Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Henry Spencer-Churchill (27 May 1828 – 3 April 1877) was a British army officer who fought in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

and the Indian Mutiny.

Life and career

He was the eldest son of Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill, a veteran of 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 ...

, and he was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. On 10 October 1845, he purchased a second lieutenant's commission in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

. He served with the brigade during the Seventh Xhosa War. After the outbreak of the

, Spencer-Churchill purchased a captaincy on 4 August 1854. He was commended for gallantry by Lord Raglan during the war, breveted major on 2 November 1855, and received the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie (, August 29, 1852 – 1922) was a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the order was awarded in five classes, with the Firs ...

, 5th class. On 17 June 1857, Spencer-Churchill exchanged into the 60th Regiment of Foot and went out to India, where he took part in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny and was present at the capture of Delhi. In 1862, Spencer-Churchill married Rosalie Lowther, daughter of the Reverend Gorges Paulin Lowther. He served with his regiment in Canada and was breveted lieutenant-colonel in the 60th Foot on 5 September 1865, but went on temporary half-pay on 11 December 1866. His health had been permanently impaired by exposure during the Crimean War. On 13 January 1869, he exchanged from half-pay into the 68th Regiment of Foot, and he retired the same day. He died of tuberculosis near

Menton Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...

on 3 April 1877.

References

External links

Photograph taken in Montreal

Service details, 1860
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer Churchill, Charles Henry 1828 births 1877 deaths British Army personnel of the Crimean War King's Royal Rifle Corps officers People educated at Eton College Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 5th class Rifle Brigade officers 68th Regiment of Foot officers British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Charles Henry