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 ...

James Stuart (1741–1815) 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 who served in North America 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 ...

and took part in various campaigns in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. He was the first General Officer Commanding, Ceylon and second Military Governor of

British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

. He was appointed on 1 March 1796 and was Governor until 1 January 1797. He was succeeded by Welbore Ellis Doyle.

Early life

Stuart was born on 2 March 1741. He was the third son of John Stuart of Blairhall in Perthshire. His mother was Anne, daughter of Francis Stuart, 7th Earl of Moray. Stuart was educated at schools in Culross and

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

, Scotland. He studied law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and then joined the British Army, serving in the American War of Independence.''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''

Military career

India and Ceylon

Promoted to major in the 78th Foot, he arrived in India in 1782 and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 14 February. He took part in Sir Eyre Coote's campaign against Hyder in the

Second Anglo-Mysore War The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company from 1780 to 1784. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the conflict between Britain against the French and Dutch in t ...

, and was present at the siege of Cuddalore where he commanded the attack on the right of the main position in the assault of 13 July 1782. He served in the campaign of 1790, under General Sir William Medows, against

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 ...

, attacking the fortresses of Dindigul and Palghaut. He served under Cornwallis during the campaigns of 1791–2, and led the siege of Seringapatam, commanding the centre column in the assault of 6 February 1792. Promoted to colonel in August, he returned to Madras in 1794. Promoted to major-general in 1795, he took command of the expedition against Dutch possessions in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

that year. After the whole island was secured in 1796, Stuart became commander-in-chief in the same year of the forces in Madras. He was made colonel of the 82nd Regiment of Foot in 1797, transferring the following year to the 72nd Regiment of Foot, a position he held until his death. In 1799 he commanded the Bombay Army in the last war against Tipu, which occupied Coorg, and repulsed Tipu at Seedaseer on 6 March. On 15 March he joined with Major General George Harris (afterwards Lord Harris) before the 1799 Battle of Seringapatam and took charge of the operations on the northern side of the city. After its capture he received the thanks of both

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

Later career and death

He became 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 ...

in 1801. Promoted to lieutenant-general in 1802, he took part in the

Second Anglo-Maratha War Second Anglo-Maratha War (from 1803 –1805) was a large conflict within the Maratha Confederacy, Maratha Empire involving the British East India Company. It resulted in major loss of territory for the Marathas, including regions around Delhi a ...

in 1803 but in 1805 returned to England in bad health. He was promoted to the rank of full general on 1 January 1812. He died without issue at Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London, on 29 April 1815 and was buried in a vault in St. James's Chapel, Hampstead Road, London.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, James 1741 births 1815 deaths British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War British military personnel of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War British Army generals Commanders-in-chief of Bombay British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Maratha War Governors of British Ceylon British expatriates in Sri Lanka 19th-century British people General Officers Commanding, Ceylon Alumni of the University of Edinburgh