Major-General James Stuart (died 2 February 1793) was a British Army officer who served in various conflicts in India during the 18th century. His service in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

was marked by his conflict with Lord Pigot, the governor of Madras; Stuart's arrest of the latter in 1776 resulted in his suspension as commander-in-chief, and he was not vindicated until 1780. He later fought 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 ...

, but was suspended from command in 1782 by Lord Macartney, an action that provoked a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

between the two men. Stuart was a younger brother of the lawyer and politician Andrew Stuart.

Early service

Stuart was appointed captain in the 56th Regiment of Foot on 1 November 1755. He first saw active service at the siege of Louisbourg (present-day

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

) under Lord Amherst in 1758. On 9 May of the same year he was promoted to the rank of major, and in 1761 was present with Colonel Morgan's regiment at the reduction of Belle Île. During the course of the expedition he acted as quartermaster-general, and in consequence obtained the rank of lieutenant-colonel. From Belle Île he went to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, and served in the expedition against Martinique, which was captured in February 1762, and on the death of Colonel Morgan took command of the regiment. After the conquest of Martinique his regiment was ordered to join the expedition against Havana, where he greatly distinguished himself by his conduct in the assault of the castle of Morro, the capture of which determined the success of the expedition.

Conflict with Pigot

In 1775 he received permission to enter the service of the

as second in command on the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is a coastal region along the southeastern front of the Indian peninsula. Its delimitations are numerous, but generally admitted to be bounded by the Krishna River, Krishna river River mouth, mouth to the north, the Bay of B ...

, with the rank of colonel. On his arrival he found serious differences existing between the council of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

and the governor, Lord Pigot, and on 23 August 1776 he arrested the governor at

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, at the command of the majority of the council. On this news reaching England, Stuart was suspended by the directors from the office of 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 ...

, to which he had succeeded, with the rank of brigadier-general, on the death of Sir Robert Fletcher in December 1776. Although he repeatedly demanded a trial, he could not, despite peremptory orders from England, succeed in obtaining a

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

until December 1780, when he was honourably acquitted, and by order of the directors received the arrears of his pay from the time of his suspension.

Anglo-Mysore War

On 11 January 1781 he was restored to the chief command in Madras by order of the governor and council. He returned to Madras in 1781, and, under Sir Eyre Coote, took part in the battle of Porto Novo on 1 July, and distinguished himself by his able handling of the second line of the British force. In the Battle of Pollilur, on 27 August, he had his leg carried away by a cannon shot. On 19 October he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and on the return of Sir Eyre Coote to

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

he took command of the forces in Madras. Lord Macartney, the governor, however, would not allow him that freedom of action which Eyre Coote had enjoyed, and on the death of

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali (''Haidar'alī''; ; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's ...

on 7 December he urged him immediately to attack the

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

army. Stuart declared his forces were not ready, and made no active movement for two months.

Dismissal and return home

While besieging Cuddalore he was suspended from the command by the Madras government. He was placed in strict confinement in Madras, and sent home to England. On 8 June 1786, though unable to stand without support owing to his wounds, he fought a duel with Lord Macartney in Hyde Park, and severely wounded him. On 8 February 1792 he was appointed colonel of the 31st Foot. He died on 2 February 1793. His portrait, painted by George Romney, was engraved by Hodges. He married Lady Margaret Hume, daughter of Hugh Hume-Campbell, 3rd Earl of Marchmont, but had no children.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, James 1793 deaths British Army major generals British East India Company Army generals British Army personnel of the French and Indian War British duellists East Surrey Regiment officers 56th Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Mysore War Year of birth unknown