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 normall ...

Sir Neil Douglas (1779 – 1 September 1853) 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 who fought at the 1815

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

and later became Commander-in-Chief, Scotland.

Life

He was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

the fifth son of John Douglas a merchant and descendant of the

Earls of Angus The Mormaer or Earl of Angus was the ruler of the medieval Scottish Provinces of Scotland, province of Angus, Scotland, Angus. The title, in the Peerage of Scotland, is held by the Duke of Hamilton, and is used as a courtesy title for the eldes ...

. Douglas was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the 95th Regiment of Foot on 28 January 1801. 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 79th Regiment of Foot on 19 April 1804, he took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in August 1807, 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 ...

in January 1809 and Battle of Bussaco in September 1810 during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. In the last he was almost killed, being found on the battlefield with seven bayonet wounds but nevertheless surviving. In May 1813 he took command of the whole regiment in place of Lt Col Fulton. At the Battle of the Pyrenees he had his horse shot out from under him. He went on to fight in the

Battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20, ...

in November 1813, the

Battle of the Nive The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish Army ...

in December 1813 and the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. Promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 3 December 1812, he commanded his regiment at the Battle of Quatre Bras in June 1815 and the

also in June 1815 during the Hundred Days. He served as Commander-in-Chief, Scotland and also as Governor of Edinburgh Castle from 1842 to 1847 at the rank of Major General. He died during a trip to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

on 1 September 1853.

Family

In 1816 he married Barbara Robertson, daughter of George Robertson, a banker in

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

. They had a son, General Sir John Douglas of Glenfinart GCB (7 July 1817 – 8 September 1888), a British Army officer who became Commander-in-Chief, Scotland. His nephew was Sir James Douglas, 1st Governor of British Columbia.Handout: Sir James Douglas
Confederation Debates 1865-1949, British Columbia National Edition, University of Victoria, B. C., p. 298, Accessed February 8, 2024

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Neil British Army lieutenant generals 1779 births 1853 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Recipients of the Waterloo Medal Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Rifle Brigade officers Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders officers British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars British Army personnel of the Peninsular War Military personnel from Glasgow People of the Battle of Waterloo