Henry Godwin (Army officer)
Encyclopedia
Sir
Henry Thomas Godwin KCB (1784–1853) was a British
officer. He fought in the British Army
in the Peninsular War
and in the First Anglo-Burmese War before joining the Bengal Army
, in which he served as commander in chief of British and Indian forces in the Second Anglo-Burmese War
of 1852 and 1853.
into the 9th Foot on 30 October 1799. He served with the regiment at Ferrol in 1800 and was promoted Lieutenant on 9 August 1803. In an expedition to Hanover
in 1805 he served as adjutant
of his battalion. In 1808, at the outset of the Peninsular War
, Godwin was in Portugal
and was promoted Captain on 28 March 1808. The next year he took part in operations on the Douro
and in the advance to Porto
, then marched with his battalion to Gibraltar
and later to Tarifa
. He volunteered to follow Blayney
in an attack on Fuengirola
and later commanded two companies at the Siege of Cadiz
. He fought at the defence of Tarifa
in 1811, was severely wounded at the Battle of Barrosa
on 5 March 1811, and ended the war as a brevet
Major and a Companion of the Order of the Bath
.
In 1814 Godwin received a Major's commission in the 5th West India Regiment
. On 26 July 1821 he took up an appointment as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 41st Foot. In 1822 he led the regiment to India and in 1824 took it into Burma. In the second half of 1824 he was part of an expeditionary force which conquered Martaban, and following that Godwin saw active service in all battles of the First Anglo-Burmese War up to the Treaty of Yandaboo of 1826. In 1827 he was transferred to half pay. In 1837 was promoted Colonel and on 9 November 1846 Major General.
Godwin joined the General Staff
of the Bombay Army
in 1850, and with effect from November 1851 he took command of the army's Sirhind Division. In 1852, during the Second Anglo-Burmese War
, Godwin was commander in chief of the British expeditionary force into Burma, known as the "Army of Ava", as well as commanding the force's Bengal Division.
Godwin, with his expeditionary force, set sail from Bombay on 28 March 1852, aiming for the mouth of the Irrawaddy River, where he was to be joined by forces sent from Madras. There, he found a naval force led by Admiral Austen
on board HMS Rattler
, with ships of both the Royal Navy
and the Indian Navy
. On 5 April 1852 the naval forces began to bombard Martaban. Godwin moved to capture Rangoon the same month.
On 12 April 1852, after a further naval bombardment, Godwin went ashore at Rangoon, leading a force comprising the 51st Light Infantry, the 18th Royal Irish, the 40th Bengal Native Infantry
, and some artillery
. Fighting continued until the 14th, when the capture of Rangoon was completed with the storming of the Great Dagon Pagoda.
On 21 November 1852, Godwin captured Pegu, with a force numbering four thousand men. He wrote the next day to the secretary of Lord Dalhousie
, Governor General of India,
In December 1852 Dalhousie proclaimed the annexation of the province of Pegu to British India. After more fighting at Prome and elsewhere, the Army of Ava was broken up on 1 July 1853 and Godwin returned to India.
On his arrival in India, Godwin again took up command of the Bengal Army's Sirhind Division. However, on 26 October 1853, after a brief illness, he died at Simla
, while staying with Sir William Gomm
, the Commander-in-Chief, India
, with whom he had served in the 9th Foot. An obituary
in The Gentleman's Magazine
stated that "it was by overheating himself with exercise that his fatal malady was originated". After Godwin's death, news came from London that he had been appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and as Colonel of the 20th Foot
.
and was a good musician and amateur artist. In 1833, at Teignmouth
, Maria Elizabeth married the geologist Robert Austen. In 1854, by the royal licence of Queen Victoria
, Austen took the surname of Godwin-Austen.
Maria Elizabeth's eldest son, Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen
, retired from the army as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1877 after service on the Trigonometrical Survey of India and was a notable geologist. Another of her sons, A. G. Godwin-Austen, also followed his grandfather into the army and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, while his son Sir Alfred Godwin-Austen
(1889-1963) became a full General
.
