James Leith (British Army officer)

Sir James Leith
Sir James Leith, General and Governor of Leeward Islands, by Charles Picart.
Born	(1763-08-08)8 August 1763 Leith Hall, Kennethmont, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Died	16 October 1816(1816-10-16) (aged 53) Barbados
Buried at	Westminster Abbey, London
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1780–1816
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	21st Regiment of Foot 81st Regiment of Foot (Aberdeenshire Highland Regiment) 50th Regiment of Foot
Commands held	Independent Company of Foot Aberdeen Fencibles 13th Battalion of Reserve 5th Infantry Division Captain-General and Governor of the Leeward Islands
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars  • Siege of Toulon  • Irish Rebellion of 1798 Napoleonic Wars  • Peninsular War  • Walcheren Campaign  • Invasion of Guadeloupe
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Army Gold Cross Knight Commander of the Royal Military Order of the Tower and Sword (Portugal) Grand Cordon of the Royal Military Order of Merit (France)
Relations	Alexander Leith Hay (brother) Andrew Leith Hay (nephew)

Lieutenant-General Sir James Leith GCB (8 August 1763 – 16 October 1816) was a Scottish soldier who served in the British Army, commanding the 5th Division in the Duke of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army at several critical battles during the Peninsular War between 1810 and 1813.

He was born at Leith Hall, the third son of John Leith and his wife Harriot (née Steuart). His father was shot and killed during a drunken argument when he was only four months old. He was initially educated at home by a private tutor, before attending the grammar school at Elgin, and Marischal College in Aberdeen, and after deciding to join the army was sent to a military academy at Lille.

Leith entered the Army in 1780, first serving as an ensign in the 21st Regiment of Foot. He soon became a lieutenant in the 81st Regiment of Foot (Aberdeenshire Highland Regiment), in which he was made captain on 3 December 1782.

At the end of the American War in 1783 his regiment was disbanded, and he transferred to the 50th Regiment of Foot, stationed at Gibraltar. There he served as aide-de-camp to the governor Sir Robert Boyd, and later as ADC to General Charles O'Hara, whom he accompanied to Toulon during the British occupation of 1793. After O'Hara was taken prisoner, Leith served on the staff of Major-General Sir David Dundas, until the city was evacuated in December, when he returned to Gibraltar. Leith was appointed Town Major of Gibraltar on 15 March 1794, and was appointed to command of an Independent Company of Foot on 19 March.