General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Sir Thomas Simson Pratt, (1797 – 2 February 1879) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

officer. He served in the First Anglo-Chinese War (1839–1841), in India from 1843 to 1855 where he was deputy adjutant-general at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

, and was commander of the British Forces in Australia from 1856 to 1861. He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 31 May 1865, and to full general eight years later. He was commander of the British Forces in New Zealand from 1860 to 1861, and was on the

Executive Council Executive Council may refer to: Government * Executive Council (Commonwealth countries), a constitutional organ that exercises executive power and advises the governor * Executive Council of Bern, the government of the Swiss canton of Bern * Ex ...

. He commanded during the

First Taranaki War The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from Mar ...

, but as he realised the doubtful validity of the Waitara Purchase (the main cause of the war), he disagreed with Governor

Gore Browne General Gore Browne (c. 1764 – 12 January 1843) was a British Army officer who became Lieutenant-Governor of Plymouth. Military career Browne was commissioned as an ensign in the 35th Regiment of Foot on 5 July 1780. He became commanding offi ...

, and his military action was ridiculed by the local settlers. He was created KCB for his services in New Zealand by the British Government.

Biography

Pratt, born in 1797, was son of Captain James Pratt, by Anne, daughter of William Simson, and was educated at

St. Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He was gazetted to an ensigncy in the

26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot The 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the Scots Army and subsequently a Scottish infantry regiment of the British Army, active from 1689 to 1881. Although the regiment took the name of its first colonel as The Earl o ...

on 2 February 1814, and served in Holland in the same year as a volunteer with the

56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot The 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment in the British Army, active from 1755 to 1881. It was originally raised in Northumbria as the 58th Regiment, and renumbered the 56th the following year when two senior regiments we ...

. He was present at the attack on Merxem on 2 February and the subsequent bombardment of Antwerp. He purchased his captaincy on 17 September 1825 and was with the 26th foot in the First Anglo-Chinese War. He commanded the land forces in the

Second Battle of Chuenpi The Second Battle of Chuenpi () was fought between British and Chinese forces in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong province, China, on 7January 1841 during the First Opium War. The British launched an amphibious attack at the Humen strait (Bogu ...

on 7 January 1841 and at the

Battle of the Bogue The Battle of the Bogue () was fought between British and Chinese forces in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong province, China, on 23–26 February 1841 during the First Opium War. The British launched an amphibious attack at the Humen strait ...

on 26 February. In the attacks on

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

from 24 May to 1 June, he was in command of his regiment, and was present also at the demonstration before

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. ...

, and at the signing of the

Treaty of Nanking The Treaty of Nanjing was the peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–1842) between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842. It was the first of what the Chinese later termed the Unequal Treaties. In the wa ...

on board HMS ''Cornwallis''. On 28 August 1841, he was gazetted lieutenant-colonel, and from 5 September 1843 to 23 October 1855 was deputy adjutant-general at Madras. He was made a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as ...

(CB) on 14 October 1841. From 1856 to 1861, he was in command of the forces in Australasia, based in Melbourne, with the rank of major-general. During 1860–61, he was in New Zealand, conducting the war against the Maori. On his return to Australia he commanded the forces in Victoria until May 1862, and was then appointed to the colonelcy of 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 R ...

, which he held until his death. He was promoted to Knight Commander of the

(KCB) on 16 July 1861, being publicly invested with the ribbon and badge by Sir

Henry Barkly Sir Henry Barkly (24 February 1815 – 20 October 1898) was a British politician, colonial governor and patron of the sciences. Early life and education Born on 24 February 1815 at Highbury, Middlesex (now London), he was the eldest son o ...

, governor of Victoria, on 15 April 1862, which was the first ceremony of the kind performed in Australia. He was advanced to the rank of general on 26 May 1873. He died in England on 2 February 1879 after suffering a stroke during the birthday party of a fellow army general, Sam Campbell. He had married Frances Agnes in 1827, second daughter of John S. Cooper. They had seven sons, James Lisson, Thomas Arthur Cooper, Francis Edward, Robert Torrens, Sisson Cooper, Chalmers and William Simson, and a daughter, Anne Maria, who became a botanist in 1860 and she married Sir Henry Barkly, then

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and ...

, Australia.

References

Sources

Biography in the 1966 ''Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Volume 1, 1990Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, 1974
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Thomas Simson 1797 births 1879 deaths 56th Regiment of Foot officers Alumni of the University of St Andrews British Army generals British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars British military personnel of the First Opium War British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars Cameronians officers Military leaders of the New Zealand Wars Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath