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 ...

Sir Archdale Wilson, 1st Baronet, GCB (1803 – 9 May 1874) was a British

Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Gover ...

and

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 ...

artillery officer who served during the

Second Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company which took place from 1848 to 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab region, Punjab and what sub ...

and 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 ...

, during which he was commended for his part in the capture of Delhi and 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 ...

. For his actions during the rebellion, Wilson was knighted and created a baronet. He later returned to the United Kingdom, where he became a colonel commandant of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Early life and career

The fifth of thirteen sons (alongside one daughter) of the Rev. George Wilson, of

Kirby Cane Kirby Cane is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Kirby Cane is located north-west of Beccles and south-east of Norwich, along the River Waveney. History Kirby Cane's name is of Viking origin and derives from the ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, rector of

Didlington Didlington is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of the English county of Norfolk. Didlington is located north-west of Thetford and west of Norwich. History Didlington's name is of mixed Anglo-Saxon origin deriving from ...

(younger brother of the 10th Baron Berners, Wilson was educated at

Norwich School Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a private selective day school in the close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, it has a traceable history to 1096 as an episcop ...

. After training at the

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

's military college at Addiscombe, Wilson was commissioned in the

Bengal Artillery The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Govern ...

aged eighteen. Reaching India in 1819 he subsequently saw active service in the siege of Bharatpur and during the

. As an artilleryman Wilson was appointed to staff positions which included adjutant-general of the Bengal Artillery and superintendent of the Cossipore foundry.

Indian Rebellion of 1857

In 1857 Wilson was serving as Brigadier Commandant of Bengal Artillery at

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

, the regimental headquarters. This was the military station where the mutiny of the Bengal Army first broke out on 10 May 1857. Wilson was to be criticised for his inactivity in Meerut, enabling the bulk of the

sepoy ''Sepoy'' () is a term related to ''sipahi'', denoting professional Indian infantrymen, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire and the Maratha. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its Euro ...

mutineers to escape to Delhi. Departing on 27 May, Wilson did however lead his column to victory over the mutineers in an action between Meerut and Delhi on the 30th, then joined with the Delhi Field Force, the commander of which, Sir Henry Barnard, died soon after, Wilson being selected (in preference to three senior officers) in command on 17 July. Delhi was garrisoned by 30,000 fighting men, with Wilson being in command of a mere 7,000; assailed by the enemy, and in very poor health, Wilson nevertheless held his position on Delhi Ridge until, on 4 September, the siege train arrived from the Punjab. Delhi was then captured after six days of street fighting. Wilson subsequently commanded the whole of the artillery at the

siege 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 ...

in 1858, for which successes he was nominated in succession a Companion, Knight Commander, and Knight Grand Cross (17 November 1853) of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

, created a baronet 8 January 1858 (with an amended patent issued 8 July 1858, allowing the succession of his baronetcy to the heirs male of his eldest brother, George) and was granted a pension of £1,000 by the East India Company.

Personal life

In 1842, Wilson married Ellen, daughter of General Warren Hastings Leslie Frith, Commandant of the Bengal Artillery; they had no children, and he was succeeded in his baronetcy at his death in 1874 by his nephew,

Roland Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...

, son of his eldest brother, Rear-Admiral George Knyvet Wilson, R.N.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage thirtieth edition, 1868, p. 1185

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Archdale 1803 births 1874 deaths British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Bengal Artillery officers People educated at Norwich School Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Sikh War British East India Company Army generals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Royal Artillery officers Military personnel from Norfolk