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 norma ...

Sir Jasper Nicolls KCB (15 July 1778 – 4 May 1849) was

Commander-in-Chief, India During the period of the Company and Crown rule in India, the Commander-in-Chief, India (often "Commander-in-Chief ''in'' or ''of'' India") was the supreme commander of the Indian Army from 1833 to 1947. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his ...

Military career

Born at

East Farleigh East Farleigh is a village and civil parish in the local government district of Maidstone, Kent, England. The village is located on the south side of the River Medway about two miles (3.2 km) upstream from the town of Maidstone. Heritage Th ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and educated at a private school in

Ballygall Ballygall () is a small suburban area located between Glasnevin and Finglas, on the northside of the city of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a townland divided between the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Finglas (ci ...

and at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, Nicolls was commissioned into the 45th Regiment of Foot in 1793. Nicolls spent five or six years in the West Indies, attaining the rank of captain on 12 September 1799. In 1802 he proceeded to India as military secretary and aide-de-camp to his uncle, Major-general

Oliver Nicolls General Oliver Nicolls (c.1740 – 1829) was a British Army officer. Military career Nicolls was commissioned into the 1st Regiment of Foot in November 1756. Richard Cannon''Historical record of the Life Guards containing an account of the format ...

, commander-in-chief in the Bombay presidency. A few days after the

Battle of Assaye The Battle of Assaye was a battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company. It occurred on 23 September 1803 near Assaye in western India. An outnumbered Indian and British force ...

joined the army commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington) during the

Second Anglo-Maratha War Second Anglo-Maratha War (from 1803 –1805) was a large conflict within the Maratha Confederacy, Maratha Empire involving the British East India Company. It resulted in major loss of territory for the Marathas, including regions around Delhi a ...

(1803–1805). It is not clear whether he went as a volunteer or was appointed to the staff; but, according to Stocqueler, he was employed in the quartermaster-general's department. Nicolls was present at the

Battle of Argaon The Battle of Argaon (also known as Battle of Argaum) took place on 29 November 1803, between the British under the command of Major-General Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington (title), Duke of ...

and

Siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

Gawilghur Gawilghur (also, Gawilgarh or Gawilgad, Pronunciation: �aːʋilɡəɖ was a well-fortified mountain stronghold of the Maratha Empire north of the Deccan Plateau, in the vicinity of Satpura Ranges, Amravati District, Maharashtra. It was succe ...

in 1803. Nicolls returned home soon after the close of the war, and obtained his regimental majority on 6 July 1804. In the following year the 45th Foot formed part of Lord Cathcart's

expedition to Hanover The Hanover Expedition, also known as the Weser Expedition, was a British invasion of the Electorate of Hanover during the Napoleonic Wars. Coordinated as part of an attack on France by the nations of the Third Coalition against Napoleon by W ...

, and Major Nicolls accompanied it. In 1806 he sailed with the force under Brigadier-general Crawford, first to 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 ...

, and afterwards on Lieutenant-general John Whitelocke's campaign to the Rio de la Plata. Nicolls was present at the disastrous attack on

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in July 1807. In the ill-organised assault on that town Nicolls found himself isolated with seven companies of his regiment, his colonel having become separated with one or two companies from the main body of the 45th. In this trying position he displayed conspicuous resolution, and, repelling the attack of the enemy, held his ground. On the following day, in pursuance of an arrangement between Whitelocke and the Spanish general

Liniers Liniers is a barrio (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires on the edge of the city, centered on Rivadavia Avenue. It is also an important train station and bus hub, connecting western Gran Buenos Aires with the Buenos Aires Metro. The neighborhood dev ...

, Nicolls, together with the other isolated bodies, evacuated the town. The 45th, unlike several other bodies of British troops, did not surrender, and Nicolls refused to give up the colours of his regiment. So conspicuous was his conduct on this occasion that Whitelocke in his despatches thus writes of him: "Nor should I omit the gallant conduct of Major Nichols icof the 45th regiment, who, on the morning of the 6th instant, being pressed by the enemy near the Presidentia, charged them with great spirit and took two howitzers and many prisoners". Nicolls was the only regimental officer whose name appeared in the despatches. At the subsequent trial by court-martial of Whitelocke he was one of the witnesses. In 1807 he was appointed

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the 2nd Battalion of the

14th Regiment of Foot 14 (fourteen) is the natural number following 13 and preceding 15. Mathematics Fourteen is the seventh composite number. Properties 14 is the third distinct semiprime, being the third of the form 2 \times q (where q is a higher prime). ...

and he went on to fight at 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 ...

and to take part in the

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with First French Empire, France ...

in 1809. In 1811 he became Assistant Adjutant-General at Horseguards and in 1812 he was made Deputy Adjutant-General in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Later that year he went to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

as Quartermaster-General. In 1815, during the

Gurkha War The Anglo-Nepalese War (1 November 1814 – 4 March 1816), also known as the Gorkha War or Nepal-Company War, was fought between the Gorkhali army of the Kingdom of Nepal (present-day Nepal) and the forces of the British East India Company ...

he captured

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ') is a municipal corporation and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the ...

and reduced Kumaon. In 1825 he was made

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

a Division of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

and in 1829 he transferred to become GOC

7th (Meerut) Division The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army and, before 1895, the Bengal Army, that saw active service during World War I. Pre-1857 The Meerut Division first appeared in the Indian Army List in 1829, under the comman ...

; in 1838 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 1839 he was promoted to

; he returned to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1843. He was appointed Colonel of the

93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot The 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Line Infantry Regiment of the British Army, raised in 1799. Under the Childers Reforms, it amalgamated with the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the Argyll and Suth ...

in 1833, transferring as Colonel to the 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot in April 1843, a position he held until his death in 1849.

Family

In 1809 he married Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas Stanhope Badcock of Little Missenden Abbey, Buckinghamshire, and together they went on to have one son and eight daughters.

Notes

References

* * Attribution * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolls, Jasper 1778 births 1849 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People from East Farleigh West Yorkshire Regiment officers British military personnel of the Anglo-Nepalese War British East India Company Army generals British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Maratha War Sherwood Foresters officers Military personnel from Kent British Commanders-in-Chief of India Commanders-in-chief of Madras 18th-century British Army personnel