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 ...

James Stuart (died 2 February 1793) was a British Army officer who served in various conflicts in India during the 18th century. His service in 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 South ...

was marked by his conflict with Lord Pigot, the governor of Madras; Stuart's arrest of the latter in 1776 resulted in his suspension as commander-in-chief, and he was not vindicated until 1780. He later fought in the

Second Anglo-Mysore War The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company from 1780 to 1784. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the conflict between Britain against the French and Dutch in ...

, but was suspended from command in 1782 by Lord Macartney, an action that provoked a duel between the two men. Stuart was a younger brother of the lawyer and politician Andrew Stuart.

Early service

Stuart was appointed captain in the 56th Regiment of Foot on 1 November 1755. He first saw active service at the siege of Louisbourg (present-day

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

) under

Lord Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaig ...

in 1758. On 9 May of the same year he was promoted to the rank of major, and in 1761 was present with Colonel Morgan's regiment at the reduction of Belle Île. During the course of the expedition he acted as quartermaster-general, and in consequence obtained the rank of lieutenant-colonel. From Belle Île he went to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

, and served in the expedition against Martinique, which was captured in February 1762, and on the death of Colonel Morgan took command of the regiment. After the conquest of Martinique his regiment was ordered to join the expedition against Havana, where he greatly distinguished himself by his conduct in the assault of the castle of Morro, the capture of which determined the success of the expedition.

Conflict with Pigot

In 1775 he received permission to enter the service of the

as second in command on the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an ...

, with the rank of colonel. On his arrival he found serious differences existing between the council of the Madras Presidency and the governor, Lord Pigot, and on 23 August 1776 he arrested the governor at Madras, at the command of the majority of the council. On this news reaching England, Stuart was suspended by the directors from the office of commander-in-chief of the Madras Army, to which he had succeeded, with the rank of brigadier-general, on the death of Sir Robert Fletcher in December 1776. Although he repeatedly demanded a trial, he could not, despite peremptory orders from England, succeed in obtaining a court-martial until December 1780, when he was honourably acquitted, and by order of the directors received the arrears of his pay from the time of his suspension.

Anglo-Mysore War

On 11 January 1781 he was restored to the chief command in Madras by order of the governor and council. He returned to Madras in 1781, and, under

Sir Eyre Coote Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, KB (1726 – 28 April 1783) was a British soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1780. He is best known for his many years of service with the British Army in India. His victory ...

, took part in the

battle of Porto Novo The Battle of Porto Novo was fought on 1 July 1781 between forces of the Kingdom of Mysore and British East India Company in the place called Porto Novo (now known as Parangipettai) on the Indian subcontinent, during the Second Anglo-Mysore Wa ...

on 1 July, and distinguished himself by his able handling of the second line of the British force. In the

Battle of Pollilur The Battle of Pollilur (a.k.a. Pullalur), also known as the Battle of Polilore or Battle of Perambakam, took place on 10 September 1780 at Pollilur near Conjeevaram, the city of Kanchipuram in present-day Tamil Nadu state, India, as part of the ...

, on 27 August, he had his leg carried away by a cannon shot. On 19 October he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and on the return of Sir Eyre Coote to

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

he took command of the forces in Madras. Lord Macartney, the governor, however, would not allow him that freedom of action which Eyre Coote had enjoyed, and on the death of

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the at ...

on 7 December he urged him immediately to attack the

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

army. Stuart declared his forces were not ready, and made no active movement for two months.

Dismissal and return home

While besieging Cuddalore he was suspended from the command by the Madras government. He was placed in strict confinement in Madras, and sent home to England. On 8 June 1786, though unable to stand without support owing to his wounds, he fought a duel with Lord Macartney in Hyde Park, and severely wounded him. On 8 February 1792 he was appointed colonel of the

31st Foot The 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881. History Origins ...

. He died on 2 February 1793. His portrait, painted by George Romney, was engraved by Hodges. He married Lady Margaret Hume, daughter of

Hugh Hume-Campbell, 3rd Earl of Marchmont Hugh Hume-Campbell, 3rd Earl of Marchmont PC FRS (15 February 1708 – 10 January 1794), styled Lord Polwarth between 1724 and 1740, was a Scottish politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 until 1740 when he succeeded to the peerag ...

, but had no children.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, James 1793 deaths British Army major generals British East India Company Army generals British Army personnel of the French and Indian War British duellists East Surrey Regiment officers 56th Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Mysore War Year of birth unknown