General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Adolphus John Dalrymple, 2nd Baronet (3 February 1784 – 3 March 1866) 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 and politician.

Early life

Aldolphus Dalrymple was the eldest son of Sir Hew Whiteford Dalrymple and his wife Frances ''nee'' Leighton, and was born in

St Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropoli ...

. At the time of his birth his father was an officer in the

1st Foot Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

. Adolphus attended

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

from 1796 to 1799.

Military career

Dalrymple's father was able to use his social and military connections to advance his son's career in the army. In 1799 Sir Hew was

Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey The lieutenant governor of Guernsey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown. The role of the lieutenant governor is to act as the ''de facto'' head of state in Guern ...

and he obtained a commission for Adolphus, than aged 15, in the

55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot The 55th Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment, raised in 1755. After 1782 it had a county designation added, becoming known as the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 34th (Cu ...

that was stationed on the island. In the following year he was promoted to full lieutenant in the

37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot The 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in Ireland in February 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot to become the Hampshire ...

of which his father was colonel, and was appointed his '' aide de camp''. In February 1801 he exchanged to the

1st King's Dragoon Guards The 1st King's Dragoon Guards was an armoured cavalry and dragoon guard regiment in the British Army. The regiment was raised by Sir John Lanier in 1685 as the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse, named in honour of Queen Mary, consort of King James ...

, then stationed in England. He quickly obtained another staff appointment as ''aide de camp'' to Lieutenant-General Sir James Craig, commanding the Eastern District of England. He was promoted to captain in the

18th Light Dragoons The 18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first formed in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War before being amalgamated with the 13th Hussars to form the 13th/18th Roy ...

at the beginning of 1803, but had returned to Craig's staff within six months. He remained as the general's ''aide de camp'' until May 1806, serving in Malta, Sicily, and Naples. In June 1806 he was appointed military secretary to his father, by then Lieutenant-Governor of Gibraltar. Sir Hew was subsequently appointed to command British forces in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

fighting the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, but signed the

Convention of Cintra The Convention of Cintra (or Sintra) was an agreement signed on 30 August 1808, during the Peninsular War. By the agreement, the defeated French were allowed to evacuate their troops from Portugal without further conflict. The convention was sig ...

in August 1808 that allowed the defeated French safe passage out of the country. The signing of the convention by his father was seen as a major humiliation by the British public, and Adolphus's military career suffered. Although he was able to purchase promotions as a major in the 3rd (East Kent) Regiment of Foot and the

19th Light Dragoons The 19th Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army created in 1781 for service in British India. The regiment served in India until 1806, and in North America during the War of 1812, and was disbanded in Britain in 1821. History ...

and as a lieutenant colonel in the 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot, he never saw active service again and transferred to the half pay list in 1814.

Parliamentary career

In 1812 Dalrymple married Anne, daughter of

Sir James Graham, 1st Baronet, of Kirkstall Sir James Graham, 1st Baronet (18 November 1753 – 21 March 1825) was a British Tory (British political party), Tory politician. He was elected as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Cockermouth (UK Parliament ...

, member of parliament for

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

. His father-in-law was able to assist him in obtaining a seat in the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

in 1817 when a vacancy arose at Weymouth and Melcombe Regis. He lost the seat, however, at the 1818 general election. A year later he obtained another seat at Appleby, where his father-in-law was

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

of the borough. In 1826 he changed constituencies to become MP for Haddington Burghs, succeeding a relative,

Sir Hew Dalrymple-Hamilton, 4th Baronet Sir Hew Dalrymple-Hamilton, 4th Baronet (1774 – 23 February 1834) was a Scottish politician. Early life He was the eldest son of Sir Hew Dalrymple, 3rd Baronet. He succeeded his father in February 1800 and took the additional surname of Hamilt ...

. In 1830 his father, who had been created a baronet in 1815, died. Adolphus accordingly inherited the title to become the 2nd Baronet. In the same year he was promoted to colonel and appointed ''aide de camp'' to

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

. He lost his Commons seat at the 1832 general election. In

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 ...

he returned to parliament as one of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

's two MPs. In the same year he became ''aide de camp'' to the new monarch,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. He held the post until 1841, in which year he also lost his Commons seat.

Later life

Although no longer active in the army, Dalrymple continued to receive promotions: to major general in 1841, lieutenant general in 1851 and general in 1860. He had a number of homes: High Mark in

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...

, which he had inherited from his father, a house in

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

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 ...

, another in Brunswick Terrace,

and Delrow House,

Aldenham Aldenham is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the borough of Hertsmere in Hertfordshire, England. The parish includes Radlett and Letchmore Heath as well as Aldenham village itself. The village of Aldenham lies north-eas ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. He died at his Hertfordshire home in 1866 aged 82. As he had no children, the baronetcy expired on his death. He was buried in the family vault at St John's Church, Aldenham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalrymple, Adolphus

502 502 may refer to: *502 (number), a number *AD 502 __NOTOC__ Year 502 (Roman numerals, DII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rufius Magnus Faustus Av ...

Adolphus Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo, and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name with German origins. The name is a compound derived from the Old High German ''Athalwolf'' (or ''Hadulf''), a composition of ''athal'', or ''adal'', mean ...

1784 births 1866 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1837–1841 People educated at Harrow School 55th Regiment of Foot officers 37th Regiment of Foot officers 1st King's Dragoon Guards officers 18th Royal Hussars officers Royal American Regiment officers Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) officers 19th Light Dragoons officers British Army generals People from Marylebone Politicians from the City of Westminster Military personnel from the City of Westminster People from Aldenham 19th-century British Army personnel