Daniel Hoghton
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Major-General Daniel Hoghton (27 August 1770 – 16 May 1811) was a talented and experienced
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 who served 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 ...
with distinction until his death during combat with the French at the
Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about sou ...
in the
Peninsula 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 ...
. His death brought general mourning in Britain and a monument to his memory was raised 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 ...
. During his long career, Hoghton had fought on several West Indian islands, in India, Denmark, Portugal and Spain and had even spent a brief period standing in for a
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
detachment in the Channel Fleet. A popular and able officer,
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
was reported to have commented on his death: "I understand that it was impossible for anybody to behave better than he did . . . he,actually fell waving his hat and cheering his brigade on to the charge"Hoghton, Daniel
''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
'', E. M. Lloyd, Retrieved 26 November 2007


French Revolutionary Wars

Hoghton was born in
Castle Hedingham Castle Hedingham is a village in northern Essex, England, located four miles west of Halstead and 3 miles southeast of Great Yeldham in the River Colne, Essex, Colne Valley on the ancient road from Colchester, Essex, to Cambridge. It develope ...
in
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
as second son to Sir Henry Hoghton, 6th Baronet and his second wife Fanny in 1770. He was educated at
St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...
. Raised in political circles as the son of an MP, Daniel instead chose a military career and at 23 joined the 82nd Regiment of Foot as a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
through purchase at the outbreak of the
French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted France against Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and several other countries ...
in 1793. It took some time for Hoghton to settle, moving in 1794 to the short-lived 97th Regiment of Foot and in 1795 on their disbandment joining the
67th Regiment of Foot The 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Hampshire Regiment (later the Roy ...
. Whilst with the 97th, Hoghton and his troops spent some months with the Channel Fleet as makeshift marines after manning shortages necessitated the posting. His father died the same year and the titles, estates and political offices passed to his elder brother Henry Philip Hoghton. The 67th Regiment was dispatched to the West Indies in 1796 to take part in several campaigns, including serving in
San Domingo Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...
during the
Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...
and spending time stationed in
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
. The same year Hoghton was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In January 1799 Hoghton was transferred to the 88th Regiment of Foot, also known as the Connaught Rangers who were stationed in India. Hoghton took passage and met his regiment in
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
. For unknown reasons Hoghton did not accompany his men to
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 ...
for the final defeat of the French army stationed there in 1801 and instead spent some years on the staff of Lord Mornington, returning to England with dispatches in 1804.


Napoleonic Wars

Following his arrival in England during November 1804, Hoghton was given command of the newly raised 2nd battalion, 8th Regiment of Foot, gaining promotion to full colonel the following year. After training and preparing the regiment, Hoghton was dispatched with his troops to Denmark for participation in the Siege of Copenhagen under Sir Arthur Wellesley, whose brother Hoghton had known in India. Hoghton was not heavily engaged at Copenhagen and was soon transferred to the West Indies once more, participating in the invasion and capture of
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
in 1809. It was for this reason that Hoghton did not join Wellesley in the Iberian Peninsula until 1810, taking command of a brigade in Cadiz. On 25 July 1810, Hoghton made the jump to major-general and in September took command of the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Division under Sir William Stewart, a man he had served under during the 1790s. Hoghton's first taste of action during the Peninsular War was at the
Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about sou ...
, where Stewart's division was hastily deployed after a Spanish withdrawal on the right of the battleline. The rapid nature of the deployment opened the division to attack by French cavalry and the 1st brigade under Colonel John Colborne was almost destroyed. Hoghton's brigade held firm however and drove off the French cavalry and then withstood an attack by the 11,000 men of the French 5th Corps, three-quarters of the brigade falling dead or wounded during the furious battle. As the attack subsided, Hoghton removed his hat to motion his men forward and as he did so was struck by a musket ball and killed instantly. Despite Hoghton's death, the brigade remained strong and withdrew from the field in good order, the action failing to produce a clear victor. Alone amongst the hundreds of men who fell from his division, Hoghton's body was retrieved in the immediate aftermath and carried to
Elvas Elvas (), officially the City of Elvas (), is a Portuguese municipality, former episcopal city and frontier fortress of easternmost central Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about east of Lisbon, and ab ...
, where it was buried in the British Cemetery Elvas which is now a memorial to the 60,000 officers and men of the British and Portuguese armies who died alongside their Spanish allies in the cause of freedom and independence in the Peninsular War of 1808–1814. In Britain his death was treated with sorrow and a government motion paid for a monument to his memory to be raised 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 ...
.


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoghton, Daniel 1770 births 1811 deaths People from Castle Hedingham 67th Regiment of Foot officers King's Regiment (Liverpool) officers 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) officers British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars British military personnel killed in action in the Napoleonic Wars Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Younger sons of baronets Military personnel from Essex