George St. Patrick Lawrence
Encyclopedia
General
Sir George St Patrick Lawrence (17 March 1804 — 16 November 1884) was an officer in the British Indian Army
.
and John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence
. His father, an Indian officer, led, with three other lieutenants, the storming of Seringapatam on 4 May 1799, and returned to England in 1809, after fifteen years' severe service.
George St Patrick Lawrence was born at Trincomalee, Ceylon, on 17 March 1804, and was educated at Foyle College, Derry
. His middle name derived from his birth on St Patrick's Day. In 1819 he entered Addiscombe College, on 5 May 1821 was appointed a cavalry cadet, on 15 January 1822 joined the Second Bengal Light Cavalry in Bengal
, and on 5 September 1825 was promoted to be adjutant of his regiment, a post which he held until September 1834. With his regiment he took part in the Afghan War of 1838, and was present at the storming of Ghuznee on 23 July 1839, and in the attempt to capture Dost Mahomed in his flight in August through the Bamian pass.
On 3 April 1830 Lawrence married Charlotte Isabella, daughter of Dr. Benjamin Browne (M.D. of the Bengal Medical Board). She died on 12 May 1878, having borne three sons and six daughters.
, Lawrence became political assistant to Sir William Hay Macnaghten
, the envoy of Afghanistan, and subsequently his military secretary, a post which he kept from September 1839 to the death of his chief. On the surrender of Dost Mahomed Khan, 3 November 1840, he was placed in the charge of Lawrence until he was sent to Calcutta. In the revolution at Cabul, in November 1841, Lawrence had many narrow escapes of his life, and on the surrender of the troops he was one of the four officers delivered up on 11 December 1841 as hostages for the performance of the stipulations. On 23 December, when Macnaghten and others were treacherously murdered by Akbar Khan, he was saved by the interposition of Mahomed Shah Khan.
In the retreat from Kabul, 6 January 1842, Lawrence had charge of the ladies and children, with whom he remained until 8 January, when he was again given up to Akbar Khan as a hostage. With the ladies and children he was imprisoned, and remained with them until their release on 17 September 1842. He owed his safety during this period to the high opinion which Akbar Khan
had of his character, and to his strict adherence to all the promises which he made to his captor. Ill-health obliged Lawrence to return to England in August 1843, and shortly after that date the East India Company awarded him ₤600 in testimony of their sense of his services in Afghanistan.
in October 1846 he was appointed an assistant political agent in the Punjab
, having charge over the important Rajputana
district. In the autumn of 1847 Lawrence, with only two thousand troops, engaged and defeated on two occasions large numbers of the hill men of the tribes on the Swat border. On the breaking out of the second Sikh War in 1848, Lawrence's great personal influence at Peshawur for some time kept his regiments faithful, but at last they went over to the enemy, and, on 25 October 1848 he was a prisoner in the hands of Chutter Singh, but was three times permitted to leave his captivity on parole.
With his wife and children he was released after the peace conquered at Guzerat, 22 February 1849 and received the thanks of both houses of parliament and of the governor-general for remaining at his post with such devotion. On 7 June 1849 he was promoted to be brevet lieutenant-colonel, and appointed deputy commissioner of Peshawur. In the capacity of political officer he, in the following November, accompanied the forces sent under General Bradshaw into the Eusofzye country, and was present at the capture of Pullee on the Swat border.
Again in February 1850, in command of militia, he went with Sir Charles Napier
to the forcing of the Kohat pass, and guided him through that defile
. In July 1850 he became political agent in Méwar, one of the Rajputana states, where he remained until 13 March 1857, when he succeeded his brother Henry Lawrence as resident or chief agent for the governor-general in the Rajputana states, and in April took up his residence in Abu. On the breaking out of the great Mutiny of 1857
he was named brigadier-general of all the forces in Rajputana
, and on the death of Colonel Dixon on 12 June 1857, he took chief military command. By his vigorous and decided action the arsenal of Ajmír was retained; a proclamation confirmed the native princes in their loyalty, and the Rajputana states were prevented from joining the revolt. Such outbreaks as did take place were successfully quelled, first by himself, and afterwards by Major-General Roberts
.
