General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres, 23rd Earl of Crawford (18 January 175227 March 1825), styled Lord Balniel until 1768, was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Jamaica from 1795 to 1801.

Early life

He was the son of James Lindsay, 5th Earl of Balcarres and Anne Dalrymple, daughter of Sir Robert Dalrymple.Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood'' (107 ed.). Burke’s Peerage & Gentry. p. 954. . He entered the army at the age of fifteen as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

, in the 53rd Regiment of Foot. After attending

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, he studied at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

for two years, and subsequently purchased a captaincy in the 42nd Highland Regiment in 1771. He saw action during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

; in 1775, he was appointed a major of the 53rd, and he commanded the

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

companies at the

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The Battle ...

(1777), and surrendered there with Burgoyne. He was released from captivity in 1779. Around this time he founded the famous Haigh Ironworks with his partners, his brother Robert and James Corbett.

Marriage

On 1 June 1780, he married his first cousin, Elizabeth Bradshaigh Dalrymple, who had inherited Haigh Hall estate, in Haigh,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. They had five children: * Lady Elizabeth Keith Lindsay (died 1825), married Richard Edensor Heathcote, thus the second great-grandmother of Oswald Mosley * James Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford (1783–1869) * Edwin Lindsay * Charles Robert Lindsay (1784–1835) * Lady Anne Lindsay (died 1846)

Career

He was subsequently promoted to the rank of colonel and made lieutenant-colonel commandant of the second 71st Regiment of Foot made up of the four additional or recruiting companies of the 71st Highlanders in Scotland. He was chosen a representative peer for Scotland in 1784, and was re-elected through 1807, inclusive. On 27 August 1789, he was appointed colonel of the 63rd Regiment of Foot, and was promoted major-general in 1793.

Governor of Jamaica

Commander of the forces in

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

from 1793 to 1794, he was then appointed Governor of Jamaica. He was governor when the Second Maroon War broke out, and he mishandled the situation so badly that he allowed a minor dispute over land to mushroom into a costly conflict that lasted months. In early 1795, worried at the prospect of an uprising, Balcarres sent representatives to Havana to purchase 100 Cuban bloodhounds, which in his words were " breed which are used to hunt down runaway negroes". Arriving a few months later, the bloodhounds were successfully employed against Maroons and runaways for the duration of the conflict, though their use provoked heavy criticism from

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

and military officers in Britain. Balcarres underestimated the guerrilla fighting capabilities of the

Jamaican Maroons Jamaican Maroons descend from Africans who freed themselves from slavery in the Colony of Jamaica and established communities of Free black people in Jamaica, free black people in the island's mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern Pari ...

, who had the better of the skirmishes with the soldiers under the command of the governor's generals. Eventually, one of his generals, George Walpole, persuaded the leader of the Maroons of Cudjoe's Town, Montague James, to surrender on condition they would not be deported. However, Balcarres reversed Walpole's promise and transported the Trelawny Maroons to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. In the aftermath of the Second Maroon War, Balcarres struggled to disperse the runaway community of

Cuffee Cuffee, Cuffey, or Coffey is a first name and surname recorded in African-American culture, believed to be derived from the Akan language name Kofi, meaning "born on a Friday". This was noted as one of the most common male names of West Africa, ...

in the Cockpit Country in western

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. Hundreds of runaway slaves secured their freedom by fighting alongside Trelawny Town in the Second Maroon War, and many of them joined Cuffee's community. He was promoted lieutenant-general in 1798, and resigned the governorship in 1801. On 25 September 1803, he was promoted to general.

Later life

After his return from the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, he was introduced to

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

, who had led several attacks on his position at Saratoga. Balcarres snubbed Arnold as a traitor, and a duel ensued, neither party being injured. After being maimed in an accident he retired to the family's second home at Haigh Hall, near Wigan. On his death, he was succeeded by his eldest son James, the 7th Earl. After James had successfully pressed his claim to the title of Earl of Crawford in 1848, the title was conferred posthumously on Alexander, even though he had not claimed it himself. His younger son, Edwin Lindsay, an Indian army officer, was declared insane after refusing to fight in a duel and was sent to Papa Stour in the

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

islands. He spent 26 years there as a prisoner before the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

preacher Catherine Watson arranged for his release in 1835.

Memorial

His memorial, in the Crawford chapel of All Saints' Church, Wigan, reads:

"Alexander VIth Earl of Balcarres Lord Lindsay and Balneill born 18 Jan 1750 General in the army and Governor of Jersey and Jamaica during the revolutionary War succeeded as XXIIIth Earl of Crawford in 1808 died 25 March 1825 and lies buried in this chapel "Except the Lord build the house they labour in vain that build it".

Notes

References

External links

Earls of Balcarres
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balcarres, Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl Of 1752 births 1825 deaths Nobility from Fife British Army generals British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Earls of Balcarres Scottish duellists Governors of Jersey 42nd Regiment of Foot officers King's Shropshire Light Infantry officers People educated at Eton College University of Göttingen alumni 63rd Regiment of Foot officers Governors of Jamaica 71st Highlanders officers Scottish representative peers

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

23 Scottish Freemasons