Henry Anderson Morshead (c.1774–1831), in earlier life Henry Anderson, was an Irish colonel of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

Life

Born about 1774, he was the son of Colonel Henry Anderson of Fox Hall,

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

. He entered the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

on 29 May 1790, and received a commission as second lieutenant in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

on 18 September 1792. Anderson served in the campaigns on the continent of Europe under

Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus; 16 August 1763 – 5 January 1827) was the second son of George III, King of the United Kingdom and King of Hanover, Hanover, and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A so ...

in 1793–4, and was present at the

Battle of Famars The Battle of Famars was fought on 23 May 1793 during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. An Allied Austrian, Hanoverian, and British army under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeated the French Army of the North l ...

23 May 1793, the

Siege of Valenciennes (1793) The siege of Valenciennes took place between 13 June and 28 July 1793, during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. The French garrison under Jean Henri Becays Ferrand was blockaded by part of the army of Prince Josias of Saxe ...

in June and July, the

Siege of Dunkirk (1793) The siege of Dunkirk took place in the Autumn of 1793 when British, Hanoverian, Austrian, and Hesse-Kassel troops under the command of Prince Frederick, Duke of York besieged the fortified French border port of Dunkirk, as part as the Fla ...

in August and September, and the

Battle of Hondschoote The Battle of Hondschoote took place during the Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition, Flanders Campaign of the Campaigns of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars, Campaign of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars. It was foug ...

8 September. He was then transferred, at his own request, to the

on 1 January 1794. He took part in the

Siege of Landrecies (1794) The siege of Landrecies (17–30 April 1794) was a military operation during the Spring 1794 campaign in the Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition. It was conducted by the (mobile army) of the Dutch States Army, commanded by t ...

Battle of Tournay (1794) The Battle of Tournay or Battle of Tournai or Battle of Pont-à-Chin (22 May 1794) saw Republican French forces led by Jean-Charles Pichegru attack Coalition forces under Emperor Francis II and Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After ...

, and siege of

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

in November. On his return to England, Anderson was sent, in June 1795, to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. He was promoted first lieutenant on 19 November 1796, and in May 1797 he embarked with two companies of

Royal Sappers and Miners The British Army during the Victorian era served through a period of great technological and social change. Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, and died in 1901. Her long reign was marked by the steady expansion and consolidation of th ...

for

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, West Indies. When the British left the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

in 1798 he was attached to the staff of

Sir Thomas Maitland Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Maitland (10 March 1760 – 17 January 1824) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. He also served as a Member of Parliament for Haddington (UK Parli ...

, who became a lifelong. Back in England in November 1798, he was employed in the Thames division, and stationed at

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

. He was promoted captain-lieutenant 18 April 1801, and was sent to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, and subsequently to Plymouth. Promoted captain 1 March 1805, Anderson in that year he assumed by royal license the additional surname of Morshead. In July 1807 he was sent to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, and three months later was appointed commanding Royal Engineer of the

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

expedition under Brigadier-general William Beresford. They sailed from

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

early in 1808, and in February took possession of the island. Morshead remained in Madeira until 1812, and on his return to England in November of that year was posted to the Plymouth division. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel 21 July 1813, and sent to Dublin; was appointed commanding Royal Engineer in

North Britain North Britain is a term which has been used, particularly between the 17th and 19th centuries, for either the northern part of Great Britain or Scotland, which occupies the northernmost third of the island. "North Britains" could also refer to B ...

(March 1814), and in July 1815 was transferred as commanding Royal Engineer of the western district to Plymouth. There he remained for many years, and carried out major works for the ordnance and naval services in consultation with the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

and

Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville, (14 March 1771 – 10 June 1851) was a British statesman, the son of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount. Dundas was the Member of Parliament for Hastings in 1794, Rye in 1796 and Midlothian in 1801. He was ...

. On 29 July 1825 he was promoted colonel. In 1829 Morshead was appointed commanding Royal Engineer at

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. He died at

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

on 11 November 1831, while the acting governor. He was honoured with a public funeral, and was buried in the old saluting battery overlooking the grand harbour. Numerous plans by him went to the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

Family

Anderson married in 1800 Elizabeth, only daughter of Phillip Morshead, of Widey Court, Plymouth. They had 11 children. Their daughter Louisa married George Leslie, 15th Earl of Rothes. The second son John Philip Anderson Morshead (died 1881) was father of

Edmund Doidge Anderson Morshead Edmund Doidge Anderson Morshead (1849 – 24 October 1912) was an English classicist and teacher. Biography He was the son of John Philip Anderson Morshead, educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford; and later returned to teach cla ...

. s:Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886/Morshead, Edmund Doidge Anderson

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Morshead, Henry Anderson 1831 deaths Royal Engineers officers Military personnel from County Limerick Year of birth uncertain