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 ...

Sir Archibald Alison, 2nd Baronet (21 January 1826 – 5 February 1907) was a Scottish soldier who achieved high office in the

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 ...

in the 1880s. He was a descendant of the Alison family presented by

Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911) was an English polymath and the originator of eugenics during the Victorian era; his ideas later became the basis of behavioural genetics. Galton produced over 340 papers and b ...

in ''

Hereditary Genius ''Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry Into Its Laws and Consequences'' is a book by Francis Galton about the genetic inheritance of intelligence. It was first published in 1869 by Macmillan Publishers. The first American edition was published by D. A ...

'' (1869) as an example of genius inherited over several generations.

Military career

Born on 21 January 1826, in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the son of Archibald Alison, the advocate and historian, and educated at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

,Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> and 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 ...

Alison was commissioned into the 72nd Regiment of Foot in 1846.Sir Archibald Alison at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> He went on to serve at the Siege of Sevastopol during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

in 1855. He served as Military Secretary to Sir Colin Campbell during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

in 1857, losing an arm at the

relief of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British The Residency, Lucknow, Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British East India Company's Army) during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After ...

, and was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB). He was appointed Assistant Adjutant General in the office of the Inspector General of Infantry in 1862, Assistant Adjutant General for the South Western District in 1864 and Assistant Adjutant General at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

in 1870. In 1873 Alison was given command of the British brigade in West Africa during the

Anglo-Ashanti wars The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan people, Akan interior of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African ...

and fought at the Battle of Amoaful. He went on to be Deputy Adjutant General in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1874,

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the Staff College, Sandhurst in February 1878 and Deputy Quartermaster General, Intelligence in May 1878. He commanded the Highland Brigade during the

Battle of Tel el-Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British ...

in September 1882. In late 1882 he was appointed

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

British Troops in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and in 1883 he became GOC for Aldershot District. He was given the colonelcy of the

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

in 1896, transferring to be colonel of the

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, the Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service ...

in 1897, a position he held until his death. Alison was promoted to

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1874, and further raised to

Knight Grand Cross A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

(GCB) in 1887. He died on 5 February 1907 and is buried at

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

Family

In 1858 he married Jane Black. They had two sons and four daughters.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alison, Archibald, 2nd Baronet 1826 births 1907 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh Military personnel from Edinburgh British Army generals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Seaforth Highlanders officers Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish knights Scottish Episcopalians 72nd Highlanders officers Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Commandants of the Staff College, Camberley British Army personnel of the Crimean War Scottish amputees Scottish royalty and nobility with disabilities British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Ashanti War British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Burials at the Dean Cemetery