General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Sir Fortescue Graham (1794 – 9 October 1880) was a senior

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

officer, serving for 62 years and seeing active service in the Napoleonic, Peninsular, and War of 1812, and later in Spain, China, and the Baltic campaign 1854.

Early life

Fortescue Graham was born in

Tintinhull Tintinhull is a village and civil parish near Yeovil, south west of Ilchester, in Somerset, England. The village is close to the A303. It is on the Fosse Way. In addition to a school of around 100 pupils, Tintinhull has a church, park, swimmin ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, the son of Colonel Richard Graham, Royal Marines, (a descendant of the Grahams of Platten,

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

), and his wife, Catherine, the daughter of Captain Philip Walsh, Royal Navy. He was educated at Martock College, Somerset.

Royal Marines

He joined the Royal Marines when aged only 14, being appointed as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

in the Chatham Division of the Royal Marines on 17 November 1808. He remained in that rank for the next seventeen years, twelve of them in the artillery branch of the marines. He was with the composite battalion formed of marines of the squadron, which served with the army ashore in the

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chat ...

of 1809. Subsequently, he served with the 1st Battalion of Royal Marines in Portugal and in the north of Spain, including the capture and defence of

Castro Urdiales Castro Urdiales is a seaport of northern Spain, in the autonomous community of Cantabria, situated on the Bay of Biscay. Castro Urdiales is a modern town, although its castle and the Gothic-style parish church of Santa María de la Asunción, date ...

. Graham proceeded with the 1st Battalion to America, and was present under Sir Sydney Beckwith at the attack on Norfolk and taking of

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the 7th most populous city in Virginia and 204th most populous city in the nation. Hampton ...

in 1814. When the brigade was broken up, Graham accompanied the battalion to Canada, and was sent in charge of a division of gunboats to attack an American battery at the head of

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

, with which he was engaged several hours. Afterwards he returned with the battalion to the coast of America, and was present at the attack and capture of Fort Peter and the town of St. Mary's, Georgia. He became a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

on 6 May 1825, and after almost thirty years service as a subaltern was promoted to captain on 10 July 1837. Soon after he joined the battalion of marines doing duty in Spain during the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Spanish monarchy: the conservative and devolutionist su ...

, and subsequently went to China, where he commanded the marine battalion in the demonstration against

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. ...

at the close of the First Anglo-Chinese War. He was promoted to major on 11 November and lieutenant colonel on 26 November 1851, and to colonel on 20 January 1854. In July–August 1854 Graham commanded a brigade of marines at the capture of Bomarsund Fortress, in

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

, during the Baltic campaign, and was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a care ...

in July 1855. He served as the Colonel Commandant of the Portsmouth Division of Royal Marines from 1855 to 1857, and as Aide-de-camp to

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

from 1854 to 1857. He was made a major general in 1857, served as Colonel of the Plymouth Division from 1863, was made a lieutenant general and a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

in 1865, General and Colonel of the Royal Marine Artillery in 1866, and finally retired in 1870.

Personal life

Graham was married twice; firstly in 1828 to Caroline, the daughter of

George Palliser George Charles Calder "Tich" Palliser, (11 January 1919 – 24 September 2011) was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. Palliser flew during the Battle of Britain and, at the time of his death, was one of the la ...

. After her death in 1859, he married Jane Mary, the daughter of Captain Lowcay, Royal Navy, and widow of Admiral William Blight, she died in 1866. Graham died at his residence, 69 Durnford Street, Stonehouse, Devonshire, on 9 October 1880.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Fortescue 1794 births 1880 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People from South Somerset (district) Royal Marines generals Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War Royal Navy personnel of the First Opium War Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy personnel of the War of 1812 Military personnel from Somerset