On 11 January 1865 he received a good-service pension of ₤100l a year; and on 24 May 1866 was created a Knight Commander
of the Order of the Star of India
. He also held the third class of the order of the Dooranee Empire
. He retired from the army on full pay on 29 October 1866, and was advanced to be Honourary Lt.-General on 11 January 1867.
He died at 20 Kensington Park Gardens, London, on 16 November 1884, aged 80.
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Sir George St Patrick Lawrence (17 March 1804 — 16 November 1884) was an officer in the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
.
Early life
Lawrence, third son of Lt.-Col. Alexander Lawrence (1764–1835), was elder brother of Sir Henry Montgomery LawrenceHenry Montgomery Lawrence
Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence was a British soldier and statesman in India, who died defending Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny.-Career:Lawrence was the brother of John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence and was born at Matara, Ceylon...
and John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence
John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence
John Laird Mair Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, GCB, GCSI, PC , known as Sir John Lawrence, Bt., between 1858 and 1869, was an Englishman who became a prominent British Imperial statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1864 to 1869.-Early life:Lawrence came from Richmond, North Yorkshire...
. His father, an Indian officer, led, with three other lieutenants, the storming of Seringapatam on 4 May 1799, and returned to England in 1809, after fifteen years' severe service.
George St Patrick Lawrence was born at Trincomalee, Ceylon, on 17 March 1804, and was educated at Foyle College, Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
. His middle name derived from his birth on St Patrick's Day. In 1819 he entered Addiscombe College, on 5 May 1821 was appointed a cavalry cadet, on 15 January 1822 joined the Second Bengal Light Cavalry in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, and on 5 September 1825 was promoted to be adjutant of his regiment, a post which he held until September 1834. With his regiment he took part in the Afghan War of 1838, and was present at the storming of Ghuznee on 23 July 1839, and in the attempt to capture Dost Mahomed in his flight in August through the Bamian pass.
On 3 April 1830 Lawrence married Charlotte Isabella, daughter of Dr. Benjamin Browne (M.D. of the Bengal Medical Board). She died on 12 May 1878, having borne three sons and six daughters.
Kabul
On returning to KabulKabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, Lawrence became political assistant to Sir William Hay Macnaghten
William Hay Macnaghten
Sir William Hay Macnaghten, 1st Baronet was a British civil servant in India, who played a major part in the First Anglo-Afghan War....
, the envoy of Afghanistan, and subsequently his military secretary, a post which he kept from September 1839 to the death of his chief. On the surrender of Dost Mahomed Khan, 3 November 1840, he was placed in the charge of Lawrence until he was sent to Calcutta. In the revolution at Cabul, in November 1841, Lawrence had many narrow escapes of his life, and on the surrender of the troops he was one of the four officers delivered up on 11 December 1841 as hostages for the performance of the stipulations. On 23 December, when Macnaghten and others were treacherously murdered by Akbar Khan, he was saved by the interposition of Mahomed Shah Khan.
In the retreat from Kabul, 6 January 1842, Lawrence had charge of the ladies and children, with whom he remained until 8 January, when he was again given up to Akbar Khan as a hostage. With the ladies and children he was imprisoned, and remained with them until their release on 17 September 1842. He owed his safety during this period to the high opinion which Akbar Khan
Akbar Khan
Amir Akbar Khan Amir Akbar Khan Amir Akbar Khan (1816 – 1846;, born as Mohammad Akbar Khan and famously known as Wazir Akbar Khan, was an Afghan Prince, a general, a tribal leader and Emir. He was active in the First Anglo-Afghan War, which lasted from 1839 to 1842...
had of his character, and to his strict adherence to all the promises which he made to his captor. Ill-health obliged Lawrence to return to England in August 1843, and shortly after that date the East India Company awarded him ₤600 in testimony of their sense of his services in Afghanistan.
