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 ...

Richard Egerton (7 October 1783 – 18 November 1854) 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 served during the French Revolutionary and

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 ...

, predominantly as a

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large milita ...

. He fought throughout the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, serving for two years as aide de camp to

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his solu ...

. He reprised this role for the subsequent

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

, participating in the

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 ...

. Egerton continued his relationship with Hill after the end of the wars, serving as his private secretary when the latter became

Commander-in-Chief of the Forces Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, later Commander-in-Chief, British Army, or just Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), was (intermittently) the title of the professional head of the English Army from 1660 to 1707 (the English Army, founded in 1645, wa ...

in 1828.

Military career

War service

Richard Egerton was born on 7 October 1783, the eighth son of Philip Egerton and as such a younger brother of Sir John Grey Egerton. Egerton joined the

on 1 December 1798, serving 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 89th Regiment of Foot. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 29 March 1800, joining the

29th Regiment of Foot The 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, the Worcestershire R ...

with which he served in North America. Egerton was subsequently 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 ...

on 28 September 1804, and on 8 November the following year transferred back to the 89th Foot. He fought in the

British invasions of the River Plate The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argenti ...

in 1807 with the regiment. Egerton transferred regiments again on 14 April 1808, joining the

34th Regiment of Foot The 34th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot to form the Border Regiment in 1881. History Early history The regime ...

. While in Britain he served as aide de camp to

Banastre Tarleton General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet (21 August 175415 January 1833) was a British military officer and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolutionary War. He lat ...

while the latter commanded the Severn Military District. Egerton then travelled with the regiment to serve in the

, arriving in July 1809. He first saw action at the

Battle of Bussaco The Battle of Buçaco () or Bussaco was fought on 27 September 1810 during the Peninsular War in the Portuguese mountain range of Serra do Buçaco, resulting in the defeat of French forces by Lord Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army. Havin ...

on 27 September the following year, before in July 1810 he was moved to serve as a

. Appointed deputy assistant adjutant general to the 2nd Division, he moved in the same position to the 4th Division in March 1811. In this role he fought at the

Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about sou ...

on 16 May, where he was wounded in action. Egerton continued with 4th Division until February 1812 when he returned to serve with the 34th. Egerton's return to his regiment was only brief, and in November the same year he returned to the staff, this time as aide de camp to

Sir Rowland Hill, passing up the opportunity of higher rank to remain on his staff. Egerton saw action at several subsequent battles, including the

Battle of the Pyrenees The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive (the author David Chandler recognises the 'battle' as an offensive) launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult from the Pyrénées region on Emperor Napoleon's order, ...

in July–August 1813 for his services at which he was promoted to brevet

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 ...

. Egerton continued with Hill for the rest of the Peninsular War, participating in the final engagement, the Battle of Toulouse, on 10 April 1814. When the

campaign began he returned to service, again as aide de camp to Hill, and fought at the

on 18 June 1815. On the same day he was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel, serving in the subsequent Army of Occupation. For his services in the wars he was awarded the

Military General Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Military General Service Medal (MGSM) was a campaign medal approved in 1847 and issued to officers and men of the British Army in 1848.Including officers and men of the King's German Legion, Brunswick Oels and Chasseurs Britanniqu ...

with clasps for eight battles.

Peace

Egerton continued in the army after the end of the wars. When Hill was appointed

in 1828 he brought Egerton with him to serve as his private secretary and first aide de camp. Egerton was subsequently promoted to brevet

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

on 10 January 1837 and in the 1838 Coronation Honours was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

. Through seniority he succeeded to major-general on 9 November 1846 before being appointed

colonel of the regiment Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below Brigadier (United Kingdom), brigadier, and above Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom), lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically ...

to the 46th Regiment of Foot on 24 January 1853. His final promotion, to lieutenant-general, occurred on 20 June 1854. Egerton appears in the painting '' The Waterloo Banquet'' and was invited to that annual event celebrating the battle at

Apsley House Apsley House is the London townhouse of the Dukes of Wellington. It stands alone at Hyde Park Corner, on the south-east corner of Hyde Park, facing towards the large traffic roundabout in the centre of which stands the Wellington Arch. It ...

until at least 1852. He and his wife Arabella, the sister of fellow army officer Lieutenant-Colonel

William Tomkinson Lieutenant Colonel William Tomkinson (18January 1790 – 1872) was a British Army officer who served during the Peninsular War and the Waterloo campaign. Early life The fourth son of Henry Tomkinson of Dorfold, Cheshire, his mother was Anne, ...

, lived with Hill in his final years, with Egerton acting as his private secretary and financial manager.Joanna Hill, ''Wellington's Right Hand: Rowland, Viscount Hill'' (The History Press, 1 May 2013) Egerton later moved to

Tarporley Tarporley is a large village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. The civil parish also contains the village of Rhuddall Heath. Tarporley is bypassed by the A49 and A51 roads. At the 2011 census, the population was 2,614. History Tarporl ...

, renting Arderne Hall and building an abbey

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

on what is now part of Portal Golf Club. He died on 18 November 1854 and is memorialised by a brass tablet within St Helen's Church, Tarporley.

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Egerton, Richard 34th Regiment of Foot officers 46th Regiment of Foot officers 1783 births 1854 deaths British Army personnel of the Peninsular War People of the Battle of Waterloo Recipients of the Waterloo Medal Companions of the Order of the Bath