Memorial to Sir Robert Henry Dick, Dunkeld Cathedral

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir Robert Henry Dick KOV (29 July 1787 – 10 February 1846) was a Scottish soldier, son of a medical doctor in the

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

's service.

Military career

He entered the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

in 1800 serving in the 75th Regiment. He was a lieutenant in the

42nd Regiment of Foot The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment and numbered 43rd in the line, in 1748, on the disban ...

in 1804. He served as an officer in the

serving in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

. He fought at Buçaco, Fuentes de Oñoro, and

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City wa ...

. He distinguished himself at

Quatre Bras Quatre Bras (, French for crossroads; literally "four arms") is a hamlet in the municipality of Genappe, Wallonia, Belgium. It lies on the crossroad of the Charleroi-Brussels road (currently named N5) and the Nivelles-Namur road south of Genap ...

and Waterloo In 1814, he received the C.B., followed by the K.C.H. in 1832 and the K.C.B. in 1838. In 1837, he was promoted to be major general, and in 1841–1842 was acting Commander-in-Chief at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. In 1846, he assumed command of the Third Infantry Division in the Sikh War. He fell, aged 58, while leading a second charge against Sikh entrenchments at

Sobraon Sobraon is a village in Punjab, India. It is located west to Harike village in Tarn Taran district. The Sutlej river is to the south of this village. The village is located at 31°10'39N 74°51'10E with an altitude of 192 metres (633 feet). Hi ...

Memorials

He is buried at Ferozepore:

Here lies in the hope of joyful resurrection Sir Robert Henry Dick of Tully Mett, Perthshire N.B. Major-General Knight Commander of the Orders of the Bath and of Hanover, Knight of the Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa and of the Russian Order of Vladimir. Colonel of H.M. 73rd Regt. For his country he fought & bled: in Egypt at Maida thro'out the Peninsula at Waterloo & in India. For his valour and skill at Fuentes d'onor Busaco Salamanca and Waterloo he received two medals and two honorary clasps. Born on 29 July 1787 AD he fell in the moment of victory on the 10th Feby 1846 AD while cheering on H.M's 80th Regt having led his division in the assault on the entrenched camp of the Seikh at Sobraon. Honoured and beloved he lived honoured and lamented he died.

Memorial at

Dunkeld Cathedral Dunkeld Cathedral is a Church of Scotland place of worship which stands on the north bank of the River Tay in Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Built in square-stone style of predominantly grey sandstone, the cathedral proper was begun in ...

, Dunkeld, Tayside:

Sacred to the memory of Major-General Sir Robert Henry Dick KCB KCH who after distinguished service in the Peninsula in the command of a Light Battalion and at Waterloo with the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment fell mortally wounded whilst leading the 3rd Division of the Army of the Sutledge to the attack on the Seikh entrenched camp at Sobraon on 10 February 1846. The officers who had the honour of serving under him in his last battle and other friends in Her Majesty's and the Honourable East India Company's Service in Bengal have caused this monument to be placed in his parish church.

Memorial at the St. George's Cathedral, Madras, India

Sacred to the memory of Major-General Sir Robert Henry Dick, K.C.B._K.C.H. of Tullymet, N.B., one of the heroes of the Peninsula war, who, after distinguished services in H.M.'s 42nd Regiment Royal Highlanders, which regiment he brought out of action at Quatre Bras, closed a long and brilliant military career on the memorable field of Sobraon. February 10th 1846 Raised in grateful admiration by the public of the Presidency of Madras, where, for some time, he held tho Chief Military Command.

Over the inscription is a 42nd Highlander in full uniform resting against a pedestal, on which is inscribed the battle roll of the regiment –

Maida, Egypt, Alexandria, Rosetta, Busaco, Torres Vedras, Foz D'Arouce, Fuentes de Onoro, Badagoz, Salamanca, Fort St. Michael, Portugal, Quatre Bras, Waterloo, Sobraon.

A memorial also exists in

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore o ...

. His portrait, by William Salter, is in the National Portrait Gallery.

References

External links

Archives collections

*Archives catalogue fo
Robert Henry Dick Collection
The Black Watch Castle & Museum, Perth, Scotland.

Other

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dick, Robert Henry British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars British military personnel of the First Anglo-Sikh War British military personnel killed in the First Anglo-Sikh War 1780s births 1846 deaths 42nd Regiment of Foot officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Recipients of the Waterloo Medal