John Dyke Acland
Encyclopedia
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
John Dyke Acland (18 February 1746 – 31 October 1778 ), son of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 7th Baronet
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 7th Baronet
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 7th Baronet was the son of Sir Hugh Acland, 6th Baronet and Cicely Wrothe.-Succession:He succeeded his father as baronet on the latter's death on 29 July 1728...
, was a British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
officer who fought in the American War of Independence
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and, later, a politician.
Acland was an officer in the 20th Foot. He served under General Burgoyne
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
in his invasion of northern New York in 1777 . On October 7, 1777, he was shot through the legs and taken prisoner at the Battle of Bemis Heights, near Stillwater, New York
Stillwater, New York
Stillwater is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 7,522 at the 2000 census. The town contains a village called Stillwater...
. His wife, Lady Harriet
Harriet Acland
Lady Harriet Acland was a British noblewoman, nurse and diarist.She was born Lady Christian Henrietta Caroline Fox-Strangways, the daughter of Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester, and married Major John Dyke Acland...
, was allowed to attend in the American camp and was well-treated by the American forces.
He was elected an MP in 1774.
Acland was grateful for the treatment received when recuperating as a prisoner of war. Upon returning to England he challenged a Lieutenant Lloyd to a duel when the latter spoke poorly of Americans at a dinner party. Although he survived the duel, he caught a cold during it from which he died at Pixton Park
Pixton Park
Pixton Park is a country house in the parish of Dulverton, Somerset, England. It is associated with at least three historically significant families or dynasties: the Acland Baronets, the politicians and diplomats the Herberts, and the Waughs, a series of writers...
in 1778.
His only son was the 8th Baronet but as he died young (1778–1785), the baronetcy passed to Major John's brother, Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 9th Baronet
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 9th Baronet
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 9th Baronet was the son of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 7th Baronet and Elizabeth Dyke.-Succession:He succeeded his nephew as baronet on the latter's death in April 1785...
.
See also
- Dyke Acland Baronets