John Archibald Ballard
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General John Archibald Ballard CB LLD RE (20 June 1829 – 1 April 1880) was a British soldier. He was born in Portbury
, Somerset, the second son of George Ballard, a Calcutta Merchant, and Jane Tod daughter of Alexander Tod and Charlote Bruere. He was educated at the East India Company's military college, Addiscombe
, near Croydon, 1847–8, and in 1850 was commissioned into the Bengal Engineers. His early years in India were uneventful and in the spring of 1854 Lieutenant Ballard was ordered to Europe on medical certificate.
, from Lieutenant Charles Nasmyth who was a relative of his brother's wife, and he turned aside to Constantinople
proceeding to Omar Pasha
's camp at Shumla, where he was invested by that general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Turkish army, and deputed to Silistria as a member of the council of war in that fortress, which was then besieged by the Russians. Prior to Ballard's arrival, on 13 June 1854, two other British officers, Captain Butler of the Ceylon rifles and Lieutenant Nasmyth of the Bombay artillery, later to become a Brigade-Major in the Honourable East India Company, had been aiding the garrison in the defence of the place; but Butler had been fatally wounded and Nasmyth was called away to Omar Pasha's camp a few days after Ballard's arrival. During the remainder of the siege, which was raised by the Russians on 28 June, Ballard was the only British officer in the fortress, and it was mainly owing to his exertions, and the influence which he exercised over the garrison, that the defence was successfully maintained. At the subsequent attack and capture of the Russian position at Giurgevo, Ballard commanded the skirmishers, and kept back the enemy until the Turks could entrench themselves. He received the thanks of her majesty's government for his services at Silistria, and from the Turkish government a gold medal and a sword of honour.
After serving with the Turkish troops at Eupatoria
and in the expedition to Kertch, Ballard commanded a brigade in Omar Pasha's Transcaucasian campaign, undertaken for the relief of Kars
. The chief event in this campaign was the battle of the Ingour river, at which Ballard and his brigade were for several hours hotly engaged with the Russians, the former conspicuous, as he had been at Silistria and at Giurgevo, for his coolness under fire and for his watchful care over the comfort and wellbeing of his men.
, and also with that of the Medjidie
, by virtue of his rank and services in the Turkish army. Ballard was appointed to proceed with Captain (later Sir Henry) Green on a mission to Herat
; but the mission having been abandoned, he served as Assistant-Quarter-Master-General in the Persian campaign (1856–57), and afterwards in the same capacity in the Indian mutiny with the Rajputana Field Force, taking part in the pursuit and rout of Tantia Topee's forces. His promotion thereafter was singularly rapid, advancing in 1858 from lieutenant to lieutenant-colonel and by 1861 to Lieutenant General.
Ballard returned home in 1861 and married Joanna Scott Moncrieff, daughter of Robert Scott Moncrieff, Advocate Chamberlain of Dalkeith
, and Susannah Scott Moncrieff née Pringle, on 30 April 1861 in Edinburgh. It was not long, however, before his return to India, and Ballard was appointed mint-master at Bombay in 1861 and he presided over the Board of Trustees of the Bombay port from 3 July 1873 until May 1876. The construction of the Ballard Pier, which was originally a small pier with an approach jetty, enabled the growth of a tiny fishing village called Mumbai into a major port. For years, Ballard Pier was the centre of business activity not just for Bombay, but for the whole of India.
CB, was born at Malabar Hill
on 7 March 1862, and two daughters were born in Poona; Susan in 1864, and Jane in 1866. The Ballards were in Scotland for the birth of both their next two children: Brigadier General Colin Robert Ballard
CB CMG on 22 July 1868 in Cockpen, Midlothian; and Joanna E, on 8 January 1870 in Portobello
, Midlothian. Finally their fourth daughter, Mary A Ballard, was born in 1872 in Melbourne
, Australia. During the furlough in Scotland in 1868 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the university of Edinburgh
.
Ballard retired from the army and from the public service in 1879 and died suddenly in Greece, when visiting the Pass of Thermopylae
, on 1 April 1880. Ballard was buried in St Peter's Anglican Church, Athens on 26 April 1880. There is a brass floor slab to his memory in the centre aisle of St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai.
Portbury
Portbury is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England within the Unitary Authority of North Somerset.The parish includes the hamlet of Sheepway which is situated on the moorland at the northern edge of the Gordano valley, between the Gordano services on the M5 motorway and Portishead, near...
, Somerset, the second son of George Ballard, a Calcutta Merchant, and Jane Tod daughter of Alexander Tod and Charlote Bruere. He was educated at the East India Company's military college, Addiscombe
Addiscombe
Addiscombe is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated south of Charing Cross.It is situated just to the northeast of central Croydon, and is home to a high proportion of people who commute to Central London, owing to its proximity to the busy...
, near Croydon, 1847–8, and in 1850 was commissioned into the Bengal Engineers. His early years in India were uneventful and in the spring of 1854 Lieutenant Ballard was ordered to Europe on medical certificate.
Service in the Turkish army
It is likely that he had heard reports of the events then going on in the Danubian provincesDanubian provinces
Danubian provinces to refer to the Roman provinces of the Lower Danube: Dacia , Moesia and Scythia Minor, as well as Pannonia Inferior....
