General Matthew Sharpe (1773 – 12 February 1845)
was a
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
politician and
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.
He was the eldest son of Charles Sharpe of
Hoddam Castle
Hoddom Castle is a large tower house in Dumfries and Galloway, south Scotland. It is located by the River Annan, south-west of Ecclefechan and the same distance north-west of Brydekirk in the parish of Cummertrees. The castle is protected as a ...
,
Cummertrees
Cummertrees is a coastal village and civil parish of Annandale in the historical county of Dumfriesshire in Dumfries and Galloway. It lies about inland, on the Pow Water to the northwest of Powfoot, from Dumfries and from Annan.
Etymolog ...
,
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...
and Eleanor née Renton of
Lamberton.
[
]
Military career
Sharpe received his first commission as a cornet
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...
in the 16th Light Dragoons in February 1791. He rose to the rank of lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
two years later. In 1795, he was promoted to captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
in the 28th (Duke of York's Own) Light Dragoons. He rose to be a major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
in 1796 and lieutenant colonel in 1799. Having served in campaigns 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 ...
and Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
, the 28th Light Dragoons were disbanded in 1802, and Sharpe was placed on half pay.[ He returned to active service in December 1803 when he was appointed to the general staff as an inspector of ]yeomanry
Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles.
History
Origins
In the 1790s, following the ...
and volunteer corps. In 1809, he was promoted to the rank of major general, and in 1825, to 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 ...
.[ Following his retirement, he was awarded the ]brevet rank
In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...
of general in 1841.
Parliamentary career
Following the passing of the Great Reform Act
The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...
, Sharpe was elected to the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dumfries Burghs at the 1832 general election.[ He was re-elected in ]1835
Events
January–March
* January 7 – anchors off the Chonos Archipelago on her second voyage, with Charles Darwin on board as naturalist.
* January 8 – The United States public debt contracts to zero, for the only time in history. ...
and 1837
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes thousands of deaths in Ottoman Syria.
* January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States.
* February 4 – Seminoles attack Fo ...
.
Death
Sharpe died at his residence in Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
on 2 July 1845. He was buried in the graveyard o
Hoddom Parish
Church.
References
External links
*
1773 births
Whig (British political party) MPs for Scottish constituencies
UK MPs 1832–1835
UK MPs 1835–1837
UK MPs 1837–1841
16th The Queen's Lancers officers
British Army generals
1845 deaths
{{Scotland-UK-MP-stub