Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Sir Donald Martin Stewart, 1st Baronet, (1 March 182426 March 1900) was a senior Indian Army officer. He fought on the Aka Khel Expedition to the North-West Frontier in 1854, took part in the response to the Indian Rebellion in 1857 and, after serving as commandant of the penal settlement of the Andaman Islands, fought in the Second Anglo-Afghan War as Commander of the Quetta Army. In that role, he advanced through the Bolan Pass to Quetta, and then on to Kandahar in January 1879. In March 1880, he made a difficult march from Kandahar to

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, fighting on the way the Battle of Ahmed Khel and Battle of Arzu, and then holding supreme military and civil command in northern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. He became Commander-in-Chief, India in April 1881 and a member of the Council of the Secretary of State for India in 1893.

Early life

Stewart was born the son of Robert Stewart and Flora Stewart (née Martin) at Mount Pleasant, near Forres, Moray in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Both parents were from Highland families. His father represented a branch of the Stewarts of Fincastle, descendants of King Robert II of Scotland. His mother was a daughter of Rev. Donald Martin, Minister of Abernethy, in Strathspey, but originally from Skye, and connected to the clans on that island. Young Donald was educated at schools at Findhorn, Dufftown and Elgin and at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

Career

Indian Celebrities- Sir Donald Stewart WDL11439

Stewart was commissioned as an ensign in the 9th Bengal Native Infantry on 12 October 1840 and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 3 January 1844 and to captain on 1 June 1854.Heathcote, p. 270 Later that year he served on the Aka Khel Expedition to the North-West Frontier. During the Indian Rebellion, after a famous ride from

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

with dispatches, Stewart served as the deputy assistant adjutant-general at the Siege of Delhi in Summer 1857 and then as assistant adjutant-general at the Siege of Lucknow in Autumn 1857. After serving through the campaign in Rohilkhand he was promoted to major on 19 January 1858 and to lieutenant-colonel on 20 July 1858. He became deputy-adjutant-general of the Bengal Army in 1862 and, having been promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

on 20 July 1863, he commanded the Bengal brigade in the Abyssinian expedition in 1867. Promoted to major-general on 24 December 1868, he became commandant of the penal settlement of the Andaman Islands, and was present when one of the inmates assassinated Lord Mayo, British Viceroy of India, in 1872.Heathcote, p. 271 After being exonerated in the subsequent inquiry, he was appointed Commander of the troops at

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

in 1876. Promoted to lieutenant-general on 1 October 1877, Stewart commanded a column during the Second Anglo-Afghan War advancing through the Bolan Pass to Quetta, and then on to Kandahar in January 1879. In March 1880, he made a difficult march from Kandahar to

, fighting on the way the Battle of Ahmed Khel and Battle of Arzu, and then holding supreme military and civil command in northern

. On hearing of the Maiwand disaster, he despatched Sir Frederick Roberts with a division on his celebrated march from Kabul to Kandahar, while he led the rest of the army back to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

through the Khyber Pass. For this he was given the thanks of parliament and created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

Stewart became Military member of the Council of the Governor-General of India (effectively War Minister) in October 1880 and, having been promoted to full

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 ...

on 1 July 1881, he became Commander-in-Chief, India in April 1881. In order to achieve efficiency savings he proposed merging the Bengal Army,

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 ...

and Bombay Army into a single military force but this was rejected by the India Office. During the Panjdeh Incident in March 1885 he secured a significant increase in the number of British troops in India. He returned to London to become a member of the Council of the Secretary of State for India in 1893 and, in that role, again argued - this time successfully - for the creation of a single Indian Army. He was promoted to

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

on 26 May 1894 and became a member of the Royal Commission on Indian civil and military expenditure as well as

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...

from 1895 until his death at

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

on 26 March 1900. His remains were brought home by the cruiser HMS ''Juno'', and buried in Brompton Cemetery in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Family

In 1847 Stewart married Davina Marine Dabine, daughter of Commander Thomas Dymock Dabine, RN. Lady Stewart was invested as a Companion of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India (CI) by

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 ...

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

on 6 March 1900. They had two sons and three daughters: *Major-General Sir Norman Robert Stewart, 2nd Baronet, CB (1851–1926), Indian Army; married 1875 Adeline Hewett, of Bombay; and left issue a son and two daughters. *Flora Alice Stewart (b.1853); married 1st 1877 Brigadier-Surgeon Richard William Davies (d. 1890); married 2nd 1893 Major Sir Walter Kentish William Jenner, 2nd Baronet (1860–1948); left children. *Marina Annie Stewart (b.1855); married 1882 Major-General Sir Francis John William Eustace, KCB. *Sir Donald William Stewart, KCMG, (1860–1905), a military officer and Commissioner of the East Africa Protectorate. *Norah Helen Gertrude Stewart (b.1868); married 1st 1891 (div. 1894) S. J. O′Neill Murphy; 2nd 1899 Captain Leopold Christian Duncan Jenner; and had issue by first marriage.

Honours and awards

Stewart's honours included: * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) - 21 September 1880 (KCB - 25 July 1879; CB - 14 August 1868) * Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI) - 7 December 1885 * Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) - 24 May 1881

Memorial

There is a memorial to him in St Paul's Cathedral."Memorials of St Paul's Cathedral" Sinclair, W. p. 461: London; Chapman & Hall, Ltd; 1909

References

Sources

* * * Attribution *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Donald Martin 1824 births 1900 deaths Nobility from Moray Military personnel from Moray British field marshals British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 British Commanders-in-Chief of India British Indian Army generals British East India Company Army officers Donald Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Scottish knights 1401 Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Burials at Brompton Cemetery British military personnel of the Abyssinian War Members of the Council of the Governor General of India