Thomas Dundas (British Army officer)
Encyclopedia
Major-General
Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...

 Thomas Dundas (30 June 1750 – 3 June 1794) was a British military officer and Governor of Guadeloupe.

Military Service

Born the son of Thomas Dundas of Fingask, Dundas was educated at Edinburgh High School and entered the army in 1766, rising to Major of the 65th Foot. He was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for the Stewartry of Orkney & Shetland in 1771 retaining the seat until 1780. As Lieutenant-Colonel of the 80th Foot he saw action in the American War of Independence, serving under Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

 in the raid against Richmond 5–7 January 1781. Under Arnold & Phillips, he was present at the capture of Williamsburg 18 April, Blandford 25 April, the attack on Osborne’s wharf 27th, & Manchester 30th. Then he passed under the command of Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...

. He commanded the Left Wing at Green Spring
Battle of Green Spring
The Battle of Green Spring took place near Green Spring Plantation in James City County, Virginia during the American Revolutionary War. On July 6, 1781 United States Brigadier General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, leading the advance forces of the Marquis de Lafayette, was ambushed near the plantation by...

 6 July. With Tarleton
Banastre Tarleton
General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British soldier and politician.He is today probably best remembered for his military service during the American War of Independence. He became the focal point of a propaganda campaign claiming that he had fired upon surrendering Continental...

 he was bottled up by the Marquis de Choisy
Marquis de Choisy
Brig. Gen. Claude Gabriel marquis de Choisy was at the siege of Yorktown in command of Lauzun's Legion and Gen. George Weedon's Virginia militia, at Gloucester, Virginia, under the command of Rochambeau, opposite Banastre Tarleton.-Capture of Cracow:...

 at Gloucester during the Siege of Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...

 6–20 October. Assigned as joint commissioner for carrying out the capitulation, he was made Prisoner of War after the fall of Yorktown. Promoted Colonel 20 November 1782, after repatriation he was appointed to the board of commission in 1782 to examine claims for compensation to those "who having remained loyal to the mother country, had suffered in their rights, properties and profession".

Dundas married Lady Elizabeth Eleanora Home (d 1837), daughter of Alexander, ninth Earl Home, on 9 January 1784.

He was briefly Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
The Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown. The role of the Lieutenant Governor is to act as the de facto head of state in Guernsey and as liaison between the governments of Guernsey and the...

 in 1793. Promoted Major-General on 12th Oct 1793, after the outbreak of the Wars of the French Revolution he served in the West Indies, commanding the 2nd Brigade under Charles Grey
Charles Grey
-Real people:*Charles Grey, 7th Earl of Kent , Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire*Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey , British Army General*Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey , British Prime Minister, after whom Earl Grey tea is named...

 in Barbados 1794. He served in the 2nd Invasion of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

, February and commanded the military forces under John Jervis
John Jervis
John Jervis may refer to:* John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent , Royal Navy admiral* Sir John Jervis , British politician, Solicitor General, Attorney General and Privy Counsellor...

 in the invasion of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

, landing on 12 April and capturing Grand-Terre. After accepting the French surrender 20th he was made Governor of Guadeloupe, but died on 3 June of Yellow Fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....

 and was buried in the primary bastion of Fort Maltilde.

When the French later regained possession of the island Victor Hugues
Victor Hugues
Victor Hugues was a French politician and colonial administrator during the French Revolution, who governed Guadeloupe from 1794 to 1798, emancipating the island's slaves under orders from the National Convention.-Early life and appointment:Hugues was born in Marseille's salesmen family and was a...

issued a declaration on 10 December " That the body of Thomas Dundas, interred in Guadeloupe, shall be taken up and given as prey to the birds of the air." This aroused great outrage in England and prompted a memorial in St.Paul's Cathedral.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK