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 Frederick Adam (17 June 178117 August 1853) was a Scottish major-general 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 ...

, in command of the 3rd (Light) Brigade. He was the fourth son of William Adam of Blair Adam and his wife Eleanora, the daughter of Charles Elphinstone, 10th Lord Elphinstone. He was later a

Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands The Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands was the local representative of the British Crown in the United States of the Ionian Islands between 1816 and 1864, succeeding the earlier office of the Civil Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. At ...

, who built Mon Repos, Corfu and other important landmarks in that Protectorate.

Military career

He was born at the family home of Blairadam House, just north of Kelty in

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

. At the age of fourteen in 1795, Frederick Adam entered the

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 ...

. He trained at the artillery school at the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proof test, proofing, and explosives research for ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

. In the same year, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant and in 1796 he was promoted to second lieutenant. He took part in the campaigns in the Netherlands and Egypt under Sir

Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Trinidad in 1797. Rising to the rank ...

, he was promoted to the rank of major in 1803 and a lieutenant colonel in 1804. From 1806 to 1811 he was stationed on

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. Between 1812 and 1813 he was in Spain fighting in 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 ...

, where he was severely wounded at

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

. On 12 April 1813, while commanding the Light Brigade in John Murray's expeditionary force, Adam led a brilliant rearguard action against the corps of Marshal Louis-Gabriel Suchet at Biar. The following day, his 2/27th Foot battalion inflicted 350 casualties on Suchet's 121st Line Regiment during the Battle of Castalla. He was wounded again in an action at Ordal on 13 September 1813.

Waterloo

On 18 June 1815, Adam commanded the 3rd British Brigade in Henry Clinton's 2nd Division at the

. At the crisis of the battle, Adam's 1/52nd (Light) Foot performed a left-wheel to enfilade the flank of the French Imperial Guard's main attack while the British Guards engaged the head of the column. Under fire from two directions, the French guardsmen put up a brief resistance then fled. After their unsuccessful attack on the British centre, the Guard rallied to their reserves of three (some sources say four) regiments, just south of

La Haye Sainte La Haye Sainte (, , named either after Jesus' crown of thorns or a nearby bramble hedge) is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment near Waterloo, Belgium, on the N5 road connecting Brussels and Charleroi. It has changed very ...

for a last stand against the British. But a charge from Adam's brigade threw them into a state of confusion and those which were left retreated towards

La Belle Alliance La Belle Alliance () is an inn situated a few miles south of Brussels in Belgium, chiefly remembered for its significance in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815). There are two plaques on the building: one is "In memory of t ...

. It was during this stand that Colonel

Hugh Halkett Hugh Halkett, Royal Guelphic Order, GCH, Order of the Bath, CB, (30 August 1783 – 10 December 1863) was a British army officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. During his military career, he served in both the Brit ...

took the surrender of General Cambronne. The French Imperial Guard made a last stand in squares on either side of the

. General Adam's Brigade charged the square which was formed on rising ground to the (British) right of La Belle Alliance and again threw them into a state of confusion. The other square was attacked by the Prussians. The French retreated away from the battlefield towards France. The French artillery, and everything else belonging to them, fell into the hands of the British and Prussians.

Later life

From 1817 to 1824, Adam continued his career in the army. Between 1824 and 1832 he was a popular

. His commissioning of the construction of public buildings on

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

was appreciated by the local population. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1831. Corfu Mon Repos R01

From 25 October 1832, to 4 March 1837, he was Governor of

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

and, in 1846, he was promoted to general.

Military commands

Incomplete list of military commands: * 1813 – commanded Anglo-Allied Light Brigade at Biar and Castalla. * 1813 – commanded Anglo-Allied Advanced Guard at Ordal. * 1815 – commanded 3rd (Light) British Brigade at Waterloo. * 1829 – 1835 Colonel of 73rd ''Perthshire'' Regiment of Foot. * 1835 – Colonel of 57th Foot who were stationed in India. * 1843 – Colonel 21st Fusiliers.

References

* Keegan, John. ''

The Face of Battle ''The Face of Battle'' is a 1976 non-fiction book on military history by the English military historian John Keegan. It deals first with the structure of historical writing about battles, the strengths and weaknesses of the "battle piece," and t ...

.'' Vintage, 1977. * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' Greenhill, 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Frederick 1780s births 1853 deaths 57th Regiment of Foot officers 73rd Regiment of Foot officers British Army generals British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Governors of Madras Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Royal Scots Fusiliers officers Commanders of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Waterloo Medal Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa British people of the Greek War of Independence Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People of the Battle of Waterloo