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Henry Thomas Godwin KCB (1784–1853) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
officer. He fought in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
and in the First Anglo-Burmese War before joining the Bengal Army
Bengal Army
The Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia. Although based in Bengal in eastern India, the presidency stretched across northern India and the Himalayas all the way to the North West Frontier Province...
, in which he served as commander in chief of British and Indian forces in the Second Anglo-Burmese War
Second Anglo-Burmese War
The Second Anglo-Burmese War was the second of the three wars fought between the Burmese and the British Empire during the 19th century, with the outcome of the gradual extinction of Burmese sovereignty and independence....
of 1852 and 1853.
Military career
Godwin was commissioned as an EnsignEnsign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
into the 9th Foot on 30 October 1799. He served with the regiment at Ferrol in 1800 and was promoted Lieutenant on 9 August 1803. In an expedition to Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
in 1805 he served as adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
of his battalion. In 1808, at the outset of the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
, Godwin was in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and was promoted Captain on 28 March 1808. The next year he took part in operations on the Douro
Douro
The Douro or Duero is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto...
and in the advance to Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, then marched with his battalion to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and later to Tarifa
Tarifa
Tarifa is a small town in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the southernmost coast of Spain. The town is located on the Costa de la Luz and across the Straits of Gibraltar facing Morocco. The municipality includes Punta de Tarifa, the southernmost point in continental Europe. There are five...
. He volunteered to follow Blayney
Andrew Blayney, 11th Baron Blayney
Lieutenant General Andrew Thomas Blayney, 11th Baron Blayney was an Irish peer. He ruled the Blayney estate at Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan for fifty years from 1784 to 1834, and was one of the most illustrious soldiers ever to come from Co...
in an attack on Fuengirola
Fuengirola
Fuengirola, in ancient times known as Suel and then Suhayl, is a large town and municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga, autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is a major tourist resort, with more than 8 km of beaches, and home to a mediæval Moorish fortress...
and later commanded two companies at the Siege of Cadiz
Siege of Cádiz
The Siege of Cádiz was a siege of the large Spanish naval base of Cádiz by a French army from February 5, 1810 to August 24, 1812 during the Peninsular War. Following the occupation of Madrid on March 23, 1808, Cádiz became the Spanish seat of power, and was targeted by 60,000 French troops under...
. He fought at the defence of Tarifa
Tarifa
Tarifa is a small town in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the southernmost coast of Spain. The town is located on the Costa de la Luz and across the Straits of Gibraltar facing Morocco. The municipality includes Punta de Tarifa, the southernmost point in continental Europe. There are five...
in 1811, was severely wounded at the Battle of Barrosa
Battle of Barrosa
The Battle of Barrosa was an unsuccessful French attack on a larger Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish force attempting to lift the siege of Cádiz, Spain during the Peninsular War...
on 5 March 1811, and ended the war as a brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Major and a Companion of the Order of the Bath
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 Godwin received a Major's commission in the 5th West India Regiment
West India Regiment
The West India Regiment was an infantry unit of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. The regiment differed from similar forces raised in other parts of the British Empire in that it formed an integral part of the...
. On 26 July 1821 he took up an appointment as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 41st Foot. In 1822 he led the regiment to India and in 1824 took it into Burma. In the second half of 1824 he was part of an expeditionary force which conquered Martaban, and following that Godwin saw active service in all battles of the First Anglo-Burmese War up to the Treaty of Yandaboo of 1826. In 1827 he was transferred to half pay. In 1837 was promoted Colonel and on 9 November 1846 Major General.
Godwin joined the General Staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
of the Bombay Army
Bombay Army
The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia.The Presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all three presidencies to the direct...
in 1850, and with effect from November 1851 he took command of the army's Sirhind Division. In 1852, during the Second Anglo-Burmese War
Second Anglo-Burmese War
The Second Anglo-Burmese War was the second of the three wars fought between the Burmese and the British Empire during the 19th century, with the outcome of the gradual extinction of Burmese sovereignty and independence....
, Godwin was commander in chief of the British expeditionary force into Burma, known as the "Army of Ava", as well as commanding the force's Bengal Division.
