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 ...

Sir George Anson, GCB (born Adams; 1769 – 4 November 1849), was a British officer and politician from the

Anson family The Anson family is a British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Anson family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Anson family include the earldom of Lichfield (since 1831) and the Anson baron ...

. He commanded a British cavalry brigade under the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

and sat for many years as a Whig Member of Parliament.

Early life

Anson was the second son of George Adams (who changed the family surname to Anson by royal license on 30 April 1773) and his wife The Hon. Mary Vernon, daughter of the first Lord Vernon.''The Annual Register, Or, A View of the History and Politics of the Year – 1849'', page 283, (Published 1850, J. G. & F. Rivington) He had an elder brother, Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson, and a younger brother,

Sir William Anson, 1st Baronet General Sir William Anson, 1st Baronet (13 August 1772 – 13 January 1847) was a British Army officer of the Anson family. Serving in the 1st Foot Guards, Anson saw service in the Flanders Campaign during the French Revolutionary Wars. He as ...

; another younger brother was Frederick Anson, who became

Dean of Chester The Dean of Chester is based at Chester Cathedral in the Diocese of Chester and is the head of the Chapter at the cathedral. List of deans Early modern *1541 Thomas Clerk (priest), Thomas Clerk (first Dean of Chester) *1541–1547 Henry Man ( ...

Career

The Peninsular Wars and gaining of reputation

He entered the

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 ...

in 1786 and served under the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

and Sir

Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Trinidad in 1797. Rising to the rank ...

in Holland. It was to be in the

where his reputation grew markedly. He served in all the campaigns between 1809 and 1813 and gained distinction in his command of the 16th Light Dragoons at the

Second Battle of Porto The Second Battle of Porto, also known as the Battle of the Douro or the Crossing of the Douro, took place on 12 May 1809. General Arthur Wellesley's Anglo-Portuguese Army defeated Marshal Soult's French troops and took back the city of Po ...

. His reputation was further enhanced by his command of a brigade of

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and body armor, armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was p ...

at the Battles of Talavera, Busaco,

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

and Vittoria.''The Annual Register, Or, A View of the History and Politics of the Year – 1849'', page 284, (Published 1850, J. G. & F. Rivington) He also fought in the

Battle of Venta del Pozo The Battle of Venta del Pozo, also known as the Battle of Villodrigo by the French and Spanish, was a rear-guard action fought as part of the Peninsular War on 23 October 1812 between an Anglo-German force led by Major-General Stapleton Cott ...

during the retreat from

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

. For his services in the Battles of Talavera,

and Vittoria he received a medal and two clasps. So prominent was he during these campaigns that the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

thanked him in November 1816 for his services generally during the Peninsular Wars. In August 1814, he was appointed to the colonelcy of the

23rd Regiment of (Light) Dragoons The 23rd Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army which existed several times. 1st existence It was created in 1781 as the 23rd Regiment of (Light) Dragoons by Sir John Burgoyne, Bt. at Bedford but renumbered in 1786 as the 19 ...

and in February 1827 to the colonelcy of the

4th Dragoon Guards The 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as the Earl of Arran's Regiment of Cuirassiers. It was renamed as the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards in 1788 and service for two centuries, inc ...

. He was promoted to the rank of full general on 10 January 1837.

Outside conflict

Aside from his military career he also sat as Member of Parliament for

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

from 1806 to 1841. He was also the Groom of the Bedchamber to

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

from 1836 to September 1841. In 1846 he was appointed the lieutenant-governor of the

Royal Hospital, Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...

and became governor in May 1849.

Marriage and descendants

Anson married Frances, daughter of John William Hamilton, in 1800. She was also the sister of Sir Frederick Hamilton. They had six sons and five daughters. Their son Talavera Vernon Anson became an admiral in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. Another son, Thomas Anson, was a first-class cricketer. Their daughter Julia married Sir Arthur Brinsley Brooke and served as a lady in waiting to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. Lady Anson died in 1834. Anson survived her by fifteen years and died at the

, in November 1849. In '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', transmitted on the BBC on 18 October 2007, it was discovered that Sir Matthew Pinsent, the multiple gold medal Olympic rower, is a direct descendant of Sir George Anson.

References

*
www.thepeerage.com

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anson, George (1769-1849) British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Anson (1769-1849), George Anson (1769-1849), George British Army generals Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards officers 16th The Queen's Lancers officers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath