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Duncan Cameron (general)
Encyclopedia
General
Sir Duncan Alexander Cameron GCB
(20 May 1808 – 8 June 1888) was a British Army officer who fought in the Crimean War
(1853–1856), commanded troops during part of the New Zealand Land Wars
and was Governor of the Royal Military College Sandhurst from 1868 to 1875.
officer (lieutenant 1826, captain 1833, major 1839, and colonel 1854).
He was awarded Officer of the Legion of Honour, received the order of the Medjidie (1858), and was commander of H.M. Forces in Scotland (1860)
. The new colony was considered short of land on which to expand, as most of the best land in the North Island
was owned by the Māori people. Māori in the Waikato had recently formed a political alliance called the King Movement (or Kingites) with other tribes to resist the further sale of Māori land to the Pākehā
government by Māori. The King Movement numbered about 30-40% of all Māori in New Zealand but excluded all South Island
Māori and northern Māori who were not invited to join. The main base for the movement was the Waikato
, a wet swampy region with isolated pockets of land that could be cultivated, immediately south of Auckland
which was then the capital of New Zealand. Furthermore, the Kingitanga Māori insisted on their independence from the Colonial Government, in contravention of the Treaty of Waitangi
which four Waikato chiefs had signed in 1840.In the eyes of the government and the people of New Zealand this constituted a rebellion against the authority of the crown.
Governor Grey was determined to end the threat of an aggressive independence movement, which constantly challenged the authority of the crown. He saw what the threat from the southern states was doing to the USA. To safeguard Māori and European New Zealanders from this very real threat he needed large numbers of British Troops. He presented a case to the Colonial Office in London which emphasized the threats and dangers of the Rebel Independent Māori Movement, claiming that the European settlement was in danger of being wiped out. As evidence he pointed to the theft of large amounts of gunpowder
from Kawau Island in 1856 and the attack on Auckland City from the sea that was only stopped by a British warship and troops from Fort Britomart. To meet the danger the British Government sent out fourteen thousand troops commanded by Major General Duncan Cameron.
Cameron conducted a careful and clever campaign against the rebel Waikato Māori, seeking always to minimize the casualties among both his own men and the enemy. The historian James Belich
believes that Cameron deliberately allowed the besieged and surrounded Māori at Orakau
to escape, although this does not fit with the facts from the Māori survivors or the troops on the ground. This did not please the New Zealand public who wanted the Kingites to be punished for their rebellion. Waikato initially had all their land confiscated but six months later this was altered to give land to Waikato hapū
who had assisted the British or remained neutral. The Kingites were also given back 50000 acres (20,234.3 ha) but the rebels refused to leave the King Country until they eventually fell out with their Maniapoto hosts and were forced to leave. Much of the land was never surveyed and most of the soldiers in Hamilton who were given land walked off within 2 years. Officers such as Claude bought some of the swamp land which many years later was drained. In 1864 there were 850 settlers in Hamilton but the number did not reach 1,000 until 1900, largely due to the swampy and unproductive nature of the soil and the high incidence of TB
which thrived in the damp conditions the settlers were forced to endure.
Eventually the Māori, after 18 defeats in a range of battles in Auckland and the Waikato were forced to retreat into what is now called The King Country
, south of the Puniu River near Te Awamutu
. The British forces had forced the Waikato and the warlike Maniapoto in particular out of their heartland at Kihikihi
into the wet unproductive hills of the King country. The government then switched its attention to the Bay of Plenty. The Waikato War was effectively over apart from isolated murders by the Kingites.
Meanwhile there was conflict in the Bay of Plenty around Tauranga
. It was here that Cameron made his only tactical blunder of the New Zealand Wars when he authorized the attack on Gate Pā
and suffered a very heavy loss. It seems likely that he had overestimated the effectiveness of the very heavy bombardment of the Pā and anticipated little resistance from the defenders.
Then as the Tauranga Campaign
wound down fighting flared up in Taranaki
. Cameron saw this conflict as completely unnecessary, being wholly provoked by the rapacious confiscation of Māori Land. Although he could not refuse orders to involve the British Troops he conducted the campaign at a snail's pace and eventually stopped advancing altogether. By now relations between Cameron and Grey were very frosty.
Cameron wrote to the Colonial Office and recommended that all British Troops should be withdrawn from New Zealand. At the same time he submitted his resignation as commander of the troops. Although the British Troops were not immediately withdrawn from New Zealand they took a very minor role in the subsequent conflicts.
Cameron's generalship in New Zealand was, with minor exceptions, of a very high standard. In particular he was a general who welcomed new ideas and technology and quickly put them into action. Examples of this are the use of the telegraph which was constructed from Auckland to Hamilton as the war progressed southwards. This was a huge leap forward in rapid communications in bringing forward the correct supplies to the battle front. Cameron ordered prefabricated, steel-clad gunboat
s from Australia
which were assembled and finished in New Zealand. Both the gunboats and the army were equipped with the very latest Armstrong artillery which were light, mobile, very accurate and fired an explosive shell. He appreciated the importance of irregular troops and allowed the creation of the Forest Rangers who had their own unique organisation, uniform and lightweight arms including Bowie knives, revolvers and breech loading carbines. Cameron was quick to realise the importance of local knowledge and used Gorst, a missionary from The Waikato, who spoke the Māori language
, as a guide. He also used Waikato Māori who remained loyal to the crown as guides and to man a redoubt at Rangiriri once the Kingites had been defeated. Cameron appreciated the importance of the surface coal
seams at Huntly
which he used as fuel for his gunboats and supply steamers.
After Cameron left New Zealand many of his innovations were incorporated into the defence system by the government who used them successfully to prevent any further large scale outbreak of war.
After his return to England, Cameron was promoted lieutenant-general, was appointed Commissioner to enquire into the present state of Military Education in this country, received the Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath and general (1874), and served, 1868–1875, as Governor of the Royal Military College Sandurst.
On 10 September 1873, he married Louisa Flora (died 5 May 1875), fourth daughter of Andrew Maclean, deputy inspector-general of the Military College, Sandhurst. He died without issue at Blackheath on 7 June 1888. Cameron died in 1888 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery
, London.
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Sir Duncan Alexander Cameron GCB
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...
(20 May 1808 – 8 June 1888) was a British Army officer who fought in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
(1853–1856), commanded troops during part of the New Zealand Land Wars
New Zealand land wars
The New Zealand Wars, sometimes called the Land Wars and also once called the Māori Wars, were a series of armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand between 1845 and 1872...
and was Governor of the Royal Military College Sandhurst from 1868 to 1875.
Career
Cameron was a 42nd Regiment of Foot42nd Regiment of Foot
The 42nd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Originally the 43rd Highlanders they were renumbered the 42nd in 1748.- Early history :...
officer (lieutenant 1826, captain 1833, major 1839, and colonel 1854).
He was awarded Officer of the Legion of Honour, received the order of the Medjidie (1858), and was commander of H.M. Forces in Scotland (1860)
New Zealand deployment
Cameron and the British troops were sent to New Zealand at the request of New Zealand's Governor, Sir George Edward GreyGeorge Edward Grey
Sir George Grey, KCB was a soldier, explorer, Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony , the 11th Premier of New Zealand and a writer.-Early life and exploration:...
. The new colony was considered short of land on which to expand, as most of the best land in the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
was owned by the Māori people. Māori in the Waikato had recently formed a political alliance called the King Movement (or Kingites) with other tribes to resist the further sale of Māori land to the Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
government by Māori. The King Movement numbered about 30-40% of all Māori in New Zealand but excluded all South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
Māori and northern Māori who were not invited to join. The main base for the movement was the Waikato
Waikato
The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
, a wet swampy region with isolated pockets of land that could be cultivated, immediately south of Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
which was then the capital of New Zealand. Furthermore, the Kingitanga Māori insisted on their independence from the Colonial Government, in contravention of the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
which four Waikato chiefs had signed in 1840.In the eyes of the government and the people of New Zealand this constituted a rebellion against the authority of the crown.
