General Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Bt GCB GCMG FRS |
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Sir Howard Douglas
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3rd Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick | |
In office 1824–1831 |
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Monarch |
George IV William IV |
Preceded by | George Stracey Smyth |
Succeeded by | Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet |
Member of Parliament for Liverpool |
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In office 1842–1847 |
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Preceded by | Cresswell Cresswell and Dudley Ryder |
Succeeded by | Thomas Bernard Birch and Dudley Ryder |
Personal details | |
Born |
Gosport, England |
23 January 1776
Died | 9 November 1861 Tunbridge Wells, England |
(aged 85)
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Anne Dundas (m. 1799) |
Relations | Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Douglas (father), Vice-Admiral Sir William Henry Douglas (brother) |
Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Fellow of the Royal Society |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Great Britain |
Service/branch | Army |
Years of service | 1794-1861 |
Rank | General |
Battles/wars | Napoleonic War |
General Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Baronet GCB GCMG FRS (23 January 1776 – 9 November 1861) was a British military officer born in Gosport, England, the younger son of Admiral Sir Charles Douglas, and a descendant of the Earls of Morton. He was a British general, author, colonial administrator and Member of Parliament for Liverpool.
Following the death of his mother, Sarah Wood Douglas, in 1779, Howard was raised by his aunt, Helena Baillie, near Edinburgh. As a boy, he wanted to join the Royal Navy and follow in the footsteps of his father and older brother. His father agreed to take him to sea when he was thirteen years of age, but Sir Charles died of apoplexy while in Edinburgh just after he arrived to collect Howard in 1789. Howard's guardians thought it better that he serve in the Army instead, and he entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in 1790. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in 1794, becoming Lieutenant a few months later.
In 1795 he was shipwrecked while in charge of a draft for Canada, and lived with his men for a whole winter on the Labrador coast. Soon after his return to England in 1799 he was made a Captain-Lieutenant. In his regimental service during the next few years, he was attached to all branches of the artillery in succession, becoming Captain in 1804, after which he was placed on half-pay to serve at the Royal Military College, then located at High Wycombe. He taught military strategy and was an authority on military and naval engineering. He served intermittently as commandant of the senior department and as inspector general of instructions at the Royal Military College. In 1804, Douglas was appointed to a majority in the York Rangers, a corps immediately afterwards reduced. He remained on the roll of its officers until promoted Major-General. The senior department of the RMC at High Wycombe, of which he was in charge, was the forerunner of the Staff College. Douglas was promoted brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in 1806. He served in 1808-1809 in the Peninsular War and was present at the Battle of Corunna, after which he took part in the Walcheren Campaign.