Major General Sir Charles Metcalfe MacGregor KCB CSI CIE (12 August 12, 1840 – 5 February 1887) was a British explorer, geographer and officer of the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

. He was the Quartermaster General for the British Army in India and the head of the Intelligence Department for the British Indian Army, and he served under Frederick Roberts in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The

MacGregor Medal The MacGregor Medal (also referred to as the MacGregor Memorial Medal) is awarded for valuable military intelligence through reconnaissance, exploration, survey or other similar activities of national importance. Awardees have included Survey of ...

is awarded in his honour.

Biography

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

descent, MacGregor was born in

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

, India, the son of Major Robert Guthrie MacGregor of 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 ...

. His grandfather was Major-General James MacGregor of the

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Cavalry.Holdich, T.H. Obituary: Sir Charles M. MacGregor, ''Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography'', Vol. 9, No. 3 (Mar, 1887), pp. 194-196 MacGregor was schooled at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

before returning to India at the age of 16 to join the Bengal Army. Arriving just in time for 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 ...

, MacGregor fought in a number of actions, including at

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

and was wounded twice. MacGregor earned successive promotions whilst serving variously in campaigns in China, the

Bhutan War The Duar War (or Anglo-Bhutanese War) was a war fought between British Raj, British India and Bhutan in 1864 to 1865. It has been the only military conflict between the two states since 1774. Background Across the nineteenth century, British ...

(where he became the deputy assistant Quartermaster General) and

Abyssinia Abyssinia (; also known as Abyssinie, Abissinia, Habessinien, or Al-Habash) was an ancient region in the Horn of Africa situated in the northern highlands of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.Sven Rubenson, The survival of Ethiopian independence, ...

including at the

Battle of Magdala The Battle of Magdala was the conclusion of the British Expedition to Abyssinia fought in April 1868 between British and Abyssinian forces at Magdala, from the Red Sea coast. The British were led by Robert Napier, while the Abyssinians were ...

. In the

Second Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai ...

MacGregor served as Quartermaster General on the Khyber communication lines and commanded the 3rd Brigade of the Kabul-Kandahar field force at the Battle of Kandahar. In the second phase of the Second Afghan War he became Commander Stewart's and Earl Roberts'

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

.Laurie, W.F.B. ''Sketches of Some Distinguished Anglo-indians'' (W.H. Allen & Co. 1888) After the Second Afghan War, training of men in intelligence gathering became the responsibility of the Quartermaster General and MacGregor served in this role for the East Indies until 1885. In 1870, MacGregor founded the

United Service Institution United Service Institution of India (USI) is a national security and defence services think tank based in New Delhi, India. It describes its aim as the "furtherance of interest and knowledge in the art, science and literature of the defence serv ...

of India for the "furtherance of interest and knowledge in the art, science and literature of the Defence Services." The Institution awards the MacGregor Medal, founded in his memory, in recognition of valuable contributions to military intelligence that are of defensive importance to India. MacGregor's ''The Defence of India'' (1884) attempted to alert the British public to the geo-strategic importance of India, and the threat posed to British interests by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. MacGregor was appointed

Knight Commander 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 ...

Companion of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

and

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

). He was promoted to major general weeks before his death on 5 February 1887. There is a memorial to him in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

."Memorials of St Paul's Cathedral" Sinclair, W. p. 460: London; Chapman & Hall, Ltd; 1909

Family

In 1869, he married Frances Mary, daughter of Sir

Henry Marion Durand Major-General Sir Henry Marion Durand, (6 November 1812 – 1 January 1871) was a British military officer in the Bengal Army and served as Lieutenant Governor of Punjab from 1870 until his death in 1871. Early life Durand was one of two ille ...

; she died on 9 May 1873; they had one daughter. In February 1883, he married Charlotte Mary Jardine.

Works

*''Narrative of a journey through the province of Khorassan and on the n.w. frontier of Afghanistan in 1875'', 1879 *''Wanderings in Balochistan'', 1882 *''The defence of India: a strategical study'', 1884

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:MacGregor, Charles British Indian Army generals British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War British military personnel of the Abyssinian War Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Companions of the Order of the Star of India Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Marlborough College British military personnel of the Bhutan War 1840 births 1887 deaths British people of the Great Game

Biography

Family

Works

See also

References

External links