Lieutenant-General Charles Griffiths (3 August 1763 – 31 May 1829) was a British soldier, foster brother to

Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus; 16 August 1763 – 5 January 1827) was the second son of George III, King of the United Kingdom and King of Hanover, Hanover, and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A so ...

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 Captain of Yarmouth Castle,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

Parents and marriage

Griffiths was the son of the Reverend John Griffiths and his wife Mary, the daughter of John Denham. Mary has been described as the foster-mother to the Duke of York, second son of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. Griffiths was thirteen days older than the Duke of York and has been described in turn as the latter's foster-brother. He married on 7 June 1796 Caroline Francis, the daughter of Sir

William Neville Hart William Neville Hart (27 December 1741 in St James's Palace, London – 23 October 1804, Inveraray Castle, Scotland) was a British banker, politician and diplomat. He was born to Denise Gougeon, the wife of Lewis Augustus Blondeau. His mother was ...

and Elizabeth, the daughter of

Stanhope Aspinwall Stanhope Aspinwall (born 5 July 1713 in Liverpool, England and died on 17 January 1771) was a British diplomat. He was born to Richard Aspinwall and his wife Elizabeth Stanhope, the great granddaughter of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield ...

. His elder brother, John Griffiths of Erryd, was a medical practitioner and surgeon to

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

's Household 1792–1818. His elder brother's wife, Elizabeth, was the sister of his own wife.

Military career

In 1779, Griffiths was appointed

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

15th Regiment of Foot In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

. He was placed on

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...

in 1783, restored to full-pay in the 40th Regiment in 1786 and appointed

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

76th Regiment of Foot The 76th Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 33rd (Duke of Wellington's) Regiment to form the Duke of Wellington's Regiment in 1881. History Formation The regiment ...

in 1787.

Service in India

During the

Third Anglo-Mysore War The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy, and the Nizam of Hyderabad ...

, Griffiths served in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

(i.e.

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

). He was present at the siege, assault, and capture of the town and fortress of

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, also at the siege and storming of the hill fort of Savendroog in the general action near

Seringapatam Srirangapatna or Srirangapattana is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated around 984 CE. Later, under the British ...

with

Tippu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

on 15 May 1791. He was wounded in the general action on 6 February 1792, when the enemy's lines were stormed under the walls of

and at the siege of that capital. It terminated in the peace of 19 March of that same year.

French Revolutionary Wars

Later, in 1794, Griffiths was promoted to a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

in the

14th Foot The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was, ...

and with them he participated in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

. He served in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

with the army under the Duke of York, and was in the actions of 17/18 May, and at the storming of the village of Pontechin on 22 May, with the brigade under Major-General

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 ...

, consisting of the 14th, 37th, and 53rd Regiments. He was in the action of Geldermansel or

Geldermalsen Geldermalsen () is a town and former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. Town of Geldermalsen The town centre of Geldermalsen contains a two-aisled Got ...

, on the

Waal WAAL (99.1 FM broadcasting, FM; "The Whale") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station licensed to Binghamton, New York. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. WAAL is the oldest FM radio station continuou ...

, under

Lord Cathcart Earl Cathcart is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1814 for the soldier and diplomat William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart. The Cathcart family descends from Sir Alan Cathcart, who sometime bet ...

. He was appointed

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the 82nd Regiment in 1796, and served in

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 ...

and

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

with that Corps. Griffiths was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in ancient Irish

Fencibles The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Fren ...

on 11 December 1800. He served with that corps in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and was present at the Siege of Alexandria.

Later career and the Napoleonic Wars

During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, Griffiths was subsequently placed on the staff in Ireland and England, and received the brevet 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 ...

in 1810. In the following year he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Regiment of Foot, which corps he joined at

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 ...

. He received the rank of major-general on 4 June 1813, and was placed on the staff of the garrison at Gibraltar. In the neighbouring Straits he commanded for nearly two years the British auxiliary troops in the fortress of

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

. He attained the rank of

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 ...

in 1825. In 1820 he was appointed Captain of Yarmouth Castle on the Isle of Wight, a position he held until his death in 1829.

Notes

References

* ''Burke’s Landed Gentry''; 17th Edition 1952; under ''Copland-Griffiths of Potterne''; NOTE at bottom of 2nd column p. 1082, and page 1083, right hand column - ''4. Charles, Lt.-Gen''. * ''Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal: The Isabel of Essex Volume, Containing the Descendants of Isabel (Plantagenet), Countess of Essex & Eu'' by Ruvigny and Raineval Staff published by Genealogical Publishing Com, 1994; pp. 515 and 516. * ''The

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term '' ...

and Historical Chronicle'' : Volume 99, 1829, the 22nd of a new series, 2nd Part, Aug. p. 180, ''Obituary.-Lt.-Gen. Charles Griffiths'', out of copyright and now in the public domain, edited. {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Charles, Lt.-Gen. 1763 births 1829 deaths British Army lieutenant generals British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Mysore War British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars East Yorkshire Regiment officers 40th Regiment of Foot officers 76th Regiment of Foot officers West Yorkshire Regiment officers Devonshire Regiment officers