Loftus William Otway

Sir Loftus William Otway
Loftus William Otway
Born	28 April 1775 Castle Otway, Tipperary
Died	7 June 1854 Grosvenor Square, London
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1796 to 1819
Rank	General
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars Irish Rebellion of 1798 • Battle of Vinegar Hill Napoleonic Wars • Battle of Sahagún • Battle of Benavente • Battle of Busaco • Battle of Albuera
Awards	Knighthood Companion of the Bath Knight of the Order of Charles III

General Sir Loftus William Otway, CB was an experienced and professional cavalry commander of British forces during the Peninsula War who saw extensive service under Sir John Moore in the Corunna Campaign and Wellington in the remainder of the campaign. He also worked training Portuguese troops and spent time serving in Ireland during the 1798 rebellion and Canada. Otway retired after the Peninsula War and was honoured several times for his war service by both the British and Spanish royal families.

Otway was born the fourth of five sons to Cooke and Elizabeth Otway of Castle Otway, Tipperary. The family had a strong military tradition, Cooke Otway was an officer in the local militia and Loftus's elder brother Robert Waller Otway later became an admiral and baronet. Otway joined the army aged 21 in 1796 during the French Revolutionary Wars, taking a post in the 5th Dragoon Guards as a cornet. Within months he had purchased advancement to lieutenant and was with the regiment when they were posted to Ireland in October 1796, prior to the outbreak of the 1798 Rebellion. Otway's service in quelling the uprising is not clear, but he was certainly present at the Battle of Vinegar Hill on 21 June 1798, when his unit was employed in riding down the panicking rebels at the collapse of the rebellion.

Otway continued to use family and financial influence to climb the ranks, becoming a captain in October 1798 and major in 1803 after the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars. In 1804, Otway transferred to the 8th Dragoons and spent time in Canada in the adjutant-generals office. Returning to Europe in 1807, Otway volunteered for service in Portugal and Spain with the 18th Light Dragoons and was attached to Sir Arthur Wellesley's army, although he did not see any action before the temporary peace treaty. Joining Sir John Moore's forces in Galicia, Otway's regiment was instrumental in covering its retreat to Corunna and was engaged in several cavalry engagements at Rueda, Valladolid, Sahagún and Benavente. In the course of these operations, Otway distinguished himself and captured a large quantity of enemy troops, including a French general.