293:'s brigade to attack the left flank of Soult's massive French column. At first, the manoeuvre went well, as British musketry savaged the French infantry. Suddenly attacked from flank and rear by mounted Polish lancers and French hussars, three of Colborne's regiments were massacred, losing 1,250 men; only 400 escaped. At that battle, Stewart's other two brigades also suffered severely from point-blank French cannon and musket fire, but this was not his fault. In an epic struggle, the survivors of his division held back the French until the 4th Division saved the day. Glover, historian of the Peninsular War, wrote, "As a battalion commander, Stewart was surpassed only by Moore; as a general he was a menace".
316:) and two other division commanders disobeyed their commander's orders. Stewart, Wellington wrote, "and certain other generals held a Council of War to decide whether to obey my orders to march by a particular road. He , at the head, decided they would not; they marched by a road leading they knew not where, and when I found them in the morning they were in the utmost confusion, not knowing where to go and what to do".
521:
257:. Stewart was the first colonel of the 95th, but soon had to hand over its operational command when he was appointed to be a brigadier-general. Stewart's heart still lay with the Rifles, and in 1805 he published "Outlines of a Plan for the General Reform of the British Land Forces", which advocated general adoption of many of the innovations he had already made within the 95th.
229:), show how advanced his tactical thinking was compared to that of his contemporaries. He devised and implemented specially adapted forms of drill and manoeuvre, medals for bravery and good conduct, classification in shooting ability, a school and a library for the soldiers, while requiring every Rifles officer to get to know each of his men as individuals.
213:
Stewart was intensely interested in weapons and tactics. It was probably his observations in 1799 of 'light infantry' and
Tyrolese and Croat soldiers that did not fight in the rigid formations adopted by normal infantry units that led him to propose that the British Army should include a permanent
245:
Stewart was chosen for the honour of carrying to London the despatches reporting the victory and was included by name in the Thanks of
Parliament voted on 16 April 1801. Six days later he received an official letter of promotion to full colonel, effective from the day of the Battle of Copenhagen.
209:
Stewart entered the
British Army in 1786 as a twelve-year-old Ensign in the 42nd Foot. His first active service was in the West Indies Campaign of 1793–94, where he was wounded. After further service in the West Indies, when he commanded the 67th Foot at San Domingo (1796–98), Stewart returned to
221:
In March 1800 an experimental 'Corps of
Riflemen' was established. In August Stewart commanded it at the amphibious attack on Ferrol, where he was severely wounded in the chest as he led his riflemen up the cliffs. In October 1800 the Corps was gazetted as an established unit, with Manningham as
232:
Shortly after
Stewart's twenty-seventh birthday he was appointed to command the 895 soldiers (114 from the Rifle Corps and 781 from the 49th Regiment) that were to serve as marines in the fleet sent to the Baltic in 1801. He was stationed on the quarterdeck of Admiral Nelson's flagship HMS
241:
on 2 April 1801. Nelson reported that "The
Honourable Colonel Stewart did me the favour to be aboard the Elephant; and himself, with every officer and soldier under his orders, shared with pleasure the toils and dangers of the day" (Stewart's detachment lost 4 dead and 6 wounded).
367:
Stewart saw no further service. His health was broken by seventeen campaigns, in which he had received six wounds and four contusions, and in 1816 he resigned his seat in parliament. In July 1818 he was transferred to the colonelcy of the 1st
Battalion of what had then become the
327:, Stewart concluded that the French would not attack, then rode ten miles to the rear. When the battle began, his 2nd Division was left to fight all morning under an inexperienced brigade commander and lost 1,347 men. Still in Hill's corps, Stewart fought at the battles of
264:
and to
Walcheren in 1809, before being sent to Spain in 1810. Although Stewart was still junior as a major-general, he was given the crucial task of commanding the besieged garrison of the vital port of Cadiz and initially put directly under the orders of General
363:
Stewart had been M.P. for
Saltash in 1795, and for Wigtonshire from 1796 onward, and on 24 June 1814 the speaker thanked him in his place, on behalf of the house, for his share in the victories of Vittoria and Orthes, and in the intermediate operations.
