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 ...

William Anson McCleverty (11 February 1806 – 6 October 1897) was a British soldier who served as the Commander-in-Chief of the

Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations manda ...

from 1867 to 1871.

Early life

Born the son of Major General Robert McCleverty, McCleverty was commissioned in the 48th Regiment of Foot in 1824.

Military career

McCleverty served in campaigns against the Maharajah of

Coorg Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State ...

(1834) and in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

during the Wanganui Campaign (1847). He lived in New Zealand from 1846 to 1857, and later returned to New Zealand for another period. Promoted to major-general, he became commander of Madras district in 1860, General Officer Commanding South-Eastern District in October 1866 and Commander-in-Chief of the

in November 1867 before retiring from that post in March 1871. From 1868 to 1875 he held the colonelcy of the

108th (Madras Infantry) Regiment of Foot The 108th Regiment of Foot (Madras Infantry) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. However, it was raised initially as part of the Madras Army, by the East India Company (EIC) in 1766. In the aftermath of the Indian Rebellion (1857), the B ...

from which he transferred as colonel in 1875 to the 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot, continuing on its amalgamation in 1881 as colonel of the 1st Battalion of the resultant Northamptonshire Regiment, a position he held until his death. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

on 17 March 1876. McCleverty died on 6 October 1897 at the age of ninety-one.

Art

McCleverty painted in watercolours and several of his works are held by the Alexander Turnbull Library in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and the National Library of Australia in Canberra.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:McCleverty, William Anson 1806 births 1897 deaths Commanders-in-chief of Madras Members of the Madras Legislative Council 48th Regiment of Foot officers British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars Military leaders of the New Zealand Wars 19th-century New Zealand military personnel Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council (1841–1853) British Army generals