George Walpole (British Army officer)
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The Honourable George Walpole |
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| Joint Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
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In office 1806–1807 |
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| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | The Lord Grenville |
| Preceded by | Robert Ward |
| Succeeded by | Viscount FitzHarris |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 June 1758 |
| Died | May 1835 |
| Nationality | British |
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 1795. 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.
Walpole was the third son of Horatio Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, by Lady Rachel Cavendish (d. 1805), third daughter of William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire. Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole, was his grandfather.
Walpole was commissioned as cornet 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.
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 Jamaica. 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."
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