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 Lewis Grant, KCH ( Ludovick Grant; died 26 January 1852) 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 and colonial administrator in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. Grant was born as Ludovick Grant in Forres, Moray, one of eight sons born to Duncan Grant, of Mulochaird in

Strathspey, Scotland Strathspey (, ) is a region of the Scottish Highlands comprising part of the valley of the River Spey, Spey. It includes the towns of Aviemore, Boat of Garten, Grantown-on-Spey, and Aberlour. Strathspey, as traditionally defined, stretches fro ...

, and Jean Grant, daughter of Robert Grant of Keithmore, Banff, by Elizabeth Gordon. He was a younger brother of the physician Sir James Robert Grant, chief medical officer at

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

. Grant entered the army in 1794 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 95th Regiment, from which he was promoted to lieutenant in the 97th Regiment. In 1795, Grant was aboard HMS ''Orion'' under James Saumarez at the

Battle of Groix The Battle of Groix (, ) took place on 23 June 1795 off the island of Groix in the Bay of Biscay during the War of the First Coalition. It was fought between elements of the British Channel Fleet and the French Ponant Fleet, Atlantic Fleet, whi ...

. He was promoted to captain in 1796 and subsequently fought under

Sir Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Trinidad in 1797. Rising to the rank of lieutenant general in the British ...

in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. In June 1801, Grant was appointed Assistant Quarter and Barrack Master General in

Tobago Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...

and held the same position in

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 1802. Promoted to major in 1802, he transferred to the 3rd West Indian Regiment and returned to England in 1803. Promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the 70th Regiment in 1804, he returned to the West Indies that year. Further promoted to colonel in 1813 and major-general in 1819, Grant was then appointed

Governor of the Bahamas This is a list of governors of the Bahamas. The first English settlement in the Bahamas was on Eleuthera. In 1670, the king granted the Bahamas to the lords proprietors of the Province of Carolina, but the islands were left to themselves. The lo ...

in 1820, then Governor of Trinidad in 1829. Serving in the latter post until 1833, Lionel Mordaunt Fraser's ''History of Trinidad'' (1971) states on the day after his departure on 22 June, the '' Port of Spain Gazette'' reported he was "hated by the negroes and detested by every independent member of the community". On 13 September 1831, Grant was appointed a Knight Commander 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 ...

and

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, appointed colonel of the

96th Regiment of Foot The 96th Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment, raised in 1798. Under the Childers reforms it amalgamated with the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot to form the Manchester Regiment. History Formation The regiment was raised in Meno ...

on 9 April 1839 and awarded an honorary MA from

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 ...

in 1847. On 11 November 1851, he was promoted to general and died suddenly from heart disease a few months later on 26 January 1852, aboard an omnibus on

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...

, London, while he was travelling to his home on

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer. He was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...

. In 1832 he married Isabella Elizabeth Grant, daughter of Alexander and Margaret Grant of Tullochgriban. They had one daughter, Isabella Jean Margaret Grant (1842–1913), who married Lt Clinton Fraser Henshaw of the Rifle Brigade on 18 October 1859 at St James, Westminster, and had issue.

References

*Obituary, ''The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Review'', Volume 191, p. 406 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Lewis 1852 deaths British Army generals British governors of the Bahamas Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Governors of British Trinidad Knights Bachelor 18th-century British Army personnel 19th-century British Army personnel Sherwood Foresters officers Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers West India Regiment officers