Hugh Henry Mitchell (1770-1817)
Encyclopedia
Colonel
Colonel (UK)
Colonel is a rank of the British forces, ranking below Brigadier, and above Lieutenant Colonel. British Colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond shaped pips below a crown...

 Sir Hugh Henry Mitchell, CB
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 mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 (9 June 1770 – 20 April 1817) was a British military leader who fought in several decisive battles during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

, including the Battle of Salamanca
Battle of Salamanca
The Battle of Salamanca saw Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish armies under the Duke of Wellington defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces among the hills around Arapiles south of Salamanca, Spain on July 22, 1812 during the Peninsular War....

 and the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...

.

Career

Mitchell was commissioned in January 1782 with the rank of Ensign, in the service of the 101st Regiment of Foot
101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Bengal Fusiliers)
The 101st Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army from 1862 to 1881 but with a previous history in the Bengal Army going back to 1652.-History:...

. He gained the rank of Lieutenant in June 1783. He served in Canada from 1786 to 1796. He fought in the Egyptian Campaign in 1801. He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in December 1805 in the service of the 26th Regiment of Foot, followed by Major on 17 March 1804 and Lieutenant-Colonel on 12 December 1805. He commanded a batallion of the 26th Regiment of Foot from 1805 to 1811. He commanded the 51st Regiment of Foot
51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot
The 51st Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment. During the Childers Reforms it was united with the 105th Regiment of Foot to form the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry....

 from 13 June 1811 until 1814, throughout the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...

. He gained the rank of Colonel on 4 June 1813.

In the Waterloo campaign Mitchell commanded the 4th Brigade in the 4th Division, consisting of the 3rd batallion of the 14th foot, the 1st batallion of 23rd fusiliers, and the 1st batallion of the 51st light infantry, in toto about 2000 officers and men. "As the light was beginning to fail (on 17 June 1815) Colonel Mitchell led his brigade to the position ... on the extreme right near Braine-l'Alleud
Braine-l'Alleud
Braine-l'Alleud is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant, about 20 kilometers south of Brussels. The Braine-l'Alleud municipality includes the former municipalities of Braine-l'Alleud proper, Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, and Lillois-Witterzée. It also includes...

, and here the regiments bivouaced for the night, the rain continuing to fall in torrents." Mitchell's brigade was engaged early in the battle when the French attacked Hougoumont Farm
Hougoumont
Hougoumont was a fortified farm held by Wellington's army in the Battle of Waterloo. It may also refer to:* Hougoumont , a convict ship;...

."

He was conferred with the honours of Companion of the Order of the Bath
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 mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 on 4 June 1815.

He died on 20 April 1817 at age 46 at Queen Anne Street, London, England.

Family

Mitchell married Lady Harriet Isabella Somerset, daughter of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort
Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort
Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort KG was the only son of Charles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort and his wife, Elizabeth Berkeley. Styled Marquess of Worcester from 1746, on his father's death on 28 October 1756, he succeeded him as Duke of Beaufort.He succeeded to the title of 13th Lord...

 and Elizabeth Boscawen, on 3 July 1804. The children of Colonel Hugh Henry Mitchell and Lady Harriet Isabella Somerset are:
  • Margaret Harriet Isabella Mitchell (4 June 1806 - 29 June 1876), who married, on 15 January 1833, the Rev. Thomas Walpole, Canon of Winchester Cathedral
    Winchester Cathedral
    Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...

    , elder brother of Home Secretary Spencer Horatio Walpole
    Spencer Horatio Walpole
    Spencer Horatio Walpole, QC, LLD was a British Conservative politician who served three times as Home Secretary in the administrations of Lord Derby.-Background and education:...

    , and had issue.

  • Charlotte Gertrude Elizabeth Mitchell (6 December 1807 - 4 August 1876), who married, on 18 April 1825, John Leveson-Gower
    Leveson-Gower
    Leveson-Gower is the name of a powerful noble family.*Several members of the family:**Baronets of Sittenham**Barons Gower**Earls Gower**Earls Granville**Earls of Sutherland**Marquesses of Stafford...

     and had issue.

  • Col. Hugh Andrew Robert Mitchell (12 September 1816 - 21 August 1857), of the Grenadier Guards
    Grenadier Guards
    The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...

    , who married, on 30 July 1844, Sarah Lowndes and had issue.

Links

  • http://www.thepeerage.com/p1213.htm#i12129
  • http://www.wtj.com/archives/wellington/1815_06f.htm
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