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 ...

Charles Barton (20 April 176011 June 1819) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

soldier who commanded the

2nd Regiment of Life Guards The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamate ...

and fought in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. Barton owned an estate in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Life

Born in 1760, Barton was the third son of William Barton (1723–1792), of Grove House, Fethard,

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, by his marriage to Grace Massy, a daughter of

Charles Massy Charles Massy (1695–1766) was Dean of Limerick from 1740 until his death. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was Chancellor of Emly from 1727 to 1739; and then Precentor. His nephew George Massy was Archdeacon of Ardfert from 177 ...

Dean of Limerick The Dean of Limerick and Ardfert is a Church of Ireland official based in the Cathedral Church of St Mary's in the united diocese of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert. There had been two separate deans, Dean of Limerick and Dean of Ardfert, unti ...

.Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, ''Burke's Irish Family Records'' (London: Burkes Peerage Ltd, 1976), pp. 79–80 He was baptized into the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

on 25 April 1760 at St Peter's, Aungier Street, Dublin. His brothers included Thomas Barton (1757–1820) and General Sir Robert Barton (1768–1853). In February 1790, Barton was a Captain in the

and was promoted to Supernumerary Major. In 1792, he was promoted to Major, and in December 1796, still serving in the 2nd Life Guards, from Lieutenant-Colonel to Major-General. In 1805 he again became Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2nd Life Guards by

purchase Purchasing is the procurement process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary g ...

, by which he gained command of the regiment. He was still its Lieutenant-Colonel in 1811, while it was fighting in the Peninsular War. During that war, on 25 April 1808, Barton was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General and was still a serving officer when he died in 1819 at the age of 59. In 1804, while a Major-General, Barton sat with

Henry Edward Fox General Henry Edward Fox (4 March 1755 – 18 July 1811) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Minorca and governor of Gibraltar. Family He was a son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland and Lady Carol ...

as a member of a

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

to try a case against Dr Robert Gordon, Physician to the Forces. In 1816, while Barton was living at 1, Montague Place,

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

, a man was hanged for breaking into his house and stealing a pistol. At the time of his death, Barton owned an estate in

called the Waterfoot, near

Pettigo Pettigo, also spelt Pettigoe ( ; ), is a small village and townland on the border of County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is bisected by the Termon River, which is part of the border between the Repu ...

, which was inherited by his eldest son.

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

later described Barton as "...an Irish landlord and a man of connections about Court, lived in a certain figure here in Town; had a wife of fashionable habits, with other sons, and also daughters, bred in this sphere. These, all of them, were amiable, elegant, and pleasant people."

Private life

In November 1799, at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

, Barton married Susannah Johnston, a daughter of Nathaniel Johnston, then of Wimbledon, and Susanna Gledstanes, and their first child, Hugh William Barton, who eventually followed in his father's footsteps by becoming Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2nd Life Guards, was born on 13 December 1800. They had at least six other children: Nathaniel Dunbar Barton (1803, later a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Bengal Cavalry); Thomas Charles Barton (1805–1856); Robert Johnston Barton (1809–1863); Albert Evelyn Barton (1812–1874); Susannah Barton (born c. 1813); and Anna Eleanor Barton (born c. 1816). In her youth, Barton's wife had lived at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

in France, where her father, a Scot, had been naturalized as French. Barton met her as the result of his younger brother Hugh Barton becoming a merchant in Bordeaux, where he made a large fortune and in 1791 married Susannah's sister Anne Johnston. Hugh Barton owned Château Langoa-Barton and estates in Ireland and lived at

Battle Abbey Battle Abbey is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey in Battle, East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St Martin of Tours. It is a Scheduled Monument. The Grade I listed site is now o ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. He was High Sheriff of

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

in 1840. On 2 November 1830, at Christ Church, Marylebone, Barton's daughter Susannah married John Sterling, an author. Thomas Carlyle said of them that "His blooming, kindly and true-hearted Wife had not much money, nor had he as yet any..." In 1831, at

Karnal Karnal () is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. The city is well connected as it lies on National Highway 01, in the south of the city lies the cities of Panipat and Sonipa ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, Barton’s son Nathaniel married Honoria Angelina, a daughter of Colonel Alexander Lawrence and sister of

Henry Montgomery Lawrence Brigadier-General Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence (28 June 1806 – 4 July 1857) was a British military officer, surveyor, administrator and statesman in British India. He is best known for leading a group of administrators in the Punjab affecti ...

. Barton's other daughter, Anna Eleanor, married

Frederick Denison Maurice John Frederick Denison Maurice (29 August 1805 – 1 April 1872), commonly known as F. D. Maurice, was an English Anglican priest and theologian. He was a prolific author and one of the founders of Christian socialism. Since the Second World War ...

, a clergyman, on 7 October 1837 at Clifton, and was the mother of two sons, including Major-General Sir Frederick Maurice.

Australian descendants

After an early career as a naval officer in the service of the

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 ...

, in 1840 Barton's son Robert Johnston Barton migrated to

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and became a landowner and grazier at Boree Nyrang, near

Molong Molong is a small town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in Cabonne Shire Council, Cabonne Shire. History The name Molong comes from the indigenous Australians, Aboriginal word for 'all ro ...

. He married Emily Mary Darvall (1817–1909), a sister of

John Darvall Sir John Bayley Darvall (19 November 1809 – 28 December 1883) was an Australian barrister and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1844 and 1856 and again between 1861 and 1863. He was also a member o ...

, and their daughter Rose Isabella Barton (1844–1893) married Andrew Paterson and was the mother of

Andrew Barton Paterson Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, (17 February 18645 February 1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author, widely considered one of the greatest writers of Australia's colonial period. Born in rural New South Wales, Paterson worked ...

(1864–1941), known as "Banjo", a prolific poet and the writer of the lyrics of ''

Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing ...

''. The ''

Dictionary of Australian Biography The ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published in 1949, is a reference work by Percival Serle containing information on notable people associated with Australia, Australian History of Australia, history. With approximately a thousand e ...

'' states that Paterson was related to

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician, barrister and jurist who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903. He held office as the leader of the Protectionist Party, before ...

, the country’s first prime minister,PATERSON, ANDREW BARTON (1864-1941), poet
in ''

'', gutenberg.net.au, accessed 25 November 2020 but the exact relationship is unclear.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Charles 1760 births 1819 deaths 2nd Regiment of Life Guards officers British Army lieutenant generals British Army personnel of the Peninsular War Irish Anglicans Military personnel from County Fermanagh People from Fethard, County Tipperary 18th-century British Army personnel