Frederick Stovin
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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 Stovin (bapt. 27 November 1783''England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975'' – 16 August 1865) 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 who served throughout 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 ...
and the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. After the end of the wars, he commanded colonial garrisons and served in administrative roles in Ireland, before retiring with the rank of colonel to take up a position at court as a
Groom in Waiting The office of Groom in Waiting (sometimes hyphenated as Groom-in-Waiting) was a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, which in earlier times was usually held by more than one person at a time – in the late Middle Ages there might be d ...
under
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
. In retirement, he continued to rise through the ranks of
general officer 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 ...
s by seniority, dying a full general. He originally joined the army as an
ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...
in the
52nd Foot The 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India dur ...
in 1800, and saw active service the same year in Spain. He later acquired a captaincy in the
28th Foot The 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gloucestershire R ...
in 1803; he saw service in Germany and at the Battle of Copenhagen with the 28th, and then served on the staff under Sir John Moore until 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 ...
. He was later an aide to General
Alexander Mackenzie-Fraser Lieutenant General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser (1758 – 13 September 1809) was a British General. He was known as ''Mackenzie'' until he took additional name of ''Fraser'' in 1803. Family and early life The family of Fraser of Castle Fraser, ...
, then to General
Thomas Picton Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton (24 August 175818 June 1815) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars and died at Waterloo. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respecte ...
, and a divisional adjutant through the later stages of 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 ...
. In 1814–15 he served in the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
, as a staff officer with the expedition sent to New Orleans, and had he not been detained by prosecuting at a court-martial, he would have served at the Battle of Waterloo. After the war, he commanded the 92nd Gordon Highlanders at Jamaica—where he scandalised his regiment by ordering them to adopt trousers instead of the kilt—and the 90th Light Infantry in the Ionian Islands, before retiring from active duty in 1829. He then held a number of administrative roles in Ireland, including the state secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant and the commissioner of police in Ulster, and after the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 became a palace courtier. His final military role was the (ceremonial) colonelcy of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment, which he held from 1848 until his death.


Family and early career

Stovin was born at Whitgift, in the
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...
(now the
East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...
), the son of James Stovin. He was the youngest son of a large family, by his father's second marriage; his eldest half-brother, James, later became a clergyman, a fellow of
Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...
and a magistrate in Yorkshire, whilst the younger half-brother,
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
, would also join the army, rising to the rank of lieutenant-general. Stovin joined the army at the age of seventeen, when he was commissioned as an ensign in the
52nd Foot The 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India dur ...
on 22 March 1800. He served with the regiment in the expedition to
Ferrol Ferrol may refer to: Places * Ferrol (comarca), a coastal region in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain * Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia, Spain ** Racing de Ferrol, an association football club * Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in ...
, and purchased promotion to lieutenant on 10 January 1801, he purchased a
captaincy A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish colonies, Spanish and Portuguese colonies, Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule admin ...
in the 62nd Foot on 20 November 1802, giving him command of a company. He was put on half-pay after the
Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it set t ...
,Lloyd (2004) but on 19 July 1803 took a captaincy in the
28th Foot The 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gloucestershire R ...
. Stovin served with the 28th during garrison duties in Ireland, and in the brief German expedition of 1805, before seeing service at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807. He served under Sir John Moore in Sweden and then in Spain, in the lead-up to 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 he was the aide-de-camp to General
Alexander Mackenzie-Fraser Lieutenant General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser (1758 – 13 September 1809) was a British General. He was known as ''Mackenzie'' until he took additional name of ''Fraser'' in 1803. Family and early life The family of Fraser of Castle Fraser, ...
in the
Walcheren expedition The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Ch ...
, then served at Gibraltar and in southern Spain with the 28th, returning to England in September 1810. He briefly commanded the regimental depot, before returning to the peninsula in 1811 as General
Thomas Picton Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton (24 August 175818 June 1815) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars and died at Waterloo. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respecte ...
's aide-de-camp, and later assistant adjutant-general (AAG) to Picton's 3rd Division, he received a
majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...
by brevet on 28 April 1812, and a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy on 26 August 1813. He held the position of AAG until the end of 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 ...
in 1814, and received the Gold Cross with two clasps for his services. When an amphibious force was sent to North America in 1814 during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
, Stovin was appointed its deputy adjutant-general; he was wounded at the
Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...
. He prosecuted the case of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Mullins when the force returned to the United Kingdom—Mullins, commanding the 44th Foot, had been charged with neglecting orders during the battle. As a result, although he had been assigned to Picton's staff, he missed the opportunity to serve with him in the
Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign, also known as the Belgian campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two War of the Seventh Coalition, Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied arm ...
.Obituary in ''The Times'', p. 7, 24 August 1865 Stovin was appointed Knight Commander of the
Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
on 2 January 1815 when the order was reorganised, and received the
accolade The accolade (also known as dubbing, adoubement, or knighting) () was the central act in the rite of passage Ceremony, ceremonies conferring knighthood in the Middle Ages. Etymology The term ''accolade'' entered English by 1591, when Thomas ...
and insignia of the order from the
Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...
at
Carlton House Carlton House, sometimes Carlton Palace, was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of George IV, during the regency era and his time as prince regent, before he took the throne as king. It faced the south side of Pall M ...
on 8 June. He married Anne Sitwell, daughter of
Sir Sitwell Sitwell, 1st Baronet Sir Sitwell Sitwell, 1st Baronet JP (' Hurt; September 1769 – 14 July 1811) was a British politician and landowner. Early life Born as Sitwell Hurt on 14 July 1811, he was the eldest son of Mary ( Warneford) Hurt and Francis Hurt (1728†...
, on 4 October that year; the two would remain married for forty years, until Anne's death in 1856, but had no children. Unusually, Anne was a relative of his by marriage; Stovin's sister Sarah Caroline had married Sir Sitwell after his first wife's death, making Stovin's new wife his step-niece.


