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 Hew Whitefoord Dalrymple, 1st Baronet (3 December 1750 – 9 April 1830) was a Scottish general 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 ...

and Governor of Gibraltar.

Early life

Dalrymple was the only son of Captain John Dalrymple, of the 6th Dragoons and his second wife, Mary, ''née'' Ross (''c''.1719–1793). Following his father's death in 1753, Dalrymple's mother married Sir James Adolphus Oughton.Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, vol. 13, London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900

Military career

Dalrymple was commissioned as an ensign into the 31st Regiment of Foot in 1763,Dalrymple, Sir Hew Whitefoord
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography was promoted lieutenant in 1766 and captain in 1768. He took time out from the Army to study 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 ...

from 1767 to 1768. Dalrymple was knighted in 1779 thanks to the influence of his family. Lieutenant-colonel of the 68th Foot in 1781, he was promoted to colonel when he transferred to the 1st Foot Guards. In 1793 he commanded a composite battalion of grenadiers in Lake's brigade under York in the Flanders Campaign, and saw action at Raismes 8 May, Famars 23 May, the Siege of Valenciennes 13 June – 28 July, and the Siege of Dunkirk 25 August – 10 September. He returned to Britain early in 1794 and was made major-general on 3 October. In 1796, he was appointed

Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey The lieutenant governor of Guernsey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown. The role of the lieutenant governor is to act as the ''de facto'' head of state in Guern ...

. He became colonel of the 81st Regiment of Foot (Loyal Lincoln Volunteers) in 1797, transferred to the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot in 1798 and to the

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under variou ...

in 1810. On 1 January 1801 he was promoted

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

and from 1802 to 1806 was general officer commanding Northern District. In 1806, he was posted to Gibraltar to serve under Lt-General Fox. After Fox's departure he was made acting governor of Gibraltar, replacing

Gordon Drummond General Sir Gordon Drummond, GCB (27 September 1772 – 10 October 1854) was a Canadian-born British Army officer and the first official to command the military and the civil government of Canada. As Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Drum ...

, November 1806 – August 1808. In 1808, he was appointed commander of the Portuguese Expedition, landing on 22 August after Junot's defeat at Vimiero to replace Wellesley and Burrard. He immediately halted Wellesley's pursuit of the beaten French to Lisbon. Lacking either confidence or intelligence, or both, on 31 August Dalrymple signed a truce with Junot allowing him to return to France in British ships with all his weapons, men and loot. This infamous truce, known as the Convention of Cintra, was denounced both in London and in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Dalrymple sailed for home to face an enquiry 4 October, and never held a field command again. Sir John Moore, Dalrymple's replacement in Portugal, said he "was never able to determine on any point whatever". "Sir Hew, having never had the experience of command, seems quite at a loss how to work with the different heads of department; the troops suffer". Made Colonel of the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment in 1811, he was promoted General on 1 January 1812 through seniority. He was also made Governor of Blackness Castle in 1818.

Miscellaneous

*He was nicknamed "Dowager" by the army. *Dalrymple was played by John Woodvine, in the 1999 Hornblower (TV series) episode, '' The Duchess and the Devil''. *Dalrymple features prominently as the governor of

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

and commander in

in books 20 and 21 of Dewey Lambdin's Alan Lewrie series of Naval fiction.

Family

In 1783 he married Frances, daughter of General Francis Leighton, and together they had three daughters and two sons.

References

External links

*
Napoleonic GuideThe Gentlemans Magazine
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalrymple, Hew, 1st Baronet 1750 births 1830 deaths 37th Regiment of Foot officers 81st Regiment of Foot officers 501 Hew Whitefoord British Army generals British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Governors of Gibraltar Green Howards officers Grenadier Guards officers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from Ayr