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 Thomas Montagu Steele (11 May 1820,

Guilsborough Guilsborough is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 882 people, reducing to 692 at the 2011 Census. It is at the centre of an area of rural villages betw ...

, Northamptonshire – 25 February 1890 Frimley Park, Farnborough) was a British army officer.

Life

As the eldest son of Major-General Thomas Steele and Lady Elizabeth Montagu, second daughter of the fifth duke of Manchester, he attended

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, before being commissioned 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 64th foot in January 1838. Exchanging into the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

on 20 July that year, he served as aide-de-camp to the governor of

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

(1842–48) rose 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 ...

in 1844,

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 ...

later that year and brevet lieutenant-colonel in 1851. 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 ...

in 1854, he served as Lord Raglan and his successor's military secretary (1854–1855, apart from 5 July to 6 August 1855 when Steele served as assistant adjutant general – in that role he served at the battles of the Alma,

Balaklava Balaklava ( Ukrainian and , , ) is a settlement on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol. It is an administrative center of Balaklavsky District that used to be part of the Crimean Oblast before it was transferred to Sevast ...

Inkerman Inkerman (; ; ) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is '' de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but ''de jure'' within the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within Ukraine. It lies 5 kilometres (3 miles ...

and

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

, being mentioned in dispatches). His rewards for his

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

service were promotion to brevet colonel (1854) and aide-de-camp to

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 ...

(1855), appointment as a

commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(1855), the Order of the Mejidiye (third class), the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(fifth class), and the order of St Maurice and St Lazarus (second class). He married his first wife Isabel Fitzgerald in 1856 and, on her death 2 years later, he remarried in 1865 to the American Rosalie Malvina McCarty of New York. Steele was promoted to the substantive 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 ...

in 1860 and the substantive rank of lieutenant colonel in 1862 before retiring to half pay on 24 November 1863. He was promoted to major-general in 1865 and then commanded the troops in the

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

district (1 April 1872 – 31 March 1874). Promoted to

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 norma ...

in 1874, he commanded the Aldershot Division (14 April 1875 – 30 June 1880) and, having been promoted to full

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 ...

in 1877, he commanded the British forces in Ireland (1880–85), finally retiring in 1887. He died in 1890 and was survived by his second wife.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Thomas Montagu 1820 births 1890 deaths Military personnel from Northamptonshire 61st Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the Crimean War Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland British Army generals Coldstream Guards officers Gloucestershire Regiment officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie Members of the Privy Council of Ireland