Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Sir Alexander George Woodford, GCB,

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

(15 June 1782 – 26 August 1870), 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. After taking part in the

Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland The Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland (or Anglo-Russian expedition to Holland, or Helder Expedition) was a military campaign from 27 August to 19 November 1799 during the War of the Second Coalition, in which an expeditionary force of British and ...

, he served in most of the battles of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. During the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

he commanded the 2nd battalion of the Coldstream Guards at the

Battle of Quatre Bras The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought on 16 June 1815, as a preliminary engagement to the decisive Battle of Waterloo that occurred two days later. The battle took place near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras and was contested between ele ...

, the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

and the storming of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

. He went on to become

lieutenant 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-comm ...

and brigade commander at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, lieutenant governor and brigade commander at

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 ...

and then commander of the British garrison on the Ionian Islands before being appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar.

Military career

Born at 30 Welbeck Street, London, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Woodford and Lady Susan Gordon (daughter of

Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon Cosmo George Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon KT (27 April 1720 – 5 August 1752), styled Marquess of Huntly until 1728, was a Scottish peer. Life Gordon was the son of the 2nd Duke of Gordon and was named after his father's close Jacobite friend ...

), Woodford was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

and

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

before being commissioned as an

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 ...

in the

9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

on 6 December 1794. He was promoted to

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 ...

in the 22nd (the Cheshire) Regiment of Foot on 15 July 1795 and transferred back to the 9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot in September 1799 before seeing action at the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799 (where he was wounded) during the

.Heathcote, p. 317 Promoted to

captain lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Finl ...

on 14 December 1799, he transferred to the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

on 28 December 1799 and became aide-de-camp to Major-General Sir James Forbes in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

in 1803. He took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in August 1807 before rejoining Lord Forbes' staff in Sicily in March 1808. After returning London, he 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 colone ...

on 8 March 1810. Woodford was deployed to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in early 1811 and, after arriving at

Isla de León The Isla de León is a historical name for the piece of land between the city of Cádiz and the Iberian peninsula, in Spain. In 1813, it was renamed San Fernando in honor of King Fernando VII of Spain for his courage in the defense of the cit ...

, he took part in the

Siege of Cádiz The siege of Cádiz was a siege of the large Spanish naval base of Cádiz by a French army from 5 February 1810 to 24 August 1812 during the Peninsular War. Following the occupation of Seville, Cádiz became the Spanish seat of power, and w ...

in March 1811, 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 and the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812 before also fighting 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 ...

in July 1812 and the

Siege of Burgos At the siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General of ...

in September 1812 during 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 Spain ...

. He commanded the 1st battalion of the Coldstream Guards at the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leading to ...

in June 1813, the

Siege of San Sebastián In the siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a siege. However in a second siege the Alli ...

in August 1813 and the

Battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20,0 ...

in November 1813 as well as the

Battle of the Nive The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French army on French soil in ...

in December 1813 and the

Battle of Bayonne The Battle of Bayonne (14 April 1814) saw the French garrison of Bayonne led by General of Division Pierre Thouvenot launch a sortie against a besieging force of British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops commanded by Lieutenant General John ...

in April 1814. He was appointed an aide-de-camp to the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

with the rank of

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 ...

on 4 June 1814. During the

, Woodford commanded the 2nd battalion of the Coldstream Guards at the

, the

and the storming of

in June 1815. During the closing stages of the Battle of Waterloo, Woodford fought his way into the Château d'Hougoumont, one of the key landmarks on the battlefield, and then took command of it as the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

ordered a general advance on the French. Woodford was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

on 4 June 1815 and a Knight of the Austrian

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (german: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden; hu, Katonai Mária Terézia-rend; cs, Vojenský řád Marie Terezie; pl, Wojskowy Order Marii Teresy; sl, Vojaški red Marije Terezije; hr, Vojni Red Marije Te ...

on 2 August 1815. He remained in command of his battalion when it formed part of the Army of Occupation of France. 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 ...

on 27 May 1825, Woodford became

and brigade commander at

in 1825 and lieutenant governor and brigade commander at

in 1827. Advanced to

Knight Commander 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 ...

on 13 September 1831 and appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

on 30 June 1832, he became commander of the British garrison on the Ionian Islands (where he also briefly served as acting Lord High Commissioner) in 1832. He went on to be Lieutenant-Governor of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in February 1835 and Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar in September 1836. Promoted to

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 ...

on 28 June 1838, Woodford retired from active military service in 1843. Advanced to

Knight Grand Cross 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 one ...

on 6 April 1852 and having been promoted to full

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

on 20 June 1854, he became Lieutenant-Governor of the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an in ...

in September 1856 and was appointed to a Royal Commission to inquire into the system of Promotion and Retirement in the higher ranks of the Army in May 1863. Promoted to

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

on 1 January 1868, he was raised to the office of Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in August 1868. He also served as colonel of the

40th Regiment of Foot The 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1717 in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) ...

and then as colonel of the

Scots Fusilier Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

. He died at the governor's residence at the Royal Chelsea Hospital on 26 August 1870 and was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

Family

Woodford's father was descended maternally from

Ralph Brideoake Ralph Brideoake (1612/13–1678) was an English clergyman, who became Bishop of Chichester. Life Born in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, and baptised on 31 January 1612 ( NS 1613) at the Collegiate Church, Manchester, Brideoake graduated from ...

, a 17th-century clergyman who became

Dean of Salisbury The Dean of Salisbury is the head of the chapter of Salisbury Cathedral in the Church of England. The Dean assists the archdeacon of Sarum and bishop of Ramsbury in the diocese of Salisbury. List of deans High Medieval * Walter * Osbert *?� ...

. In 1820 Woodford married Charlotte Mary Ann Fraser; they had two sons one of whom, Charles John Woodford, was killed at the

Siege of Cawnpore The siege of Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The besieged East India Company forces and civilians in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) were unprepared for an extended siege and surrendered to rebel forces under Nana Sahib in retu ...

during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

and is commemorated by a memorial stone in the floor of the north transept of

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 ...

The elder son, the Reverend Adolphus Frederick Alexander Woodford, left the Coldstream Guards for a career in the Anglican Church, later becoming a prominent historian of Freemasonry. Woodford also had a younger brother,

John George Woodford Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Sir John George Woodford, (28 February 1785 – 22 March 1879) was a British Army officer who has been called "possibly the first Battlefield archaeology, battlefield archaeologist". He served in th ...

(1785–1879), who enjoyed a similarly respectable military career. During this career, he fought in numerous battles in the

, including Waterloo, where some sources (''Medieval Dead'' with Tim Sutherland) state that he was the last living British officer to have served at the battle upon his death. He also contributed a large part to military reform in the nineteenth-century, particularly such acts as the abolishment of the

purchase of commissions The purchase of officer commissions in the British Army was the practice of paying money to the Army to be made an officer of a cavalry or infantry regiment of the English and later British Army. By payment, a commission as an officer could be sec ...

and certain punishment methods. He is also noted for the archaeological excavations that he carried out at the supposed battle-field site of

Azincourt Azincourt (), historically known in English as Agincourt ( ), is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is situated north-west of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise on the D71 road between Hesdin and Fruges. The Late Medieval ...

. His brother died at the age of ninety-four in Keswick in 1879.

References

Sources

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodford, Alexander George British field marshals Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Coldstream Guards officers Scots Guards officers People educated at Winchester College 1782 births 1870 deaths British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Recipients of the Waterloo Medal British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Governors and Governors-General of Malta Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Military personnel from London