Lord Lake
| Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 27 February 1744 Harrow, Middlesex, Great Britain |
| Died | 20 February 1808 (aged 63) London |
| Allegiance |
.svg){kind=small} Great Britain United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1758–1808 |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars |
American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Irish Rebellion of 1798 Second Anglo-Maratha War |
General Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake (27 July 1744 – 20 February 1808) was a British general. He commanded British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and later served as Commander-in-Chief of the military in British India.
Lake entered the foot guards in 1758, becoming lieutenant (captain in the army) in 1762, captain (lieutenant-colonel) in 1776, major in 1784, and lieutenant colonel in 1792, by which time he was a general officer in the army. He served with his regiment in Germany between 1760 and 1762, and with a composite battalion in the Battle of Yorktown of 1781. After this he was equerry to the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV.
In 1790, he became a major-general, and in 1793 was appointed to command the Guards Brigade in the Duke of York and Albany's army in Flanders during the French Revolutionary Wars. He was in command at the successful Battle of Lincelles on 18 August 1793, and served on the continent (except for a short time when seriously ill) until April 1794. He later sold his lieutenant-colonelcy in the guards, and became colonel of the 53rd Regiment of Foot and governor of Limerick in Ireland. In 1797 he was promoted lieutenant-general.
In December 1796 he was appointed commander in Ulster and issued a proclamation ordering the surrender of all arms by the civil population, during which time he was 'untroubled by legal restraints or by his troops' violent actions'. Historians have generally seen Lake's Dragooning of Ulster in 1797 as effective in disarming and crippling the Society of United Irishmen in that province, although his effectiveness has been questioned. Lake succeeded Sir Ralph Abercromby as commander-in-chief of British troops in Ireland in April 1798 and turned his attention to Leinster, where 'public floggings and torture of suspected rebels became widespread and added to the general atmosphere of terror'. Rather than cowing the province into submission, 'his crude methods probably contributed to the outbreak of insurrection' in May 1798. Lake continued to deal harshly with opposition, and issued orders to take no prisoners during the rebellion.
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