List of British Army awards in the Napoleonic Wars

This is a list of British Army officers who received sovereign's awards for their services during the Napoleonic Wars, comprising the period 1803 to 1815 and ranging in awards from knight bachelors to peerages. This list includes officers of the Royal Marines who were at the time seconded to the British Army, and foreign officers serving in the British Army who received honorary awards.

Introduction

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Initially during the Napoleonic Wars, awards were rare for those who had distinguished themselves in service, leaving many without tangible symbols of their success. These awards were overwhelmingly presented to senior officers rather than to other ranks and subalterns, for whom the prevailing opinion was that doing their duty was a reward of itself.[1] Decorations for other ranks were only introduced in 1854 with the Distinguished Conduct Medal.[2]

The lack of official awards caused great resentment among the British, as in comparison the French liberally awarded the Legion of Honour.[2] Some regiments created their own awards to fill this gap, such as embroidered colours for personal deeds and badges for the survivors of forlorn hopes.[3] In 1815 the Order of the Bath was reorganised to combat this lack of appropriate rewards, adding several new classes to it and allowing more officers, including those of field rank, to receive rewards for their services. Over 500 soldiers would go on to receive awards as part of this expanded system. The highest honour, a peerage, was awarded sixteen times to twelve individuals, of which Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, received four increasing from a viscountcy to a dukedom.[1][4]

Not covered in this list are campaign medals awarded during the Napoleonic Wars, which often did include the lower ranks in awards. These included the Waterloo Medal and later the Military General Service Medal, as well as officer-specific medals such as the Army Gold Cross and Army Gold Medal.[5] Also not covered is the Royal Guelphic Order which, while presented to British Army officers by the Prince Regent, was actually a Hanoverian order rather than a British one.[6]

Table key
    Posthumous award
    Royal Marines officer
    Honorary award

Peerages

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A peerage was traditionally the most prestigious award an officer might receive, providing them with a hereditary title of nobility. British Army officers received peerages for both outstanding military and political services in this period; those who already held a peerage would be elevated in it. The most peerages were awarded in 1814 to general officers who had served in the Peninsular War as commanders of independent units or formations larger than a division.[7][8]

Rank Name Peerage Date Ref.
General Gerard Lake, 1st Baron Lake Viscount Lake 31 October 1807 [9]
Lieutenant-General William Cathcart, 10th Baron Cathcart Viscount Cathcart 3 November 1807
Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley Viscount Wellington 4 September 1809
General Arthur Wellesley, 1st Viscount Wellington Earl of Wellington 28 February 1812
General Arthur Wellesley, 1st Earl of Wellington Marquess of Wellington 18 August 1812
General Henry Phipps, 1st Baron Mulgrave Earl of Mulgrave 7 September 1812
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellington Duke of Wellington 3 May 1814
Lieutenant-General Sir John Hope Baron Niddry 3 May 1814
Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham Baron Lynedoch 3 May 1814
Lieutenant-General Sir Stapleton Cotton Baron Combermere 3 May 1814
Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill Baron Hill 3 May 1814
Lieutenant-General Sir William Beresford Baron Beresford 3 May 1814
Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Stewart Baron Stewart 1 July 1814
General William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart Earl Cathcart 16 July 1814
Lieutenant-General Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge Marquess of Anglesey 23 June 1815
General George Harris Baron Harris 11 August 1815

Baronetcies

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A baronetcy is a hereditary knighthood; it is not a title of nobility and as such officers awarded baronetcies remained commoners. In precedence these titles ranked immediately below baronies, the lowest rank of the peerage. Many more officers who had served in the Napoleonic Wars were created baronets later in their careers, years after the wars had ended.[1]

