Sir Duncan MacDougall | |
|---|---|
 MacDougall c.1858, by Henry Wyndham Phillips | |
| Born | 1787 Soroba, Argyll |
| Died | 10 December 1862 112 Eaton Square, London |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | British Army British Auxiliary Legion |
| Years of service | 1804–1835 (British Army) 1835–1836 (British Auxiliary Legion) 1836–1838 (British Army) |
| Rank | Lieutenant-colonel (British Army) Colonel (British Auxiliary Legion) |
| Commands held | 79th Regiment of Foot Royal Lancashire Militia Artillery |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Knight bachelor Military General Service Medal Royal and Military Order of Saint Ferdinand (Spain) |
| Children | Sir Patrick MacDougall |
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Duncan MacDougall (1787 – 10 December 1862) was a British Army officer who fought in the Peninsular War and War of 1812 before in retirement becoming second-in-command of the British Auxiliary Legion during the First Carlist War.
Early life edit
Duncan MacDougall was born about 1787 at Soroba near Oban, Argyllshire; he was the son of Patrick MacDougall and Mary née M'Vicar. As a child he was educated in Edinburgh.[1]
Military career edit
Early service edit
MacDougall joined the British Army in 1804, during the Napoleonic Wars, becoming an ensign in the 71st Regiment of Foot on 6 April.[1][2] He was promoted to lieutenant on 23 April 1805, and subsequently transferred to the Cape Colony Regiment in which he served in the Cape Colony at the Cape of Good Hope. There he was promoted to captain on 19 June 1806. After around six years of service at the Cape he transferred to the 53rd Regiment of Foot on 6 February 1812.[2]
Peninsular War edit
MacDougall joined his regiment in the Iberian Peninsula, fighting the Peninsular War. He first saw action at the Siege of Badajoz from March and on 6 April was part of the force that stormed and captured the city. MacDougall then saw service at the Siege of the Salamanca forts, which were captured on 27 June.[1]
MacDougall and his regiment subsequently fought at the Battle of Salamanca on 22 July, during which he was seriously wounded while saving the regimental colours. He then saw service at the Siege of Burgos between September and October, after the failure of which the army retreated to Ciudad Rodrigo.[1] MacDougall transferred to the 85th Regiment of Foot on 25 January the following year, then participating in the Siege of San Sebastián from July until its capture on 31 August.[1][2] In the advance afterwards he served at the Battle of the Bidassoa on 7 October, Battle of Nivelle on 10 November, and Battle of the Nive in early December. After this MacDougall formed part of the force that besieged Bayonne into 1814, repulsing a French counterattack on 14 April.[1] He received the Military General Service Medal for his participation at Salamanca, San Sebastián, Nivelle, and the Nive.[2]
War of 1812 edit
As the Napoleonic Wars came to an end in France, MacDougall was transferred to fight in the War of 1812 in North America. Initially in the Chesapeake Campaign, he fought at the Battle of Bladensburg on 24 August and was with the force that advanced afterwards to capture Washington. After this he was appointed to serve as an aide de camp to Major-General Robert Ross, under whom he was present at the unsuccessful Battle of Baltimore on 12 September, during which Ross was killed.[1] MacDougall was promoted to brevet major on 20 October.[2]
After the failure of Ross' campaign MacDougall continued on in North America, this time in the Gulf Campaign as aide de camp to Major-General Sir Edward Pakenham. At the Battle of New Orleans on 8 January 1815 MacDougall lost his second general when Pakenham was killed in the failed assault. Before the war ended, MacDougall also participated in the Battle of Fort Bowyer in February.[1]
Post war edit
MacDougall continued on in the British Army after the end of the wars, seeing service in France, Ireland, and Nova Scotia.[1] He was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel on 25 April 1825, but reverted to his substantive rank as a major when he transferred to the 79th Regiment of Foot on 16 July 1830. With the 79th in Canada, he assumed command of the regiment in 1832 and provided military aid to the authorities in Montreal by putting down civil disturbances.[1][2] MacDougall was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 10 September the following year.[2]
British Auxillary Legion edit
MacDougall resigned his command of the 79th in 1835, choosing to go on half pay so that he could instead join the British Auxiliary Legion that was forming to serve in Spain. Commanded by De Lacy Evans, who had served with MacDougall at New Orleans, the force would fight in the First Carlist War in support of Isabella II. MacDougall joined Evans as his second in command and quartermaster general.[1][2] He also served as colonel of the 9th Regiment of the Legion.[2] Retiring from the Legion in 1836, MacDougall was appointed to the Royal and Military Order of Saint Ferdinand by Isabella and also received the British Legion Medal. Having returned to Britain, MacDougall was knighted at St James's Palace on 18 July 1838.[1] He retired fully from the British Army in the same year.[2]
Militia service edit
MacDougall was a supporter of part-time and militia units in the British Army. In retirement he formed the Royal Lancashire Militia Artillery in 1853.[1][2] Later he became one of the driving forces behind the Volunteer Force, a popular movement to create volunteer units for the army, convening the meeting that began the movement at St Martin's Hall, London, in 1859. He went on to publish several works in relation to the Volunteer Force, including Hints to Volunteers on Various Subjects in 1860 and The History of the Volunteer Movement in 1861.[1]
MacDougall died at his home address, 112 Eaton Square, London, on 10 December the following year. He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral with a memorial to him there created by George Gammon Adams.[1] It is located in the crypt vestibule of St Faith under St Paul's.[3]
Personal life edit
MacDougall married Anne Smelt, the daughter of Cornelius Smelt, in 1817. They had a son, Patrick Leonard MacDougall, who followed his father into the British Army. MacDougall married for a second time in 1844, this time to a widow, Hannah Nicholson, of Springfield House, Liverpool.[1]
Citations edit
References edit
- Bromley, Janet; Bromley, David (2015). Wellington's Men Remembered. Vol. 2. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: The Praetorian Press. ISBN 978-1-84884-750-7.
- Vetch, R. H.; Falkner, James (2006). "Macdougall [MacDougall], Sir Duncan". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)