973:
953:
311:
On 15 November 1812, Soult's 80,000 Frenchmen confronted
Wellington's 65,000 Anglo-Portuguese near Salamanca. When Soult failed to attack, Wellington ordered a withdrawal to Portugal. During the retreat, Stewart (temporarily in charge of the
958:
249:
Nelson wrote at least eleven letters to Stewart in the four years between Copenhagen and his death at Trafalgar, which were included in the collection of Stewart's papers privately published as "The Cumloden Papers".
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534:
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Wellington wrote of him, "It is necessary that Stewart should be under the particular charge of somebody". After Albuera, Wellington found that "somebody" in the person of Lieutenant-General
313:
943:
253:
In 1802 the Rifle Corps was redesignated as the 95th (Rifle) Regiment and together with the 43rd and 52nd Foot was formed into the famous Light Brigade commanded by
246:
Nelson wrote to Lord St Vincent praising "Colonel Stewart, who is an excellent and indefatigable young man, and depend upon it, the rising hope of our army".
808:
798:
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55:
300:. For the rest of the Peninsular War, Stewart and his 2nd Division usually served under Hill's competent supervision. He fought in Hill's corps in the
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555:, printed for private circulation in 1871, containing a memoir, with extracts from Stewart's journals, and correspondence with Nelson and Wellington
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Europe and was given permission to serve with Britain's Austrian and Russian allies in Italy, Swabia and Switzerland during the campaign of 1799.
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force of 'light infantry', equipped with rifles. His ideas won support, especially from the influential Equerry to the King, Colonel
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142:(10 January 1774 – 7 January 1827) was a British military officer who was the first Commanding Officer of the
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of the army in the Peninsula, and in December 1810 Stewart took over as commander of 2nd Division.
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Lloyd, E. M.; Stearn, Roger T. (reviewer) (May 2010) . "Stewart, Sir William (1774–1827)".
396:), and he left one son, Horatio, a captain in the Rifle Brigade, and one daughter, Louisa.
17:
348:
301:
225:
Stewart's Standing Orders for the Rifle Corps, which later became the famous 95th Foot (
915:
393:
324:
147:
116:
84:
392:
In 1804 Stewart married Frances, daughter of the Hon. John Douglas (second son of the
927:
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525:
369:
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William Stewart, born on 10 January 1774, was the fourth (second surviving) son of
96:
641:
359:. On 2 January 1815 (on the enlargement of the order of the Bath) he received the
143:
633:
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285:
on 16 May 1811, Stewart led the 2nd Division, which bore the brunt of Marshal
222:
colonel and Stewart as its first lieutenant-colonel and commanding officer.
974:
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
380:, near the family seat. He died there on 7 January 1827, and was buried at
954:
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall
151:
611:
959:
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies
373:
360:
30:
For the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Guards who fought at Waterloo, see
524: This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
547:. Vol. 54. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 366–368.
269:. This led to an appointment to command a brigade in the
1014:
British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
347:
For his services in the Peninsula Stewart received the
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during Wellington's 1814 invasion of southern France.
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the second Bishop of Quebec, was his younger brother.
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112:
102:
90:
80:
72:
64:
41:
218:, who Stewart had first met in the West Indies.
944:British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
617:contributions in Parliament by William Stewart
596:Further Strictures on the War in the Peninsula
8:
628:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
201:1803–1805 and Wigtownshire again 1812–1816.
372:. He settled at Cumloden on the borders of
127:Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
648:
53:
38:
903:Colonel-Commandant of the 1st Battalion,
890:Colonel-Commandant of the 2nd Battalion,
861:Colonel-Commandant of the 3rd Battalion,
267:Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
625:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
405:
460:
448:
436:
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289:'s flank attack. He wheeled Lieut-Col
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412:
7:
304:campaign in autumn 1812 and at the
277:Division commander under Wellington
260:Stewart held important commands in
169:(1736–1806), and his second wife,
167:John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway
25:
1004:British Army lieutenant generals
744:Parliament of the United Kingdom
737:Parliament of the United Kingdom
544:Dictionary of National Biography
519:
351:with two clasps, the Portuguese
262:the expeditions to Egypt in 1807
157:(MP) in the British Parliament.
