He was sent to recover in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, where Major-General

William Carr Beresford General William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, (; 2 October 1768 – 8 January 1854) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician. A general in the British Army and a Marshal in the Portuguese Army, he foug ...

welcomed him into his house. After his recovery, Beresford installed Warre in his staff and he served throughout Sir John Moore's campaign, ending with the Battle of Coruña in January 1809. When Beresford was appointed Commander in Chief of the Portuguese Army in March 1809, Warre was appointed his first ''aide-de-camp'' and promoted to Major. Warre took part in all the operations of Beresford's division in 1809–10, including the Crossing of the Douro and the capture of Porto as Arthur Wellesley. However, he fell ill with

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a streptococcal throat infection. Signs and symptoms include fever, multiple painful jo ...

during the retreat to the lines of Torres Vedras in September 1810, forcing him to return to England to recuperate. He rejoined Beresford in May 1811 after the

Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about south ...

, and took part in the

Second Siege of Badajoz The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

in May and June. He was promoted to be brevet major in the British Army in 1811, and lieutenant-colonel in the

Anglo-Portuguese Army The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British and Portugal, Portuguese army that participated in the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesl ...

on 3 July. He was at the

Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo are a series of sieges of the Spanish town Ciudad Rodrigo. Specific sieges are: * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1370) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1707) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812) ...

in January 1812, at the third siege and capture of

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The population ...

in April, and at the

battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, so ...

on 22 July, where Beresford was wounded. Warre served as deputy quartermaster-general at the Cape of Good Hope from 1813–21. In 1823, he was appointed a permanent assistant quartermasters-general, and served in Dublin until 1826, when he was transferred to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. In December 1826, he was appointed assistant quartermaster-general under Lieutenant-General Sir

William Henry Clinton General Sir William Henry Clinton (23 December 1769 – 15 February 1846) was a British general during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars as well as the First Miguelist War. He was also the grandson of Admiral George Clinton and elde ...

. He was sent back to Portugal, where he stayed until 1828, to support the Portuguese against Spain in the War of the Two Brothers. Warre was promoted to colonel in 1830. Two years later, he was transferred from Portsmouth to Cork as permanent assistant quartermaster-general, and in 1835 returned to Dublin. He served as commandant of the garrison at

Chatham, Kent Chatham ( ) is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. The town developed around Chatham ...

from 1837–41, after which he promoted to major-general. In 1847, he appointed colonel of the

and promoted again to lieutenant-general in November 1851.

Honours

For Warre's service in the

, he received the medal and six clasps from the British Army. For his many years of service in Portugal in the Peninsular War and War of the Two Brothers, he was knighted in the

Order of the Tower and Sword The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...

by Queen

Maria II of Portugal , image = Queen Maria II by John Simpson.jpg , caption = Portrait by John Simpson, 1835 , succession = Queen of Portugal , reign = , predecessor = Pedro IV , successor = Miguel I , reg-type = Regents , regent ...

. He was also a Commander of the

Order of Aviz The Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz ( pt, Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis, ), previously to 1910 ''Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz'' ( pt, Real Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis), previously to 1789 ''Knights'' (of ...

by the Portuguese. He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB) in the 1838 Coronation Honours of Queen Victoria, and was knighted the following year.

Personal life

On 19 November 1812, he married Selina Anna Maling, the youngest daughter of Christopher Thompson Maling. They had two daughters and four sons: *William James Warre (October 1813 – 11 January 1815), died in childhood *Capt. Thomas Maling Warre (20 October 1814 – 15 September 1851) of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

*Lieut. John Frederick Warre (27 November 1815 – 3 July 1847) of the

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 ...

, died while serving in China *Selina Eleanor Warre (January – 3 September 1817), died in childhood *Sir Henry James Warre (1819–1898) *Julia Sophia Warre (1820–1873), died unmarried His wife's elder sister Sophia married

Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave General Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, (14 February 17557 April 1831), styled The Honourable Henry Phipps until 1792 and known as The Lord Mulgrave from 1792 to 1812, was a British soldier and politician. He notably served as Foreign Secr ...

, and was the mother of

Constantine Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby Constantine Henry Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby, (15 May 1797 – 28 July 1863), styled Viscount Normanby between 1812 and 1831 and known as The Earl of Mulgrave between 1831 and 1838, was a British Whig politician and author. He nota ...

. He died in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in 1853 and was buried at

Bishopthorpe Bishopthorpe is a village and civil parish three miles south of York in the City of York unitary authority area and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Bishopthorpe is close to the River Ouse, and has a population of 3,174, in ...

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Warre, William 1784 births 1853 deaths People from Porto People educated at Harrow School Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army personnel of the Peninsular War Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword Commanders of the Order of Aviz Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Bachelor