Return to India
On his going back to IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in October 1846 he was appointed an assistant political agent in the Punjab
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
, having charge over the important Rajputana
Rajputana
Rājputāna was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. George Thomas was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana...
district. In the autumn of 1847 Lawrence, with only two thousand troops, engaged and defeated on two occasions large numbers of the hill men of the tribes on the Swat border. On the breaking out of the second Sikh War in 1848, Lawrence's great personal influence at Peshawur for some time kept his regiments faithful, but at last they went over to the enemy, and, on 25 October 1848 he was a prisoner in the hands of Chutter Singh, but was three times permitted to leave his captivity on parole.
With his wife and children he was released after the peace conquered at Guzerat, 22 February 1849 and received the thanks of both houses of parliament and of the governor-general for remaining at his post with such devotion. On 7 June 1849 he was promoted to be brevet lieutenant-colonel, and appointed deputy commissioner of Peshawur. In the capacity of political officer he, in the following November, accompanied the forces sent under General Bradshaw into the Eusofzye country, and was present at the capture of Pullee on the Swat border.
Again in February 1850, in command of militia, he went with Sir Charles Napier
Charles James Napier
General Sir Charles James Napier, GCB , was a general of the British Empire and the British Army's Commander-in-Chief in India, notable for conquering the Sindh Province in what is now Pakistan.- His genealogy :...
to the forcing of the Kohat pass, and guided him through that defile
Defile (geography)
Defile is a geographic term for a narrow pass or gorge between mountains or hills. It has its origins as a military description of a pass through which troops can march only in a narrow column or with a narrow front...
. In July 1850 he became political agent in Méwar, one of the Rajputana states, where he remained until 13 March 1857, when he succeeded his brother Henry Lawrence as resident or chief agent for the governor-general in the Rajputana states, and in April took up his residence in Abu. On the breaking out of the great Mutiny of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
he was named brigadier-general of all the forces in Rajputana
Rajputana
Rājputāna was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. George Thomas was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana...
, and on the death of Colonel Dixon on 12 June 1857, he took chief military command. By his vigorous and decided action the arsenal of Ajmír was retained; a proclamation confirmed the native princes in their loyalty, and the Rajputana states were prevented from joining the revolt. Such outbreaks as did take place were successfully quelled, first by himself, and afterwards by Major-General Roberts
Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts
Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, Bt, VC, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, KStJ, PC was a distinguished Indian born British soldier who regarded himself as Anglo-Irish and one of the most successful British commanders of the 19th century.-Early life:Born at Cawnpore, India, on...
.
Death
Up to this date Lawrence had received no decoration beyond the medals for the Punjaub and Indian campaigns, but on 18 May 1860 he was created a civil companion of the Bath. On 25 May 1861 he was gazetted major-general, and in December 1864 resigned his post in Rajputana, and ended his Indian career after a service of forty-three years. Both Sir Charles Napier and Lord Dalhousie had expressed their high regard for his character and achievements. »He is a right good soldier,« said the former, »and a right good fellow, and my opinion of him is high.«On 11 January 1865 he received a good-service pension of ₤100l a year; and on 24 May 1866 was created a Knight Commander
Knight Commander
Knight Commander is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant . The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the recipient to use the title 'Sir' or 'Dame' before his or her name...
of the Order of the Star of India
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
. He also held the third class of the order of the Dooranee Empire
Order of the Dooranee Empire
The Order of the Dooranee Empire was awarded to British field officers and above during the First Afghan War by Shah Shoojah-ool-Moolk of Afghanistan in gratitude for his restoration to the throne....
. He retired from the army on full pay on 29 October 1866, and was advanced to be Honourary Lt.-General on 11 January 1867.
He died at 20 Kensington Park Gardens, London, on 16 November 1884, aged 80.