Regimental command

He received regimental promotion to major in the 28th Foot on 9 May 1816. The regiment moved to a garrison posting in the
Ionian islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...
in 1819, and his time in the islands saw him command a force which put down a local rising on
Santa Maura Lefkada (, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Greece, connected to ...
. On 2 September 1819 he purchased the substantive rank of lieutenant-colonel and command of the 92nd Gordon Highlanders. His tenure at the 92nd was short and contentious; since it was garrisoned in Jamaica, he did not actually join the regiment until October 1820, and then scandalised his officers and men by his approach to regimental traditions. He appeared on parade in a
cocked hat The bicorne or bicorn (two-cornered) is a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American army and naval officers. Most generals and staff officers of the Napoleonic period wore bicornes, whic ...
rather than the conventional highland bonnet, and attempted to order the regiment to wear trousers rather than the
kilt A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...
. The
Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...
quickly arranged for his transfer to a less sensitive role, and he was transferred to command the 90th Light Infantry, a Lowland—and safely trousered—regiment, on 9 August 1821. The 90th were in the Ionian Islands, where Stovin had been posted some years earlier, but his second tour was substantially quieter; he saw no further active service before he retired from the 90th on half-pay on 23 April 1829. For his services there, he was appointed Knight Commander of the
Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...
.


Ireland

He was appointed as the military secretary to Sir
John Byng Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participate ...
, the Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, and in July 1831 became the State Secretary to the Marquess of Anglesey, the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
. He was promoted to
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
on 22 July 1830. In 1834 he became the Inspector-General of Police in Ulster, but was passed over for the position of Inspector-General of the Irish constabulary in 1836; the possibility of his appointment to the latter post had caused some concern among Irish Tories, who felt he was too critical of the
Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...
. He was later rumoured to be a candidate for the governorship of
Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...
, in the West Indies, though this post does not seem to have materialised. In 1838 he was ordered to Canada to act as adjutant-general for the force garrisoned there after the
Rebellions of 1837 Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
. When Lord Hill was retiring from the post of
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, later Commander-in-Chief, British Army, or just Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), was (intermittently) the title of the professional head of the English Army from 1660 to 1707 (the English Army, founded in 1645, wa ...
in 1839, Anglesey was suggested as a replacement to succeed him, although he eventually turned down the job; had he taken it up, Stovin was widely expected to become his personal secretary, the same capacity he had served in Dublin.


Royal service

On the accession of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
, he took up roles in the Royal Household, becoming a groom-in-waiting on 27 July 1837, and taking part in the coronation procession the following year. He still retained his army commission, and progressed steadily in rank through his retirement, becoming a major-general on 23 November 1841, lieutenant-general on 11 November 1851, and full general on 14 August 1859; on 1 September 1848, he took the colonelcy of the
83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot The 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, which was formed in Ireland in 1793 for service in the French Revolutionary Wars. The regiment served in the West Indies, South Africa and the Peninsular War, ...
. In 1855, he accompanied the young Prince Alfred to Geneva to supervise his studies there. In 1858 he was appointed a member of the
royal commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...
set up to look into the functioning of the
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
. He resigned his role as groom in waiting on 18 November 1859, because of ill-health; he was appointed an extra groom in waiting on 28 March 1860, and promoted
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...
on 18 May 1860. Stovin died on 16 August 1865, at
St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...
, London.


Notes


References

* * * * *


External links


Parliamentary Archives, Records of Sir Frederick Stovin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stovin, Frederick 1783 births 1865 deaths British Army generals 28th Regiment of Foot officers 52nd Regiment of Foot officers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Army Gold Cross British Army personnel of the War of 1812 British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People from Goole Gordon Highlanders officers Military personnel from the East Riding of Yorkshire