Charles Austen
Rear Admiral Sir Charles John Austen CB was an officer in the Royal Navy. He served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and beyond, eventually rising to the rank of rear-admiral.-Family and early life:...
on board HMS Rattler
HMS Rattler (1843)
HMS Rattler was a 12-gun wooden sloop of the Royal Navy and the first British warship to adopt a screw propeller powered by a steam engine...
, with ships of both the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and the Indian Navy
Royal Indian Navy
The Royal Indian Navy was the naval force of British India. Along with the Presidency armies and the later British Indian Army it comprised the Armed Forces of British India....
. On 5 April 1852 the naval forces began to bombard Martaban. Godwin moved to capture Rangoon the same month.
On 12 April 1852, after a further naval bombardment, Godwin went ashore at Rangoon, leading a force comprising the 51st Light Infantry, the 18th Royal Irish, the 40th Bengal Native Infantry
Bengal Native Infantry
The Bengal Native Infantry was part of the organisation of the East India Company's Bengal Army before the Indian rebellion of 1857.The infantry regiments underwent frequent changes of numbering during their period of existence...
, and some artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
. Fighting continued until the 14th, when the capture of Rangoon was completed with the storming of the Great Dagon Pagoda.
On 21 November 1852, Godwin captured Pegu, with a force numbering four thousand men. He wrote the next day to the secretary of Lord Dalhousie
James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie
James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie KT, PC was a Scottish statesman, and a colonial administrator in British India....
, Governor General of India,
In December 1852 Dalhousie proclaimed the annexation of the province of Pegu to British India. After more fighting at Prome and elsewhere, the Army of Ava was broken up on 1 July 1853 and Godwin returned to India.
On his arrival in India, Godwin again took up command of the Bengal Army's Sirhind Division. However, on 26 October 1853, after a brief illness, he died at Simla
Simla
-Politics/History:Simla , the summer capital of British India, often refers generically to the government of the British Raj.-Places:* Shimla , city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh...
, while staying with Sir William Gomm
William Maynard Gomm
Field Marshal Sir William Maynard Gomm GCB , was a British Army commander.-Military career:He was gazetted to the 9th Foot at the age of ten in recognition of the services of his father, Lieutenant-Colonel William Gomm, who was killed in the attack on Guadaloupe...
, the Commander-in-Chief, India
Commander-in-Chief, India
During the period of the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India was the supreme commander of the Indian Army. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his staff were based at General Headquarters, India, and liaised with the civilian Governor-General of India...
, with whom he had served in the 9th Foot. An obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
in The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term "magazine" for a periodical...
stated that "it was by overheating himself with exercise that his fatal malady was originated". After Godwin's death, news came from London that he had been appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and as Colonel of the 20th Foot
Lancashire Fusiliers
The Lancashire Fusiliers was a British infantry regiment that was amalgamated with other Fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.- Formation and early history:...
.
Family
Godwin was married with one daughter, Maria Elizabeth, who was his heiress. She was interested in natural historyNatural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and was a good musician and amateur artist. In 1833, at Teignmouth
Teignmouth
Teignmouth is a town and civil parish in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon, situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign about 14 miles south of Exeter. It has a population of 14,413. In 1690, it was the last place in England to be invaded by a foreign power...
, Maria Elizabeth married the geologist Robert Austen. In 1854, by the royal licence of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, Austen took the surname of Godwin-Austen.
Maria Elizabeth's eldest son, Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen
Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen FRS FZS FRGS MBOU , was an English topographer, geologist and surveyor.The eldest son of Robert Alfred Cloyne Godwin-Austen, Godwin-Austen was born in Teignmouth...
, retired from the army as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1877 after service on the Trigonometrical Survey of India and was a notable geologist. Another of her sons, A. G. Godwin-Austen, also followed his grandfather into the army and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, while his son Sir Alfred Godwin-Austen
Alfred Reade Godwin-Austen
General Sir Alfred Reade Godwin-Austen KCSI, CB, OBE, MC was a British Army officer. He served during the First and Second World Wars.-Early life:The second son of Lieutenant-Colonel A. G...
(1889-1963) became a full General
General (United Kingdom)
General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....
.