Governor Grey was determined to end the threat of an aggressive independence movement, which constantly challenged the authority of the crown. He saw what the threat from the southern states was doing to the USA. To safeguard Māori and European New Zealanders from this very real threat he needed large numbers of British Troops. He presented a case to the Colonial Office in London which emphasized the threats and dangers of the Rebel Independent Māori Movement, claiming that the European settlement was in danger of being wiped out. As evidence he pointed to the theft of large amounts of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
from Kawau Island in 1856 and the attack on Auckland City from the sea that was only stopped by a British warship and troops from Fort Britomart. To meet the danger the British Government sent out fourteen thousand troops commanded by Major General Duncan Cameron.
Arrival in New Zealand
Cameron arrived in New Zealand early in 1863 and the Invasion of Waikato began in July 1863. However after a very short advance Cameron realised that his supply lines were severely threatened by the enemy. He had learnt the vital necessity of having a sound supply line from his previous deployment in the Crimea. He spent three months in securing his rear from attacks. However this was not to the liking of the New Zealand Government who saw the delay as unnecessary and even cowardly. Relations between Grey and Cameron began to deteriorate from this point on and as they did so Grey was faced with more and more criticism from the New Zealand press and public who did not appreciate the high level of skill and experience that Cameron had.Cameron conducted a careful and clever campaign against the rebel Waikato Māori, seeking always to minimize the casualties among both his own men and the enemy. The historian James Belich
James Belich (historian)
James Christopher Belich, ONZM is a New Zealand revisionist historian, known for his work on the New Zealand Wars.Of Croatian descent, he was born in Wellington in 1956, the son of Sir James Belich, who later became Mayor of Wellington. He attended Onslow College.He gained an M.A...
believes that Cameron deliberately allowed the besieged and surrounded Māori at Orakau
Invasion of the Waikato
The Invasion of Waikato or Kingitanga Suppression Movement was a campaign during the middle stages of the New Zealand Wars, fought in the North Island of New Zealand from July 1863 to April 1864 between the military forces of the Colonial Government and a federation of Māori tribes known as the...
to escape, although this does not fit with the facts from the Māori survivors or the troops on the ground. This did not please the New Zealand public who wanted the Kingites to be punished for their rebellion. Waikato initially had all their land confiscated but six months later this was altered to give land to Waikato hapū
Hapu
A hapū is sometimes described as "the basic political unit within Maori society".A named division of a Māori iwi , membership is determined by genealogical descent; a hapū is made up of a number of whānau groups. Generally hapū range in size from 150-200 although there is no upper limit...
who had assisted the British or remained neutral. The Kingites were also given back 50000 acres (20,234.3 ha) but the rebels refused to leave the King Country until they eventually fell out with their Maniapoto hosts and were forced to leave. Much of the land was never surveyed and most of the soldiers in Hamilton who were given land walked off within 2 years. Officers such as Claude bought some of the swamp land which many years later was drained. In 1864 there were 850 settlers in Hamilton but the number did not reach 1,000 until 1900, largely due to the swampy and unproductive nature of the soil and the high incidence of TB
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
which thrived in the damp conditions the settlers were forced to endure.
Eventually the Māori, after 18 defeats in a range of battles in Auckland and the Waikato were forced to retreat into what is now called The King Country
King Country
The King Country is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of the Whanganui River in the south, and from the Hauhungaroa and Rangitoto Ranges in the east to near the Tasman...
, south of the Puniu River near Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it...
. The British forces had forced the Waikato and the warlike Maniapoto in particular out of their heartland at Kihikihi
Kihikihi
Kihikihi is a small town located in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a satellite community of Te Awamutu, five kilometres to the north, and is 35 kilometres south of Hamilton...
into the wet unproductive hills of the King country. The government then switched its attention to the Bay of Plenty. The Waikato War was effectively over apart from isolated murders by the Kingites.
