General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Charles Thomas van Straubenzee (17 February 1812 – 10 August 1892), was a

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 ...

officer. He served as Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong, and Governor of Malta.

Military career

Van Straubenzee was born at Fort Ricasoli, Malta, in 1812, as the second son of Thomas van Straubenzee (1782–1843), a

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 ...

major, of Spennithorne,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, and his wife Maria, youngest daughter of Major Henry Bowen. A member of an old and distinguished military family, Van Straubenzee was commissioned into the

Ceylon Rifle Regiment The Ceylon Rifle Regiment (CRR) was a regular native regiment formed by the United Kingdom, British in Ceylon. Its history goes back to 1795. The nucleus of the Regiment was two companies of Malays recruited from among prisoners at St Helena. In ...

in 1828.Vetch, R. H.. "Straubenzee, Sir Charles Thomas Van (1812–1892), rev. Roger T. Stearn". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004 ed.). Oxford University Press. . Retrieved 25 August 2016. He transferred to the 39th Regiment of Foot in 1833, and, during the Gwalior campaign, he took part in the Battle of Maharajpore in 1843; he took temporary command of his regiment when its

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

was wounded and brought the regiment out of action. In 1846, he transferred to 3rd Battalion the Buffs of which he became commanding officer in 1851, and 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 ...

commanding the 1st Brigade of the

Light Division The Light Division is a light infantry Division (military), division of the British Army. It was reformed in 2022, as part of Future Soldier (British Army), Future Soldier reforms. Its origins lay in "Light Companies" formed during the late 1 ...

, and taking part in both assaults on the

Redan Redan (a French language, French word for "projection", "salient") is a feature of fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped Salients, re-entrants and pockets, salient angle towards an expected attack. It can be made from earthworks or other ...

during the Siege of Sevastopol. In 1857, Van Straubenzee became

Commander British Forces in Hong Kong The Commander British Forces in Hong Kong (CBF) was a senior British Army officer who acted as Military Advisor to the Governor of Hong Kong and was in charge of the Hong Kong British Forces. The officeholder of this post concurrently assumed the ...

and led an attack on Canton during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

. In 1862, he was made

general officer commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

a Division of the

Bombay Army The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. It was established in 1668 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferr ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

and subsequent took overall command of the

. He was colonel of the 47th Regiment of Foot from 1865 to 1867, and of the 39th Regiment of Foot from 1867, until they became part of the

Dorset Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the List of British Army regiments (1881), county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although ...

in 1881, after which he continued as colonel of the 2nd Battalion until 1892. Van Straubenzee became Governor of Malta in 1872. Van Straubenzee is buried at St Mary the Virgin's Churchyard near

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

Family

He married Charlotte Louisa Richardson in 1841, daughter of General John Luther Richardson.Conqueror List
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References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Straubenzee, Charles Thomas Van 1812 births 1892 deaths 39th Regiment of Foot officers British Army generals British Army personnel of the Crimean War British Army personnel of the Second Opium War British military personnel of the Gwalior Campaign Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) officers English people of Dutch descent Governors and governors-general of Malta Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Military career

Family

See also

References