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 Edward Paget (3 November 1775 – 13 May 1849) 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.

Career

Born the fourth son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, Edward Paget became a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

in the

1st Regiment of Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadi ...

in 1792. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Caernarvon Boroughs from 1796 to 1806. In 1808, he was with John Moore in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

to assist the Swedish in the

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

. Moore's disagreements with Gustavus IV soon led to their being sent home where they were ordered to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. He served in the

during 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 ...

commanding the reserve at the

Battle of Corunna The Battle of Corunna (or ''A Coruña'', ''La Corunna'', ''La Coruña'' or ''La Corogne''), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a Briti ...

in 1809 and then conducting the advance to

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

in 1809, during which he lost his right arm. He was second in command under

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was a British Army officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during t ...

in 1811 and was captured by French cavalry in 1812 and kept a prisoner for two years until the end of the War. From 1816 to 1821 he was a

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Royal Household, Household of the monarch in early modern Kingdom of England, England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In King ...

in the service of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

, including a period 1816-1820 when the latter was Prince Regent during the mental illness of his father,

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 ...

. Briefly serving as the Governor of Ceylon in 1822, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India on 13 January 1823 and conducted the Burmese campaigns of 1824 to 1825, relinquishing his role of as Commander-in-Chief on 7 October 1825. He commanded the British troops who suppressed the Barrackpore mutiny of 1824. In 1826 he was appointed

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

. He was also Governor of the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...

from 1837 until 1849. His eldest brother Henry William, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge (1768–1854), was in 1815 created Marquess of Anglesey and is best remembered for leading the charge of the heavy cavalry at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

. The third eldest brother, Sir Arthur Paget (1771–1840), was an eminent diplomat 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 ...

, the fifth, Sir Charles Paget (1778–1839),''Burkes Peerage'' (1939 edition, s.v. Anglesey, Marquess of served with distinction in the navy, and rose to the rank of vice-admiral.

Legacy

The Memorials to Governors in the Chapel of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst includes:

References

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Paget, Edward 1775 births 1849 deaths British Army generals British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars British Army personnel of the Peninsular War Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath British Commanders-in-Chief of India Governors of British Ceylon Governors of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 Younger sons of earls

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

British Life Guards officers English amputees Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Caernarfon British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Caernarfon