193:in Cornwall from 1795 to 1796,
175:Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet
1009:67th Regiment of Foot officers
999:42nd Regiment of Foot officers
146:, a Division Commander in the
1:
566:The first British Rifle Corps
496:The Peninsular War, 1807–1814
343:Awards, thanks and retirement
642:UK public library membership
535:Stewart, William (1774–1827)
353:Order of the Tower and Sword
752:Parliament of Great Britain
653:Parliament of Great Britain
237:throughout the great naval
173:(1742/3–1830), daughter of
18:William Stewart (1774–1827)
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560:Hist. of the Rifle Brigade
319:On the opening day of the
32:William Stuart (1778–1837)
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494:Glover, Michael (2001).
27:British military officer
577:Royal Military Calendar
1019:Rifle Brigade officers
634:10.1093/ref:odnb/26520
321:Battle of the Pyrenees
205:Early military success
994:Younger sons of earls
969:British MPs 1796–1800
964:British MPs 1790–1796
864:95th Regiment of Foot
357:Order of San Fernando
179:Charles James Stewart
826:Member of Parliament
795:Member of Parliament
758:Member of Parliament
718:Member of Parliament
673:Member of Parliament
590:War in the Peninsula
239:Battle of Copenhagen
185:Member of Parliament
155:Member of Parliament
949:Tory MPs (pre-1834)
553:The Cumloden Papers
531:Lloyd, Ernest Marsh
136:Sir William Stewart
134:Lieutenant-General
59:Sir William Stewart
916:Sir Andrew Barnard
843:James Hunter-Blair
701:The Lord Macdonald
378:Kirkcudbrightshire
355:, and the Spanish
107:Lieutenant-General
922:
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913:Succeeded by
884:Sir Brent Spencer
874:Sir George Walker
871:Succeeded by
850:Military offices
840:Succeeded by
806:Succeeded by
775:Succeeded by
735:Succeeded by
694:Succeeded by
640:(Subscription or
505:978-0-14-139041-3
306:Battle of Vitoria
283:Battle of Albuera
132:
131:
16:(Redirected from
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989:UK MPs 1812–1818
984:UK MPs 1802–1806
979:UK MPs 1801–1802
881:Preceded by
816:Preceded by
785:Preceded by
750:Preceded by
708:Preceded by
697:Edward Bearcroft
689:Edward Bearcroft
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722:Wigtownshire
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113:Battles/wars
97:British Army
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939:1827 deaths
934:1774 births
615:1803–2005:
582:Wellington
539:Lee, Sidney
461:Glover 2001
449:Glover 2001
437:Glover 2001
425:Glover 2001
144:Rifle Corps
928:Categories
910:1818–1827
897:1816–1818
868:1809–1816
803:1803–1805
644:required.)
584:Despatches
571:Gent. Mag.
549:Endnotes:
488:References
478:Lloyd 1898
413:Lloyd 1898
349:Gold Cross
161:Early life
81:Allegiance
588:Napier's
579:, ii. 322
564:Verner's
533:(1898). "
325:Maya Pass
308:in 1813.
382:Minigaff
337:Toulouse
329:the Nive
235:Elephant
152:Scottish
91:Service/
677:Saltash
612:Hansard
558:Cope's
541:(ed.).
528::
281:At the
191:Saltash
837:–1816
686:With:
638:
537:". In
502:
388:Family
374:Wigton
361:G.C.B.
333:Orthez
302:Burgos
150:and a
123:Awards
93:branch
681:1795–
400:Notes
835:1812
828:for
797:for
771:1802
767:1801
760:for
731:1800
727:1796
720:for
683:1796
675:for
500:ISBN
376:and
335:and
171:Anne
103:Rank
73:Died
65:Born
630:doi
323:at
140:GCB
43:Sir
930::
468:^
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331:,
177:.
138:,
769:–
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34:.
20:)
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