George Walpole (British Army officer)
Encyclopedia
Major-General The Honourable
George Walpole (20 June 1758 – May 1835), was a British soldier and politician. He gained distinction after suppressing the Maroon insurrection in Jamaica
in 1785. After entering Parliament in 1797, he served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents
headed by Lord Grenville.
, by Lady Rachel Cavendish (d. 1805), third daughter of William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire
. Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole, was his grandfather.
in the 12th Light Dragoons on 12 May 1777, and became lieutenant in the 9th Dragoons on 17 April 1780. He returned to the 12th Light Dragoons as captain-lieutenant on 10 December 1781, and exchanged to the 8th Light Dragoons on 13 August 1782. On 25 June 1785 he obtained a majority in the 13th Light Dragoons
, and became lieutenant-colonel of that regiment on 31 October 1792.
. The Trelawney maroons, who had risen, numbered fewer than seven hundred, but they had been joined by about four hundred runaway slaves, and the insurrection threatened to spread. The country was extremely difficult for regular troops, and two of the detachments sent against the maroons fell into ambushes, and their commanders (Colonels Sandford and Fitch) were killed. At the beginning of October Walpole was charged with the general conduct of the operations, and the governor — Lord Balcarres — gave him the local and temporary rank of major-general. By skilful dispositions he captured several of the maroon "cockpits" or stockades. On 24 October the governor wrote to the secretary of state: "General Walpole is going on vastly well. His figure and talents are well adapted for the service he is upon, and he has got the confidence of the militia and the country."
By 22 December Walpole had come to terms with the insurgents. They were to ask pardon, to leave their fastnesses and settle in any district assigned to them, and to give up the runaway slaves. On these conditions he promised that they should not be sent out of the island; and the terms were ratified by the governor. Only a few of the insurgents came in, and in the middle of January Walpole moved against them with a strong column, accompanied by dogs which had been brought from Cuba
. They then surrendered, and were sent down to Montego Bay; and in March the assembly and the governor decided to ship them to Nova Scotia
. Walpole strongly remonstrated against what he regarded as a breach of faith. He argued that the treaty might have been cancelled when the maroons failed to fulfil its terms, but that the governor had deliberately abstained from cancelling it. He declined a gift of five hundred guineas which the assembly voted for the purchase of a sword, and obtained leave to return to England
. His letter declining the sword was expunged from the minutes of the house (cf. Dallas, Hist. of the Maroons, 1803; Gardner, Hist. of Jamaica, 1873, pp. 232–6). He was made colonel
in the British Army
on 3 May 1796, but retired from the service before 1799.
, which he represented till 1806. He was a follower of Charles James Fox
, and voted for reform. He was George Tierney
's second in his duel with Pitt
on Putney Heath on 27 May 1798. When Fox came into office as Foreign Secretary, Walpole was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
(20 February 1806); but he did not retain this office long after Fox's death. He was made comptroller of cash in the excise office for the rest of his life. He was MP for Dungarvan
from 1807 till 1820, when he resigned his seat.
The Honourable
The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
George Walpole (20 June 1758 – May 1835), was a British soldier and politician. He gained distinction after suppressing the Maroon insurrection in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
in 1785. After entering Parliament in 1797, he served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
|The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has been a junior position in the British government since 1782, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs...
from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents
Ministry of All the Talents
The Ministry of All the Talents was a national unity government formed by William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 11 February 1806 after the death of William Pitt the Younger...
headed by Lord Grenville.
Background
Walpole was the third son of Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of OrfordHoratio Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford
Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford was a British Whig politician.Walpole was the eldest son and heir of the 1st Baron Walpole. In 1747, he was elected as Member of Parliament for King's Lynn and held the seat until 1757 when he inherited his father's barony of Walpole...
, by Lady Rachel Cavendish (d. 1805), third daughter of William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC was a British nobleman and Whig politician, the son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire and Hon. Rachel Russell....
. Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole, was his grandfather.
Military career
Walpole was commissioned as cornetCornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
in the 12th Light Dragoons on 12 May 1777, and became lieutenant in the 9th Dragoons on 17 April 1780. He returned to the 12th Light Dragoons as captain-lieutenant on 10 December 1781, and exchanged to the 8th Light Dragoons on 13 August 1782. On 25 June 1785 he obtained a majority in the 13th Light Dragoons
13th Light Dragoons
The 13th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army whose battle honours include Waterloo and The Charge of the Light Brigade. 1n 1922, the regiment was amalgamated with the 18th Royal Hussars, to form the 13th/18th Hussars.-Regimental history:British light dragoons were first raised in...
, and became lieutenant-colonel of that regiment on 31 October 1792.
Maroon insurrection in Jamaica, 1795
In 1795 Walpole went with the 13th Light Dragoons to the West Indies, and took a leading part in the suppression of the maroon insurrection in JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. The Trelawney maroons, who had risen, numbered fewer than seven hundred, but they had been joined by about four hundred runaway slaves, and the insurrection threatened to spread. The country was extremely difficult for regular troops, and two of the detachments sent against the maroons fell into ambushes, and their commanders (Colonels Sandford and Fitch) were killed. At the beginning of October Walpole was charged with the general conduct of the operations, and the governor — Lord Balcarres — gave him the local and temporary rank of major-general. By skilful dispositions he captured several of the maroon "cockpits" or stockades. On 24 October the governor wrote to the secretary of state: "General Walpole is going on vastly well. His figure and talents are well adapted for the service he is upon, and he has got the confidence of the militia and the country."
By 22 December Walpole had come to terms with the insurgents. They were to ask pardon, to leave their fastnesses and settle in any district assigned to them, and to give up the runaway slaves. On these conditions he promised that they should not be sent out of the island; and the terms were ratified by the governor. Only a few of the insurgents came in, and in the middle of January Walpole moved against them with a strong column, accompanied by dogs which had been brought from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. They then surrendered, and were sent down to Montego Bay; and in March the assembly and the governor decided to ship them to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. Walpole strongly remonstrated against what he regarded as a breach of faith. He argued that the treaty might have been cancelled when the maroons failed to fulfil its terms, but that the governor had deliberately abstained from cancelling it. He declined a gift of five hundred guineas which the assembly voted for the purchase of a sword, and obtained leave to return to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His letter declining the sword was expunged from the minutes of the house (cf. Dallas, Hist. of the Maroons, 1803; Gardner, Hist. of Jamaica, 1873, pp. 232–6). He was made colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
on 3 May 1796, but retired from the service before 1799.
Political career
In January 1797 Walpole was returned to Parliament for DerbyDerby (UK Parliament constituency)
Derby is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950. It was represented by two Members of...
, which he represented till 1806. He was a follower of Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
, and voted for reform. He was George Tierney
George Tierney
George Tierney PC was an English Whig politician.-Background and education:Born in Gibraltar, Tierney was the son of Thomas Tierney, a wealthy Irish merchant of London, who was living in Gibraltar as prize agent. He was sent to Eton and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he took the degree of Law in 1784...
's second in his duel with Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
on Putney Heath on 27 May 1798. When Fox came into office as Foreign Secretary, Walpole was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
|The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has been a junior position in the British government since 1782, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs...
(20 February 1806); but he did not retain this office long after Fox's death. He was made comptroller of cash in the excise office for the rest of his life. He was MP for Dungarvan
Dungarvan (UK Parliament constituency)
Dungarvan was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which from 1801 to 1885 returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
from 1807 till 1820, when he resigned his seat.