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 ...

George Harris, 1st Baron Harris (18 March 1746 – 19 May 1829) 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.

Military career

Harris was the son of the Reverend George Harris,

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

of Brasted,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

. He was commissioned to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1760, transferring as an ensign in the 5th foot (Northumberland Fusiliers) in 1762. Three years later he became lieutenant, and in 1771 captain. His first active service was in the

American War of Independence 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 which he served at Lexington, Bunker Hill (where he was severely wounded) and in every engagement of Howe's army except one up to November 1778.. By this time he had obtained his majority, and his next service was under Major-General Medows at

St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

in 1778–1779, after which his regiment served as marines in Rodney's fleet. Later in 1779 he was for a time a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. Shortly before his promotion to lieutenant-colonel in his regiment (1780) he married Anne Carteret Dickson.Anne Carteret Dickson (1758-30 July 1833), daughter of Charles Dickson. Her niece was Catherine Eliza Richardson (née Scott) and her nephew James Scott was ADC to General Harris at the Siege of Seringapatam. See Rootsweb WorldConnect
Anne DicksonCatherine Eliza ScottJames Scott
/ref> After commanding the 5th in Ireland for some years, he exchanged and went with General Medows to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, and served with that officer in India until 1792, taking part in various battles and engagements, notably

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best kn ...

's attack on Seringapatam in the

Third Anglo-Mysore War The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy, and the Nizam of Hyderabad ...

. In 1794, after a short period of home service, he was again in India. In the same year he became major-general, and in 1797 Commander-in-Chief of the

Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations manda ...

. Up to 1800 he commanded the troops in the presidency, and for a short time he exercised the civil government as well. In December 1798 he was appointed by Lord Mornington, the governor-general, to command the field army which was intended to attack

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

, and in a few months of campaigning Harris reduced the

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...

and stormed the great stronghold of Seringapatam, where the Tipu died in its defence. He received

prize money Prize money refers in particular to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare, but also in other circumstances. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law of a belligerent state to the crew of a ship belonging to ...

of £100,000 for the Seringapatam campaign, his success establishing his reputation as a capable and experienced commander, with its political importance leading to his being offered the reward (which he declined) of an Irish peerage. He returned home in 1800, became lieutenant-general in the army the following year, and attained the rank of full general in 1812. He bought Belmont House near

Faversham Faversham () is a market town in Kent, England, from Sittingbourne, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2 road (Great ...

in 1801. In 1809 he was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the part-time 2nd East Kent or Lath of Scray and Wingham Regiment of Local Militia.''London Gazette'', 27 March 1810.
/ref> In 1815 he was made a peer of the United Kingdom under the title Baron Harris, of Seringapatam and Mysore and of Belmont in the County of Kent. In 1820 he was appointed GCB, and in 1824 was made governor of

Dumbarton Castle Dumbarton Castle (, ; ) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton. History Dumbarton Rock was forme ...

. He was colonel of the 73rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot from 1800 to his death. Lord Harris died at Belmont in May 1829, he was succeeded in the barony by his son

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. His descendant, the 4th Baron Harris (b. 1851), best known as a cricketer, was Under-Secretary for India (1885–1886), Under-Secretary for war (1886–1889) and Governor of Bombay (1890–1895).

Arms

Notes

References

Attribution: *

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, George Harris, 1st Baron 1746 births 1829 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London 1 British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War British military personnel of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Mysore War British Army lieutenant generals Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers Kent Militia officers Peers of the United Kingdom created by George III

Military career

Arms

Notes

References

Further reading

External links