Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

Hay MacDowall ( 1752 – 16 March 1809) was a Scottish officer in 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 ...

who was the sixth

General Officer Commanding, Ceylon General Officer Commanding, Ceylon (also known as ''Commander of Troops'' or ''Officer Commanding His/Her Majesties Troops, Ceylon'') was the designation of the General Officer appointed to command all British Army units stationed in the island of ...

. He was appointed on 19 July 1799. He was succeeded by David Douglas Wemyss. Fort MacDowall in

Matale Matale ( Sinhala: මාතලේ, , , ) is a major city in Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative capital and largest urbanised city of Matale District. Matale is also the second largest urbanised and populated city in Central P ...

was named due to his involvement during

Kandyan Wars The Kandyan Wars (or the Kandian Wars) refers generally to the period of warfare between the British colonial forces and the Kingdom of Kandy, on the island of what is now Sri Lanka, between 1796 and 1818. More specifically it is used to descri ...

. Only the remnants of gateway and portion of the ramparts are exist today.

Biography

MacDowall hailed from Garthland Mains,

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

, Scotland, where the family seat was Garthland Castle. He was the fourth son of William MacDowell ( 1719–1784), M.P. for

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, and Elizabeth Graham, granddaughter of Alexander Livingstone, 3rd Earl of Callendar. His brothers William MacDowall ( 1749–1810) and Captain

David McDowall-Grant David McDowall Grant (20 July 1761 – 27 June 1841), of Arndilly, Banff and Barr House, Lochwinnoch, was a Scottish naval officer, collector of customs and, briefly, Member of Parliament. He was the 5th surviving son of William McDowall, Memb ...

(1761–1841) were Members of Parliament. His nephew was Lt. Gen.

Day Hort MacDowall Day Hort MacDowall (March 6, 1850 – October 28, 1927) was a politician from old Northwest Territories, Canada. Born in Carruth House, Renfrewshire, Scotland, MacDowall immigrated to Canada in 1879. He was elected as a member of the Legisl ...

(1795–1870) and great-nephew was Canadian politician

(1850–1927). In August 1782, he was the commanding officer of the fort of

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

when the French lay siege to it in the run-up to the Battle of Trincomalee. He surrendered to Suffren on 30 August in exchange for safe passage to Madras for his 1,000-man garrison.

Later life and disappearance

MacDowall was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the 57th Regiment of Foot in 1791 and served in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

in 1793 and later as commander-in-chief in Ceylon from 1798 to 1804. In 1802, as a Major-General, he was appointed

Colonel commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

of a Battalion of the 40th Regiment of Foot in place of Lord Hutchinson. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the

Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations manda ...

in 1807. He was made Colonel of the

41st Regiment of Foot The 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1719. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881. History Early h ...

in 1808. Following a period of dispute with the civil government of Madras over his exclusion from its council, and the affair of the arrest of Quartermaster-General John Munro, he resigned his commission in January 1809 and took ship for England on the

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

''Lady Jane Dundas''.Taylor, S. Storm and Conquest: The Battle for the Indian Ocean, 1808-10. Faber & Faber, London. The ship was lost with all hands near the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

in March 1809.Napoleonic Series
/ref>

Notes

Citations

References

* * 1800s missing person cases 1809 deaths 40th Regiment of Foot officers 41st Regiment of Foot officers 57th Regiment of Foot officers British Army lieutenant generals British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War General Officers Commanding, Ceylon Missing person cases in Africa Military personnel from Dumfries and Galloway People lost at sea Year of birth missing {{UK-army-bio-stub

Biography

Later life and disappearance

See also

Notes

Citations

References