Meanwhile there was conflict in the Bay of Plenty around Tauranga
Tauranga Campaign
The Tauranga Campaign took place in New Zealand, from 21 January 1864 to 21 June 1864, during the New Zealand Land Wars.-Origins:This campaign started as a side show to the Invasion of the Waikato, where British Imperial Troops, on behalf of the New Zealand Colonial Government, were fighting a...
. It was here that Cameron made his only tactical blunder of the New Zealand Wars when he authorized the attack on Gate Pā
Gate Pa
Gate Pā was the name of a Māori Pā or fortress built in 1864 only from the main British base of Camp Te Papa at Tauranga, during the Tauranga Campaign of the New Zealand Land Wars...
and suffered a very heavy loss. It seems likely that he had overestimated the effectiveness of the very heavy bombardment of the Pā and anticipated little resistance from the defenders.
Then as the Tauranga Campaign
Tauranga Campaign
The Tauranga Campaign took place in New Zealand, from 21 January 1864 to 21 June 1864, during the New Zealand Land Wars.-Origins:This campaign started as a side show to the Invasion of the Waikato, where British Imperial Troops, on behalf of the New Zealand Colonial Government, were fighting a...
wound down fighting flared up in Taranaki
Second Taranaki War
-Background and causes of the war:The conflict in Taranaki had its roots in the First Taranaki War, which had ended in March 1861 with an uneasy truce. Neither side fulfilled the terms of the truce, leaving many of the issues unresolved...
. Cameron saw this conflict as completely unnecessary, being wholly provoked by the rapacious confiscation of Māori Land. Although he could not refuse orders to involve the British Troops he conducted the campaign at a snail's pace and eventually stopped advancing altogether. By now relations between Cameron and Grey were very frosty.
Cameron wrote to the Colonial Office and recommended that all British Troops should be withdrawn from New Zealand. At the same time he submitted his resignation as commander of the troops. Although the British Troops were not immediately withdrawn from New Zealand they took a very minor role in the subsequent conflicts.
Cameron's generalship in New Zealand was, with minor exceptions, of a very high standard. In particular he was a general who welcomed new ideas and technology and quickly put them into action. Examples of this are the use of the telegraph which was constructed from Auckland to Hamilton as the war progressed southwards. This was a huge leap forward in rapid communications in bringing forward the correct supplies to the battle front. Cameron ordered prefabricated, steel-clad gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
s from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
which were assembled and finished in New Zealand. Both the gunboats and the army were equipped with the very latest Armstrong artillery which were light, mobile, very accurate and fired an explosive shell. He appreciated the importance of irregular troops and allowed the creation of the Forest Rangers who had their own unique organisation, uniform and lightweight arms including Bowie knives, revolvers and breech loading carbines. Cameron was quick to realise the importance of local knowledge and used Gorst, a missionary from The Waikato, who spoke the Māori language
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
, as a guide. He also used Waikato Māori who remained loyal to the crown as guides and to man a redoubt at Rangiriri once the Kingites had been defeated. Cameron appreciated the importance of the surface coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
seams at Huntly
Huntly, New Zealand
Huntly is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is on State Highway 1, 93 kilometres south of Auckland and 35 kilometres north of Hamilton. It is situated on the North Island Main Trunk Railway and straddles the Waikato River.Huntly was called Rahui Pokeka when...
which he used as fuel for his gunboats and supply steamers.
After Cameron left New Zealand many of his innovations were incorporated into the defence system by the government who used them successfully to prevent any further large scale outbreak of war.
Family and later life
On 10 September 1873, he married Louisa Flora (died 5 May 1875), fourth daughter of Andrew Maclean, deputy inspector-general of the Military College, Sandhurst. He died without issue at Blackheath on 7 June 1888. Cameron died in 1888 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...
, London.
List of honours
-
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the BathOrder of the BathThe 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... -
Officier de la Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
(France)