John Le Marchant (British Army cavalry officer)

John Gaspard Le Marchant
John Gaspard Le Marchant
Born	9 February 1766 Amiens, France
Died	22 July 1812 (1812-07-23) (aged 46) Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1783 to 1812
Rank	British Army Major General
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars • Flanders Campaign Napoleonic Wars • Villagarcia • Salamanca Campaign

Major-General John Gaspard Le Marchant (9 February 1766 – 22 July 1812) was one of the finest British cavalry commanders of his generation; he was also an intellectual soldier who had a great influence on the efficient functioning of the army he served in. He was instrumental in the process which produced the first British military academy and staff college; and he saw active service in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Peninsular War.

Le Marchant was the son of an officer of dragoons, John Le Marchant, a member of an old Guernsey family; his mother, Marie, was the daughter of Count Hirzel de St. Gratien and a descendant of the celebrated French Protestant leader Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, from whom Le Marchant derived his middle name. Le Marchant was born at his maternal grandfather's house in Amiens. After leaving Dr Morgan's school in Bath characterised as 'one of the two greatest dunces that had ever been there' (the other being Sir Sidney Smith), Le Marchant reformed his character and was commissioned in a regiment of the Wiltshire Militia. He later, in 1783, transferred to the regular army and obtained an ensigncy in the 1st Regiment of Foot (The Royal Regiment or Royal Scots). A few years of duty in Ireland and Gibraltar followed and he then made his move into the cavalry, being commissioned into the 6th Dragoons (Iniskillings). In the autumn of 1789 Le Marchant was promoted to lieutenant in the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays), and in 1791 he was promoted to captain and command of a troop.

Le Marchant served as a brigade major during the disastrous Low Countries campaign of 1793-95, and for a time had command of his regiment as the most senior officer present. His practical experience in the field brought to Le Marchant's attention the many deficiencies of equipment and training the British cavalry suffered from. He was impressed by the Austrian cavalry who were operating alongside the British, and was particularly struck by the disparaging remark of an Austrian officer who thought that the British swordsmanship was "most entertaining" but reminded him of "someone chopping wood".