Colonel Sir Anthony Coningham Sterling KCB (1805 – 1 March 1871) was a

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 ...

officer and historian, author of ''The Highland Brigade in the Crimea.''

Life

Sterling, eldest son of Captain

Edward Sterling Edward Sterling (17731847) was a British journalist. Life He was the son of the Rev. Anthony Sterling, and was born at Waterford. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin. Called to the Irish Bar, he fought as a militia captain at the Battl ...

, by Hester, daughter of John Coningham of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, was born at

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

in 1805. John Sterling, the

man of letters An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the world of culture, either ...

, was a younger brother. After keeping some terms at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, he was on 18 February 1826 gazetted

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the

24th Foot The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. In ...

. From 21 March 1834 to 5 December 1843 he was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 73rd Foot, and was then placed on half-pay. He was on active service during the

Crimean campaign The Crimean campaign was conducted by the Axis powers, Axis as part of Operation Barbarossa during World War II. The invading force was led by Nazi Germany, Germany with support from Kingdom of Romania, Romania and Fascist Italy, Italy, wh ...

of 1854–5, first as

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

of the Highland brigade and afterwards as assistant adjutant-general to the Highland division, including the battles of the

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...

Balaklava Balaklava ( Ukrainian and , , ) is a settlement on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol. It is an administrative center of Balaklavsky District that used to be part of the Crimean Oblast before it was transferred to Sevast ...

, and

Inkerman Inkerman (; ; ) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is '' de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but ''de jure'' within the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within Ukraine. It lies 5 kilometres (3 miles ...

, and the

siege of Sebastopol A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characte ...

. He received the medal with four clasps, the order of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, the Turkish medal, and the fourth class of the Medjidie. On 17 October 1857 he sold his commission, retiring with the rank of

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 ...

; but during 1858–1859 he was again employed as military secretary to Sir

Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, (20 October 1792– 14 August 1863) was a British Army officer. After serving in the Peninsular War and the War of 1812, he commanded the 98th Regiment of Foot during the First Opium War and then ...

, in the suppression of the

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

, and received a medal with clasp. In 1861 Lord Clyde accused Sterling of wilfully neglecting to insert the name of Colonel Pakenham in a list of persons recommended for reward by the bestowal of the KCB at the close of the mutiny. This led to many letters, which are given in ''Correspondence concerning Charges made by Lord Clyde against Sir Anthony Sterling'', March 1861 (privately printed 1863). He was gazetted CB on 5 July 1855, and KCB on 21 July 1860. He died at 3 South Place,

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

, London, on 1 March 1871, having married in 1829 Charlotte, daughter of Major-General Joseph Baird; she died on 10 April 1863.

Works

Sterling was the author of: *''Russia under Nicholas I'', a translation, 1841 *''Letters from the Army in the Crimea, written by a Staff Officer'', 1857 *''The Story of the Highland Brigade in the Crimea, founded on Letters written during 1854, 1855, and 1856 by Lieut.-Col. A. Sterling, a Staff Officer who was there'', 1895.

References

;Attribution

Sources

External links

* Sterling Family Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sterling, Anthony Coningham 1805 births 1871 deaths People from Dundalk Irish soldiers in the British Army South Wales Borderers officers Black Watch officers British Army personnel of the Crimean War British recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath 19th-century British historians British male writers Military personnel from County Louth Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge