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 ...

Henry Dundas, 3rd Viscount Melville GCB (25 February 1801 – 1 February 1876) was a senior

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 and peer.

Military career

The eldest son of

Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville, (14 March 1771 – 10 June 1851) was a British statesman, the son of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount. Dundas was the Member of Parliament for Hastings in 1794, Rye in 1796 and Midlothian in 1801. He was ...

, and his wife

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

, Dundas joined the Army as a lieutenant in the 3rd (or Scots) Guards in 1819. He was promoted to captain of the 83rd Regiment in 1824, major in 1826 and lieutenant-colonel in 1829. In 1837 he was active in suppressing the Canadian rebellion at the Battle of the Windmill, after which he was appointed colonel and aide-de-camp 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 ...

in 1841. He played a distinguished part in India as a brigadier-general in 1848–49, chosen to command the column sent from Bombay to co-operate with Lord Gough's army in the

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company which took place from 1848 to 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab region, Punjab and what sub ...

. He was second in command at the capture of Multan and then joined the main army with his force for the

battle of Gujrat The Battle of Gujrat was a decisive battle in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, fought on 21 February 1849, between the forces of the East India Company, and a Sikh army in rebellion against the company's control of the Sikh Empire, represented by ...

. He returned to England in 1850 and became 3rd Viscount Melville on his father's death in 1851. He became Commander-in-Chief, Scotland in 1854 remaining in that post until 1860, in which year he was made Governor of Edinburgh Castle. He was raised to the rank of

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 ...

in 1868. He died unmarried at Melville Castle, near Edinburgh in 1876. He is buried in the simple Dundas Vault in Old

Lasswade Lasswade is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, south of Edinburgh city centre, contiguous with Bonnyrigg and between Dalkeith to the east and Loanhead to the west. Melville Castle lies to the north ...

Kirkyard, together with his ancestors and descendants. His younger brother, Richard Saunders Dundas, was a prominent naval officer. He was succeeded as

Viscount Melville Viscount Melville, of Melville in the County of Edinburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Origins The title was created on 24 December 1802 for the notable lawyer and politician Henry Dundas. He was created Baron Dunira, ...

by his brother Robert.

Parliament

He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester from 1826 to 1830, and for

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a town in the county of East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The current town, which was founded in 1288, replaced an earli ...

from 1830 to 1831.

Arms

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Melville, Henry Dundas, 3rd Viscount 1801 births 1876 deaths Nobility from Midlothian British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Sikh War Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British Army generals Upper Canada Rebellion people

Henry Dundas Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1791 to 1794 and First Lord of the Ad ...

King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Coldstream Guards officers 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot officers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs who inherited peerages