Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

George Napier (11 March 1751 – 13 October 1804), styled "The Honourable", 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 Gurk ...

officer, most notable for his marriage to

Lady Sarah Lennox Lady Sarah Lennox (14 February 1745 – August 1826) was the most notorious of the famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Sarah Cadogan. Early life After the deaths of both her parents when she was only fi ...

, and for his sons

Charles James Napier General Sir Charles James Napier, (; 10 August 178229 August 1853) was an officer and veteran of the British Army's Peninsular and 1812 campaigns, and later a Major General of the Bombay Army, during which period he led the military conquest of ...

William Francis Patrick Napier General Sir William Francis Patrick Napier KCB (7 December 178512 February 1860) was a British soldier in the British Army and a military historian. Early life Napier was born at Celbridge, County Kildare, the third son of Colonel George Napier ...

and

George Thomas Napier Sir George Thomas Napier (30 June 1784 – 16 September 1855) was a British Army officer who saw service in the Peninsular War and later commanded the army of the Cape Colony. Life He entered the British Army in 1800, and served with dist ...

, all of whom were noted military officers, collectively referred to as "

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

’s Colonels". He also served as

Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

of Army Accounts in Ireland from 1799 until his death in 1804.

Birth

George Napier was the younger son of

Francis Napier, 6th Lord Napier Francis Napier, 6th Lord Napier ( Scott) ( – 1773) was a Peerage of Scotland, Scottish peer. Early life Born Francis Scott , he was the son of Sir William Scott, 2nd Baronet of Thirlestane, and Elizabeth Napier, Mistress of Napier. Career Upon ...

and his wife Henrietta Maria Johnston.

Military service

Napier was commissioned into the 25th Foot in 1767 and was promoted

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1771. He became the regiment's

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

in 1776. In 1778 he transferred to the 80th Regiment of Foot (Royal Edinburgh Volunteers) as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He served 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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

on the staff of Sir Henry Clinton. He sold his commission in 1781, but was commissioned into the 1st Foot Guards in 1782. In 1783 he transferred to the 100th Regiment of Foot (Loyal Lincolnshire Regiment) as a captain. In 1794 he was promoted

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, transferred to the 87th Foot, and then transferred again to the newly raised Londonderry Regiment as

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. In 1800 he was promoted

Marriages

On 22 January 1775 he married Elizabeth Pollock (died 1778), and together they had one daughter, Louisa Mary Napier (died 1856) and one son, Henry Napier, born 1778. On 27 August 1781 he married

, daughter of

Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duke of Aubigny, (18 May 17018 August 1750) of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was a British nobleman and politician. He was the son of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmo ...

. He was described at the time as being “impoverished”. Her previous marriage had ended in scandal and divorce; George was Sarah's second husband, Sarah was George's second wife. Together they raised eight children, including three who were to become famed military officers: *

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir

GCB (10 August 1782 – 1853) * Emily Louisa Augusta Napier (1783 – 1863), married

Sir Henry Bunbury, 7th Baronet Sir Henry Edward Bunbury, KCB, 7th Baronet (4 March 1778 – 13 April 1860) was a British soldier and historian. Life Sir Henry, son of the famous caricaturist, Henry William Bunbury and Catherine Horneck, was educated at Westminster, and served ...

* Lieutenant-General Sir

KCB (1784 – 1855) * Lieutenant-General Sir

KCB (17 December 1785 – 12 February 1860) * Richard Napier (1787 – 1868) married Anna Louisa Stewart, daughter of Sir J. Stewart. *

Henry Edward Napier Henry Edward Napier (5 March 1789 – 13 October 1853) was a British naval officer and historian. Family background He was the fifth son of Colonel the Honourable George Napier, and his second wife, Lady Sarah Lennox, seventh daughter of the 2n ...

RN (5 March 1789 – 13 October 1853) * Caroline Napier (1790 - 1810) * Cecilia Napier (1791 - 1808) In 1785 he moved his family to

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

, Ireland, where George eventually earned a post as Comptroller of Army Accounts. Lady Sarah was the sister of the very wealthy

Lady Louisa Conolly Lady Louisa Conolly (5 December 1743 – August 1821) was an English-born Irish noblewoman. She was the third of the famous Lennox Sisters, and was notable among them for leading a wholly uncontroversial life filled with good works. Biograph ...

and

Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster (6 October 1731 – 27 March 1814), known before 1747 as Lady Emily Lennox, from 1747 to 1761 as The Countess of Kildare and from 1761 to 1766 as The Marchioness of Kildare, was the second of the famous Lenno ...

who lived nearby. During 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 influence ...

, in which one of the rebel leaders was his nephew

Lord Edward FitzGerald Lord Edward FitzGerald (15 October 1763 – 4 June 1798) was an Irish aristocrat who abandoned his prospects as a distinguished veteran of British service in the American War of Independence, and as an Irish Parliamentarian, to embrace the caus ...

, he is said to have armed his five sons, put his house in a state of defence, and offered an asylum to all who were willing to resist the insurgents.

Trivia

In 1999, a 6-part miniseries called ''

Aristocrats Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

'', based on the lives of Sarah Lennox and her sisters, aired in the U.K. George Napier appears at various ages in the series, played by

Martin Glyn Murray Martin Glyn Murray (born 1 February 1966 in Helsingør, Denmark) is a Danish-born British actor who has played Mark Thompson in '' Families'' and he has also been in ''The Bill'', '' Sharpe'', ''Aristocrats'', ''Enigma'', ''Enemy at the Gates'', ...

and

Jeremy Bulloch Jeremy Andrew Bulloch (16 February 1945 – 17 December 2020) was an English actor. In a career that spanned six decades, he gained recognition for originating the physical portrayal of Boba Fett in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, appearing as th ...

. It is incorrectly stated that George Napier's grandson, Colonel Napier, brought the first pair of

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

s to

Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos R ...

in 1888, starting the popular sport of

Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

that had formerly been the activity of a few experts. The actual "Colonel Napier" who was responsible for the growth of Alpine skiing was the son of

Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala Field Marshal Robert Cornelis Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala (6 December 1810 – 14 January 1890) was a British Indian Army officer. He fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War and the Second Anglo-Sikh War before seeing action as chief en ...

References and notes

External links

* - letters written to Sarah Lennox/Bunbury
Lt.-Gen. Sir George Thomas Napier
thePeerage.com, accessed 2008-11-21. {{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, George 1751 births 1804 deaths British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

King's Own Scottish Borderers officers People of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot officers Younger sons of barons