John Fox Burgoyne

Sir John Burgoyne, Bt
Lieutenant General Sir John Fox Burgoyne, GCB, photo by Roger Fenton, 1855
Born	24 July 1782
Died	7 October 1871 (aged 89) Kensington, London
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1798–1868
Rank	Field Marshal
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars Peninsular War War of 1812 Crimean War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Field Marshal Sir John Fox Burgoyne, 1st Baronet GCB (24 July 1782 – 7 October 1871) was a British Army officer. After taking part in the Siege of Malta during the French Revolutionary Wars, he saw action under Sir John Moore and then under the Duke of Wellington in numerous battles of the Peninsular War, including the Siege of Badajoz and the Battle of Vitoria. He served under Sir Edward Pakenham as chief engineer during the War of 1812. He went on to act as official advisor to Lord Raglan during the Crimean War advocating the Bay of Kalamita as the point of disembarkation for allied forces and recommending a Siege of Sevastopol from the south side rather than a coup de main, so consigning the allied forces to a winter in the field in 1854.

Born the illegitimate son of General John Burgoyne and the opera singer Susan Caulfield, Burgoyne was brought up by the 12th Earl of Derby (a nephew of his father's late wife) following his father's early death. Educated at Eton College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 29 August 1798. Promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1800, he took part in the Siege of Malta in Autumn 1800 during the French Revolutionary Wars before becoming aide-de-camp to General Henry Fox. Promoted again, this time to second captain on 18 March 1805, he took part in the capture of Alexandria in February 1807 and the subsequent occupation of Rosetta in April 1807.