John Whitelocke (1757 – 23 October 1833) 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 Gurkha ...

officer.

Military career

Educated at

Marlborough Grammar School Marlborough Royal Free Grammar School, previously known as Marlborough Grammar School and King Edward's School, Marlborough, was a grammar school in the town of Marlborough, in Wiltshire, England, founded in 1550. Originally for boys only, the s ...

and at Lewis Lochée's military academy in Chelsea, Whitelocke entered the army in 1778 and served in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

and in

San Domingo Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and ...

. He was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Portsmouth and General Officer Commanding South-West District on 25 June 1799, commanding the garrison during the height of invasion scares in Britain. On 10 November 1804 he was made a lieutenant-general and inspector-general of recruiting, during a period of significant expansion of the British Army. In 1807 he was appointed to command an expedition to seize

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

from the Spanish Empire, which was in disarray due to events in Europe. The attack failed and the British surrendered after suffering heavy losses. Whitelocke undertook negotiations with the opposing general,

Santiago de Liniers Santiago Antonio María de Liniers y Bremond, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, KOM, OM (July 25, 1753 – August 26, 1810) was a French officer in the Spanish military service, and a viceroy of the Spanish colonies of the Viceroyalty of the River ...

, and having decided that the British position was untenable, signed the surrender and ordered the British forces to abandon

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...

and return home later that year. This proceeding was regarded with great disfavour by many under his command and the British Army and public, and its author was brought before a

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

convened at The Royal Hospital in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1808.Gaunt, William, ''Chelsea'', B.T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1954, p. 53 On all the charges, except one, he was found guilty and he was dismissed from the service. He lived in retirement until his death at Hall Barn Park,

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

on 23 October 1833.

Notes

References

Ben Hughes, ''The British Invasion of the River Plate 1806-1807: How the Redcoats Were Humbled and a Nation Was Born'' (2014). * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitelocke, John 1757 births 1833 deaths British Army generals British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars British Army personnel who were court-martialled West Yorkshire Regiment officers King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Somerset Light Infantry officers West India Regiment officers British invasions of the River Plate