Major-General Ralph Burton (died 29 September 1768) 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. Burton's military career began in the 2nd Troop of

Horse Grenadier Guards The Horse Grenadier Guards, usually referred to as Horse Grenadiers, were a series of cavalry troops in the British Household Cavalry between 1687 and 1788, who used grenades and other explosives in battle. Originally attached to the Troops of ...

, where he rose to the rank of

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 ...

, serving under

George Augustus Eliott General George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, (25 December 1717 – 6 July 1790) was a British Army officer who served as the governor of Gibraltar from 1779 to 1790. Eliott rose to distinction during the Seven Years' War when he foug ...

, the defender of

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

In 1754, Burton was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 48th Foot, which was involved in the captures of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

in 1759 and of

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

and Havanna in 1762. In 1760, General

Jeffery Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the ...

Governor General of British North America The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the advice of his or her Ca ...

, appointed him lieutenant governor of the

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

district while New France remained under British military rule. On 31 January 1761, Burton formed the 95th Regiment of Foot in South Carolina from several independent companies. The regiment fought successfully against the Cherokees. It then transferred to Barbados. From there it participated in the capture of Martinique, the occupation of Grenada, and the siege of Havana (1762). The regiment was disbanded in England on 7 March 1763. Following the return of civilian rule under the newly appointed

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, General James Murray, Burton was made brigadier (commander) of the army in the new British

province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

. He was also made Colonel of the 3rd Foot (the Buffs). After continual conflict with Governor Murray, both he and Burton were recalled to Britain in 1766. Despite being an influential figure in Canadian military and geopolitical history, little is known about Burton's life outside of the Army. He appears to have been a close friend of John Calcraft, and was elected to Parliament a few months before his death as

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

for Wareham, a

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act of 1832, which had a very small electo ...

that Calcraft controlled. He died in 1768. A 1767 will mentions an estate in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and a townhouse in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was twice married: in 1750 to Elizabeth St Leger (died 1753), sister of Anthony St Leger after whom the famous

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

is named, then around 1763 to Marguerite Lydius. He had a son and a daughter by his second marriage. A daughter Mary, his eventual heir, married General Napier Christie, who adopted the surname Burton. A memorial to Ralph Burton is in St. Mary's Church,

Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire Cottingham is a large village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies north-west of the centre of Kingston upon Hull, and south-east of Beverley on the eastern edge of the Yorkshire Wolds. It has two main shopping s ...

References

* Lewis Namier & John Brooke, ''The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754-1790'' (London: HMSO, 1964)

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Ralph Year of birth missing 1768 deaths People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire British military personnel of the French and Indian War British Life Guards officers 48th Regiment of Foot officers British MPs 1768–1774 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Wareham Governors of Montreal Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) officers People from Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire