William Dalrymple (1736 – 16 February 1807) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

soldier and Member of Parliament (MP) in the British Parliament and Parliament of Ireland. He was the son of the Hon. George Dalrymple, brother of

John Dalrymple, 5th Earl of Stair John Dalrymple, 5th Earl of Stair (1720–1789) was a Scottish soldier and politician. Life He was eldest son of George Dalrymple of Dalmahoy, fifth son of John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair, and a baron of the court of exchequer of Scotland, by h ...

. Father of

John Dalrymple, 7th Earl of Stair John William Henry Dalrymple, 7th Earl of Stair (16 November 1784 – 22 March 1840) was the son of General William Dalrymple and Marianne Dorothy Harland. He incurred great scandal over his complicated marital life. He became the 7th Earl of Stai ...

Life

Bodleian Libraries, Agamemnon a great general- Taken on the Steyne at Brighton

He was educated at Glasgow University 1749. In 1752 he joined the British Army, becoming an ensign in the

52nd Regiment of 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 became a lieutenant in 1759 and a captain (in the 91st Regiment of Foot) from 1760. By 1762 he was a major, and served in the campaign against the Spanish invasion of Portugal (1762). After a period on half pay in 1763, he was appointed to the

14th Regiment of Foot 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 and preceding 15. In relation to the word "four" ( 4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a stella octangula number. ...

in 1764. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1765. Between 1766 and 1768, Dalrymple was in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1768, he was placed in command of a detachment of two regiments sent to Boston, Massachusetts, to support embattled royal officials who were having trouble enforcing the unpopular Townshend Acts. Troops in his command (although he was not directly involved) were involved in the Boston Massacre, in which five civilians were killed when those troops fired into a crowd. Amid continuing hostility, Dalrymple acceded to the request of Acting Governor Thomas Hutchinson to remove his troops to

Castle William Fort Independence is a granite bastion fort that provided harbor defenses for Boston, Massachusetts. Located on Castle Island (Massachusetts), Castle Island, Fort Independence is one of the oldest continuously fortified sites of England, English ...

, an island fortress in Boston harbour. In 1772-1773 Dalrymple received a local promotion to major general and commanded a force which captured the West Indian island of St Vincent. He returned to Britain in 1773. He continued to be in touch with his American Loyalist friends in Boston. He was saddened but not surprised by the Boston Tea Party. After the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

broke out in 1775, Dalrymple returned to North America. He served as quartermaster general 1779-1783. He was promoted to brigadier general (1779) and then major general (1782). After the end of the war Dalrymple was attacked for alleged corruption, but General William Howe stoutly defended his former subordinate and the allegations were dropped. Dalrymple then went into politics. He represented

Wigtown Burghs Wigtown Burghs, also known as Wigton Burghs,. was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represent ...

in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

from 1784 to 1790. Between 1796 and 1798 he sat for Duleek in the Irish House of Commons. Dalrymple was promoted to lieutenant general 1793 and general 1798.

Lt. Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...

of Royal Hospital Chelsea 22 Mar 1798 to 2 Apr 1804; and 19 Oct. 1804 to his death. He was Colonel of the

47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot The 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in Scotland in 1741. It served in North America during the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War and also fought during the Napoleonic Wars and ...

from 1794 to his death.

References

*''History of Parliament: House of Commons 1754-1790'', by Sir Lewis Namier and James Brooke (Sidgwick & Jackson 1964) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalrymple, William 1736 births 1807 deaths 52nd Regiment of Foot officers British Army generals British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Irish MPs 1790–1797 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies West Yorkshire Regiment officers British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War British MPs 1784–1790 Alumni of the University of Glasgow