Sir George Thomas Napier (30 June 1784 – 16 September 1855) 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 who 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 Spain ...

and later commanded the army of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

Life

He entered the British Army in 1800, and served with distinction under Sir John Moore and the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

in the Peninsula—losing his right arm at the 1812 storming of

Ciudad Rodrigo Ciudad Rodrigo () is a small cathedral city in the province of Salamanca, in western Spain, with a population in 2016 of 12,896. It is also the seat of a judicial district. The site of Ciudad Rodrigo, perched atop a rocky rise on the right ban ...

, where, as a major 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 led the

Light Division The Light Division was a light infantry division of the British Army. Its origins lay in "Light Companies" formed during the late 18th century, to move at speed over inhospitable terrain and protect a main force with skirmishing tactics. These ...

's storming party.Glover, Michael; (1974) ''The Peninsular War 1807–1814: A Concise Military History'', UK: David & Charles, , pp. 180-181 He became major-general in 1837, KCB in 1838 and lieutenant-general in 1846. He was governor and Commander-In-Chief of the army in the

from 1839 to 1843, during which time the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and the expulsion of the

Boers Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

from

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

were the chief events. He was offered, but declined, the chief command in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

after the Battle of Chillianwalla, and also that of the

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

n army in 1849. He became full general in 1854. He died at

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, Switzerland on 16 September 1855, aged 71. His autobiography, ''Passages in the Early Military Life of General Sir G.T. Napier'', was published by his surviving son, General William Craig Emilius Napier (the author of an important work on outpost duty) in 1885. The town of

Napier, Western Cape Napier is a village at the foot of the Soetmuisberg, between Caledon and Bredasdorp. A blend of century-old cottages and modern houses, surrounded by the rolling farmland which typifies the Overberg region of South Africa, give the village a rur ...

, and also Napier House at Fairbairn College, Goodwood, Cape Town, are named after Sir George Thomas Napier.

Family

* Father - Colonel

George Napier Colonel George Napier (11 March 1751 – 13 October 1804), styled "The Honourable", was a British Army officer, most notable for his marriage to Lady Sarah Lennox, and for his sons Charles James Napier, William Francis Patrick Napier and Geor ...

(1751–1804) * Mother -

Lady Sarah Lennox Lady Sarah Lennox (14 February 1745 – August 1826) was the most notorious of the famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Sarah Cadogan. Early life After the deaths of both her parents when she was only f ...

(1745–1826), daughter of

Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duke of Aubigny, (18 May 17018 August 1750) of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was a British nobleman and politician. He was the son of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmo ...

. * Brother - Sir Charles James Napier (1782–1853),

Commander-in-Chief in India During the period of the Company rule in India and the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India (often "Commander-in-Chief ''in'' or ''of'' India") was the supreme commander of the British Indian Army. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his ...

. The

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

city of Napier is named after him. * Brother - Sir William Francis Patrick Napier (1785–1860), soldier and military historian. * Brother -

Henry Edward Napier Henry Edward Napier (5 March 1789 – 13 October 1853) was a British naval officer and historian. Family background He was the fifth son of Colonel the Honourable George Napier, and his second wife, Lady Sarah Lennox, seventh daughter of the 2n ...

(1789–1853), naval officer and historian * Wife - Frances Dorothea Blencowe, formerly married to William Peere Williams Freeman. * Son-in-law - Colonel

Henry William St Pierre Bunbury Colonel Henry William St Pierre Bunbury CB (2 September 1812 – 18 September 1875) was a British Army officer who served for periods in Australia, South Africa, and India. Early life Bunbury was the son of Lt.-Gen. Sir Henry Bunbury, 7th Baro ...

(1812–1875), married his daughter Cecilia * Lieut. Colonel George S. F. Napier (c. 1862–1942)

References

---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, George Thomas 1784 births 1855 deaths British Army generals Governors of the Cape Colony British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars George Thomas Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath 52nd Regiment of Foot officers People from County Kildare