, from Lieutenant Charles Nasmyth who was a relative of his brother's wife, and he turned aside to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
proceeding to Omar Pasha
Omar Pasha
Omar Pasha Latas was a Ottoman general and governor. He was a Serb convert to Islam, who managed to quickly climb in Ottoman ranks, crush several rebellions throughout the Empire and defeat Russia the Crimean War.-Early life:...
's camp at Shumla, where he was invested by that general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Turkish army, and deputed to Silistria as a member of the council of war in that fortress, which was then besieged by the Russians. Prior to Ballard's arrival, on 13 June 1854, two other British officers, Captain Butler of the Ceylon rifles and Lieutenant Nasmyth of the Bombay artillery, later to become a Brigade-Major in the Honourable East India Company, had been aiding the garrison in the defence of the place; but Butler had been fatally wounded and Nasmyth was called away to Omar Pasha's camp a few days after Ballard's arrival. During the remainder of the siege, which was raised by the Russians on 28 June, Ballard was the only British officer in the fortress, and it was mainly owing to his exertions, and the influence which he exercised over the garrison, that the defence was successfully maintained. At the subsequent attack and capture of the Russian position at Giurgevo, Ballard commanded the skirmishers, and kept back the enemy until the Turks could entrench themselves. He received the thanks of her majesty's government for his services at Silistria, and from the Turkish government a gold medal and a sword of honour.
After serving with the Turkish troops at Eupatoria
Eupatoria
Yevpatoria or Eupatoria is a city in Crimea, Ukraine.-History:The first recorded settlement in the area, called Kerkinitis , was built by Greek colonists around 500 BC...
and in the expedition to Kertch, Ballard commanded a brigade in Omar Pasha's Transcaucasian campaign, undertaken for the relief of Kars
Kars
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...
. The chief event in this campaign was the battle of the Ingour river, at which Ballard and his brigade were for several hours hotly engaged with the Russians, the former conspicuous, as he had been at Silistria and at Giurgevo, for his coolness under fire and for his watchful care over the comfort and wellbeing of his men.
Return to India
Returning to India in 1856 as subaltern of engineers, he was nonetheless decorated with the order of Companion of the BathOrder 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...
, and also with that of the Medjidie
Medjidie
Medjidie or Mejidie is the name of a military and knightly order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdülmecid I.-Order of the Medjidie:...
, by virtue of his rank and services in the Turkish army. Ballard was appointed to proceed with Captain (later Sir Henry) Green on a mission to Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
; but the mission having been abandoned, he served as Assistant-Quarter-Master-General in the Persian campaign (1856–57), and afterwards in the same capacity in the Indian mutiny with the Rajputana Field Force, taking part in the pursuit and rout of Tantia Topee's forces. His promotion thereafter was singularly rapid, advancing in 1858 from lieutenant to lieutenant-colonel and by 1861 to Lieutenant General.
Ballard returned home in 1861 and married Joanna Scott Moncrieff, daughter of Robert Scott Moncrieff, Advocate Chamberlain of Dalkeith
Dalkeith
Dalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...
, and Susannah Scott Moncrieff née Pringle, on 30 April 1861 in Edinburgh. It was not long, however, before his return to India, and Ballard was appointed mint-master at Bombay in 1861 and he presided over the Board of Trustees of the Bombay port from 3 July 1873 until May 1876. The construction of the Ballard Pier, which was originally a small pier with an approach jetty, enabled the growth of a tiny fishing village called Mumbai into a major port. For years, Ballard Pier was the centre of business activity not just for Bombay, but for the whole of India.
Family
The first of his children, Admiral George Alexander BallardGeorge Alexander Ballard
Admiral George Alexander Ballard, CB was an officer of the Royal Navy and a historian. Ballard was the eldest son of General John Archibald Ballard , and his wife Joanna, the daughter of Robert Scott-Moncrieff, and was born at Malabar Hill, Bombay on 7 March 1862...
CB, was born at Malabar Hill
Malabar Hill
Malabar Hill, a hillock in southern Mumbai , India is an extremely upmarket residential area, most known for the Walkeshwar Temple which houses the Banganga Tank. Situated at a height of 50 metres Malabar Hill, a hillock in southern Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India is an extremely upmarket...
on 7 March 1862, and two daughters were born in Poona; Susan in 1864, and Jane in 1866. The Ballards were in Scotland for the birth of both their next two children: Brigadier General Colin Robert Ballard
Colin Robert Ballard
Brigadier-General Colin Robert Ballard, CB, CMG was a Brigadier-General in the British Army, a knight of the Order of the Star of Romania, recipient of the collar of the Order of Carol I and a military author...
CB CMG on 22 July 1868 in Cockpen, Midlothian; and Joanna E, on 8 January 1870 in Portobello
Portobello, Edinburgh
Portobello is a beach resort located three miles to the east of the city centre of Edinburgh, along the coast of the Firth of Forth, in Scotland. It is now a suburb of Edinburgh, with a promenade fronting on to the wide sand beach....
, Midlothian. Finally their fourth daughter, Mary A Ballard, was born in 1872 in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia. During the furlough in Scotland in 1868 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the university of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
.
Ballard retired from the army and from the public service in 1879 and died suddenly in Greece, when visiting the Pass of Thermopylae
Thermopylae
Thermopylae is a location in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. "Hot gates" is also "the place of hot springs and cavernous entrances to Hades"....
, on 1 April 1880. Ballard was buried in St Peter's Anglican Church, Athens on 26 April 1880. There is a brass floor slab to his memory in the centre aisle of St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai.