Major General Nicholas Carnegie of Coates HEIC (1750–1824) was an 18/19th century British Army Officer

Life

He was stepbrother of George Carnegie whose mother Susan Carnegie was cousin to David Scott, Chairman of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. This rather tenuous connection was critical to his whole career. He joined the

as a junior officer (usually an Ensign) around 1765. He served mainly in India to the needs of the

Scindia House of Scindia or earlier known as the Sendrak was a Hindu Maratha Royal House that ruled the erstwhile Gwalior State in central India. Ranoji Scindia rose as a prominent military commander under Peshwa Bajirao I. Ranoji and his descendants ...

rulers. He reached the rank of Major in 1801. He fought against the

Holkar The Holkars (pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ were the ruling house of the Indore State of the Maratha Confederacy, and earlier held the rank of Subahdar under Peshwa Baji Rao I of the Maratha Empire. When the Maratha Confederacy began to we ...

in 1801/2 and in the

Battle of Hadapsar The Battle of Pune took place on 25 October 1802 near Pune between the states of the Maratha Confederacy. The forces of the Scindia (Shinde) and the Peshwa Bajirao II were attacked by the Holkars. While the British East India Company was not ...

in 1802. He served in the

Anglo-Maratha Wars Anglo-Maratha Wars may refer to: * First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) * 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 In ...

in 1803. This included the mutiny of the 1st Brigade in September 1803 where he and a fellow officer escaped before the Massacre of Assaye. On 12 November 1804 he was promoted to Lt Colonel. He was in charge of the

Bengal Artillery The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Govern ...

in India at the rank of Colonel until he resigned in 1808, being replaced by John Horsford. Around 1810 he purchased The Castle Stead near Montrose from the

Marquis of Montrose Duke of Montrose (named for Montrose, Angus) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The title was created anew in 1707, for James Graham, 4th Marquess of Montrose, great-grandson of famed James Graham, 1st Marquess ...

. He spent his final years in West Coates House in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1822. He died at West Coates House in west Edinburgh on 30 May 1824. He is buried in the churchyard of St John's Church on

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

. The grave lies on the lowest terrace.

Family

He was married to Margaret Catherine Boswell (1786-1877), 36 years his junior, who outlived him by half a century.Grave of Nicholas Carnegie, St Johns They had two daughters: Sibella and Susan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnegie, Nicholas 1750 births 1824 deaths British East India Company Army officers