Gen. Sir Josiah Champagné (26 September 1755 – 31 January 1840) was a British military commander who was the fifth
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 in February 1799 until 1799. He was succeeded by
Hay MacDowall
Lieutenant-General Hay MacDowall ( 1752 – 16 March 1809) was a Scottish officer in the British Army who was the sixth General Officer Commanding, Ceylon. He was appointed on 19 July 1799. He was succeeded by David Douglas Wemyss. Fort MacDo ...
.
Background
Champagné was born into a family of
French Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
exiles in Ireland,
the son of the Very Rev. Arthur Champagné, Dean of
Clonmacnoise
Clonmacnoise or Clonmacnois (Irish language, Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery in County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, Ciarán, ...
, and Marianne Hamon, daughter of Colonel Isaac Hamon. His paternal great-grandfather was the Chevalier Josias de Robillard, Seigneur de Champagné de
Torxé,
Saintonge
Saintonge may refer to:
*County of Saintonge, a historical province of France on the Atlantic coast
* Saintonge (region), a region of France corresponding to the historical province
* Saintonge ware, a medieval pottery type produced in Saintes reg ...
, who fled to Holland after the
Edict of Fontainebleau
The Edict of Fontainebleau (18 October 1685, published 22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to prac ...
in 1685,
joining
William of Orange's army. He married Marie de la Rochefoucauld of the
noble house of the same name. Their daughter Susanne married Henri de la Motte-Fouqué, baron de Saint-Seurin et de Tonnay-Boutonne, and was mother of
Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué Heinrich may refer to:
People
* Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
. Their eldest son, Josias de Robillard, distinguished himself at a young age in service of Major-General Isaac de Monceau de la Melonière, who commanded a regiment of exiles in William's army during the
Irish campaigns.
He married Lady Jane Forbes, daughter of
Arthur Forbes, 2nd Earl of Granard.
Josiah had three brothers: Lt.-Gen.
Forbes Champagné
Lieutenant General Forbes Champagné (2 July 1754 – 23 October 1816) was a British Army officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War and officiated as Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army from 1807 to 1811.
Background
Champagn ...
; Rev. Arthur Champagné, vicar of
Castlelyons
Castlelyons () is a small village in the east of County Cork, Ireland. It is also a civil parish in the barony of Barrymore. The name is derived from a stronghold of the Uí Liatháin - an early medieval kingdom. It is situated south of Fermoy ...
; and Rev.
George Champagné, Canon of Windsor and Rector of Twickenham. He had six sisters, including Jane, who married the
Earl of Uxbridge
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...
; Henrietta, wife of
Sir Erasmus Dixon Borrowes, 6th Baronet; and Marianne, wife of
Sir Charles des Voeux, 1st Baronet.
Josiah married Dorcas Brownrigg and had one son, Arthur Champagné.
Career
Champagné joined the British Army on 28 January 1775 as an ensign in the
31st Regiment of Foot
The 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881.
History Origins
...
. In March 1776 he embarked with his regiment, landed in America in May, and remained on active service till
the peace
The Peace were a zamrock band, formed in the Chamboli Mine Township of Kitwe, Zambia in the early 1970s.
History
The members of Peace formerly played in The Boyfriends, which was also the parent group for fellow Zambian band Witch (Zamrock ban ...
, when he returned to England. On 11 July 1777 he obtained his lieutenancy, in April 1783 a company in the
99th Regiment of Foot, and in March 1784 a company in the
3rd Regiment of Foot
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system
Places
* 3rd Street (dis ...
.
John Philippart
John Philippart (1784?–1874) was a British military writer.
Born in London about 1784, Philippart was educated at a military academy, and was subsequently placed in the office of a Scottish solicitor. His inclinations, however, tended more to mi ...
, ''The Royal Military Calendar'' (1821) vol. II
pp. 140–141
Captain Champagné joined his corps in May 1784 in Jamaica, and in 1785 went with the expedition to the Spanish main; he continued in the West Indies five years, then returned to England. In 1793 he again embarked for the West Indies under
Sir Charles Grey, but proceeded to the relief of Nieuport. On 18 September he was appointed to a majority in the
80th Regiment of Foot and on 19 December to a lieutenant-colonelcy. In 1794 he again went to the Continent, and returned with the army in 1795. He twice embarked in the latter year in command of his regiment for the coast of France: the misfortune at Quiberon prevented the first expedition from proceeding beyond Plymouth; the second, under
Major-General Doyle, took possession of Isle Dieu, and remained on that service until January 1796, when he returned to England.
[
In March 1796, Lieutenant-Colonel Champagné embarked in command of his regiment for the Cape of Good Hope, and at the close of the year sailed with the regiment for the East Indies. On 26 January 1797, he was appointed colonel by brevet, and in 1800 to the command of an expedition against Batavia, with the rank of brigadier-general, but which was subsequently countermanded. In 1801 he was appointed second-in-command to the army that sailed from India for Egypt. In 1803 he returned to England, and on 25 September that year was appointed major-general. On 25 July 1810 he was promoted lieutenant-general. He was 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 ...
on 25 February 1810, from which he was removed to the colonelcy of the 17th Regiment of Foot
17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number.
17 was described at MIT as "the least random number", according to the Jargon File. This is supposedly because, in a study where respondents were asked t ...
on 14 June 1819.[ He was promoted full general on 19 July 1821.
On 26 January 1832, he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the ]Royal Guelphic Order
The Royal Guelphic Order (), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Kingdom of Hanover, Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name from the House ...
by King William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Champagne, Josiah
1755 births
1840 deaths
General Officers Commanding, Ceylon
19th-century British people
British Army generals
British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War
British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
Irish people of French descent