General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

John Francis Cradock, 1st Baron Howden (11 August 175926 July 1839) was a British peer, politician and

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

Life

He was son of John Cradock, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin. In 1775 he was admitted to St John's College, Cambridge. In 1777, he was appointed a cornet in the 4th Regiment of Horse, which in 1779 he exchanged to become an ensign in 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 ...

, and in 1781 he was promoted a lieutenant with the rank of captain. In 1785 he purchased a commission as a major in the 12th Dragoons, exchanging this in 1786 for a post in the

13th Foot The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Some ...

, where he was appointed lieutenant-colonel in 1789. He commanded the 13th in the West Indies in 1790, and served a second time in the West Indies commanding a battalion of grenadiers in 1793, where he was wounded at the reduction of Martinique and appointed the aide-de-camp of Sir Charles Grey, receiving the thanks of Parliament for his services. In 1795 he was appointed colonel of the 127th Foot, and placed on half-pay when that regiment was reduced in 1797. He was appointed major-general in 1798, and served in the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced ...

as quartermaster-general in Ireland, seeing action the

Battle of Vinegar Hill The Battle of Vinegar Hill ('' Irish'': ''Cath Chnoc Fhíodh na gCaor'') was a military engagement during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 on 21 June 1798 between a force of approximately 13,000 government troops under the command of Gerard Lake an ...

. He accompanied Cornwallis in his campaign against the French forces landed in Ireland, and was severely wounded at the Battle of Ballinamuck. Cradock entered the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

for

Clogher Clogher () is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne and ...

in 1785. In 1790, he stood as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. W ...

, a seat he held until 1798. He then represented

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satellit ...

from 1799 to 1800 and subsequently

Thomastown Thomastown (), historically known as Grennan, is a town in County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. It is a market town along a stretch of the River Nore which is known for its salmon and trout, with a number o ...

to the Act of Union in 1801. The year before he had been appointed to command the second battalion of the

54th Foot The 54th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1881. History Early history The ...

, and again placed on half-pay when that battalion was reduced in 1802. In 1803 he was appointed to the

71st Foot The 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, raised in 1777. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry in 1881. History ...

. In 1801 he was on the staff in the Mediterranean under Sir

Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Governor of Trinidad, served as Commander-in-Chief, Ir ...

, seeing action several times and serving as second-in-command of a division in the field. After the surrender of Cairo and Alexandria, at which he was present, he was despatched with a force to occupy Corsica and Naples, but was recalled en route after the Peace of Amiens was signed. He was then appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army; after the departure of Lord Lake, he commanded the whole of the forces in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

for almost a year. In 1808 he was appointed to command the forces in Portugal, handing over command to Arthur Wellesley on 22April 1809. From there moved to the command of the 43rd (Monmouthshire) Light Infantry in January 1809, briefly serving as the

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

later that year. In 1811 he was appointed Governor 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 ...

and commander of the forces on that station, resigning in 1814 and being succeeded by

Lord Charles Somerset Lord Charles Henry Somerset PC (12 December 1767 – 18 February 1831), born in Badminton, England, was a British soldier, politician and colonial administrator.Charles Mosley, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volu ...

. He was promoted full general in 1814, elevated to the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

as Baron Howden in 1819, and to the Peerage of the United Kingdom under the same title in 1831. The town of

Cradock, Eastern Cape Cradock is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, in the upper valley of the Great Fish River, by road northeast of Port Elizabeth. The town is the administrative seat of the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality in the Chris Hani D ...

, South Africa, is named after him. On 17 November 1798 Cradock married Lady Theodosia Sarah Frances Meade (b. c. 1773; d. 13 Dec 1853), Lady Theodosia was the daughter of

John Meade, 1st Earl of Clanwilliam John Meade, 1st Earl of Clanwilliam (21 April 1744 – 19 October 1800), was an Anglo-Irish nobleman, known as Sir John Meade, 4th Baronet, until 1766. Elevated to the Peerage of Ireland, his debauchery and reckless spending led him to sell the ...

, Cradock named the town of

Clanwilliam, Western Cape Clanwilliam is a town in the Olifants River valley in the Western Cape, South Africa, about north of Cape Town. It is located in, and the seat of, the Cederberg Local Municipality. Clanwilliam had a population of 7,674. Geography John Cradock, ...

after his father-in-law.

Notes

References

* * * * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Howden, John Cradock, 1st Baron 1759 births 1839 deaths 3rd Dragoon Guards officers 12th Royal Lancers officers 71st Highlanders officers Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III Peers of the United Kingdom created by William IV British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars British Army generals British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British East India Company people Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kilkenny constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Mayo constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Tyrone constituencies People of the Irish Rebellion of 1798