Colquhoun Grant (British cavalry general)
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General Sir John Colquhoun Grant KCB
(1764-1835) was a British soldier.
. He returned to Spain in January 1813, in command of a cavalry brigade; serving in this capacity, with one interruption, until the end of the campaign. Wellington was less than impressed with the performance of Grant's hussar brigade at the Battle of Vittoria and Grant was eventually replaced in command. However, Grant's political influence meant that he soon returned to the Peninsula to take over command of the light dragoon brigade of Robert Ballard Long
. He was appointed KCB
in 1814. At Waterloo
Grant commanded the 5th Cavalry Brigade, consisting of the 7th and 15th Hussars with the 13th Light Dragoons attached, which was stationed in the centre of the allied position; during the battle he had five horses shot under him. Grant was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1830, and he served as a Tory Member of Parliament
(MP) for the rotten borough of Queenborough
from 1831
until the borough was disenfranchised under the Reform Act 1832
.
Grant was a groom of the bedchamber to Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland
, later King of Hanover. He was reputed to have been the strongest man in the British Army, and was given the nickname "The Black Giant."
He was appointed colonel of the 15th Hussars in 1827, succeeding the Duke of Cumberland, a post he held until his death.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(1764-1835) was a British soldier.
Military career
Sir Colquhoun Grant in joined the 36th Regiment as an ensign in 1793, exchanging (some years later) to the cavalry (25th Light Dragoons), with which he served at Seringapatam, but returning to the infantry in 1802 to command the 72nd regiment, which he led for six years. He exchanged to the 15th Hussars in 1808, and took part in Sir John Moore's expedition, being wounded at SahagunBattle of Sahagún
The Battle of Sahagún was a cavalry clash in which the 15th Light Dragoons defeated two regiments of French cavalry during the Corunna Campaign of the Peninsular War. One of the French regiments lost so heavily that it was subsequently disbanded...
. He returned to Spain in January 1813, in command of a cavalry brigade; serving in this capacity, with one interruption, until the end of the campaign. Wellington was less than impressed with the performance of Grant's hussar brigade at the Battle of Vittoria and Grant was eventually replaced in command. However, Grant's political influence meant that he soon returned to the Peninsula to take over command of the light dragoon brigade of Robert Ballard Long
Robert Ballard Long
Lieutenant-General Robert Ballard Long was an officer of the British and Hanoverian Armies who despite extensive service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars never managed to achieve high command due to his abrasive manner with his superiors and his alleged tactical ineptitude...
. He was appointed KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in 1814. At Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
Grant commanded the 5th Cavalry Brigade, consisting of the 7th and 15th Hussars with the 13th Light Dragoons attached, which was stationed in the centre of the allied position; during the battle he had five horses shot under him. Grant was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1830, and he served as a Tory Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for the rotten borough of Queenborough
Queenborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Queenborough was a rotten borough situated on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.From 1572 until it was abolished by the great reform act of 1832, it returned two Members of Parliament. The franchise was vested in the freemen of the town, of whom there were more than 300. Its electorate was therefore one...
from 1831
United Kingdom general election, 1831
The 1831 general election in the United Kingdom saw a landslide win by supporters of electoral reform, which was the major election issue. As a result it was the last unreformed election, as the Parliament which resulted ensured the passage of the Reform Act 1832. Polling was held from 28 April to...
until the borough was disenfranchised under the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
.
Grant was a groom of the bedchamber to Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland
Ernest Augustus I of Hanover
Ernest Augustus I was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death. He was the fifth son and eighth child of George III, who reigned in both the United Kingdom and Hanover...
, later King of Hanover. He was reputed to have been the strongest man in the British Army, and was given the nickname "The Black Giant."
He was appointed colonel of the 15th Hussars in 1827, succeeding the Duke of Cumberland, a post he held until his death.
Reference
- Wood, Evelyn, Sir, (1895) Cavalry in the Waterloo Campaign, London, S. Low, Marston, and Company.