Rank Name Date Reason Ref.
Major-General John Doyle 29 October 1805 For services [7]
Major-General Sir Charles Green 5 December 1805 For services and capture of Suriname
Major-General George Prevost 6 December 1805 Defence of Dominica
Lieutenant-General Charles Hastings 25 February 1806
Lieutenant-General George Nugent 11 November 1806 For services
Lieutenant-General Harry Burrard 3 November 1807 For services Copenhagen Expedition
Major-General Thomas Blomefield 14 November 1807 For services Copenhagen Expedition and Royal Artillery
George Pigott 3 October 1808
Lieutenant-General Sir David Baird 13 April 1809 For services India, Egypt, Cape Colony, Peninsula
Lieutenant-General William Payne 8 December 1812 Commander of Cavalry in Peninsula
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Richard Fletcher 14 December 1812 Commander of Royal Engineers in Peninsula
Major-General Roger Sheaffe 16 January 1813 Commander Upper Canada
Lieutenant-General Hildebrand Oakes 2 November 1813 For services
Lieutenant-General Thomas Hislop 2 November 1813 For services
General George Hewett 6 November 1813 For services and Commander-in-Chief, India
Major-General Sir John Hamilton 21 December 1814 Division commander in Peninsula
Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Elphinstone 3 April 1815 Commander of Royal Engineers in Peninsula
General Sir Hew Dalrymple 6 May 1815 For services in Peninsula and Gibraltar
Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Campbell 6 May 1815 Division commander in Peninsula

Order of the Bath

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The Order of the Bath was an order of chivalry available to British Army officers. Prior to 1815 the order only had one grade, Knight of the Bath, which was presented in the post-nominals KB, and was awarded not for meritorious achievement but for men of high social and economic status.[10] This antiquated order was expanded into military and civil divisions with three classes, so that more people could be included in the order and rewarded for their services.[11] Those officers who already held a KB received the highest class of the new order, becoming a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. This class and the next, Knight Commander, styled the awardee as a knight, while the lowest class, Knight Companion, did not.[10]

Awards for the new Order of the Bath took into account both distinguished service and bravery, and were less constrained to ranks as previous awards had been. The first class was limited to those officers of major-general or above, with soldiers as low as lieutenant-colonel being made Knights Commander. Colonels were more likely to be made Knights Companion, which award became the standard for service in the field.[6][12] Membership of the first two classes of the order was limited, with seventy-two men being allowed the first, and 180 the second. Ten extra spaces were added to the second class for the addition of foreign officers who nonetheless held British commissions, notably those of the King's German Legion.[13]

Awards of the Order of the Bath had not been finalised when the Hundred Days campaign was fought, and so officers who had distinguished themselves at the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo were also included when the lists were eventually released. Those officers rewarded for their services in earlier campaigns, such as the Peninsular War, had their awards dated 2 January, while those for the latter campaign were dated 22 June.[10]

Knight Grand Cross

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Rank Name Date Prior KB Ref.
Field Marshal Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany 2 January 1815 30 December 1767 [14]
General Sir Robert Abercromby 2 January 1815 15 January 1797
General Sir Alured Clarke 2 January 1815 14 January 1797
General John Hely-Hutchinson, 1st Baron Hutchinson 2 January 1815 28 May 1801
General Sir Eyre Coote 2 January 1815 19 May 1802
General Sir John Cradock 2 January 1815 16 February 1803
General Sir David Dundas 2 January 1815 28 April 1803
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 2 January 1815 28 August 1804
General George Ludlow, 3rd Earl Ludlow 2 January 1815 26 September 1804
Lieutenant-General Sir John Stuart 2 January 1815 13 September 1806
General Sir David Baird 2 January 1815 21 April 1809
Lieutenant-General John Hope, 1st Baron Niddry 2 January 1815 21 April 1809
Lieutenant-General Sir Brent Spencer 2 January 1815 21 April 1809
General Sir George Beckwith 2 January 1815 24 April 1809
Lieutenant-General Sir John Sherbrooke 2 January 1815 16 September 1809
Lieutenant-General William Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford 2 January 1815 16 October 1810
Lieutenant-General Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch 2 January 1815 22 February 1812
Lieutenant-General Rowland Hill, 1st Baron Hill 2 January 1815 22 February 1812
Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty 2 January 1815 22 February 1812
Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Paget 2 January 1815 12 June 1812
Lieutenant-General Stapleton Cotton, 1st Baron Combermere 2 January 1815 21 August 1812
General Sir George Nugent 2 January 1815 1 February 1813
General Sir William Keppel 2 January 1815 1 February 1813
Lieutenant-General Sir John Doyle 2 January 1815 1 February 1813
Lieutenant-General Lord William Bentinck 2 January 1815 1 February 1813
Lieutenant-General Sir James Leith 2 January 1815 1 February 1813
Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton 2 January 1815 1 February 1813
Lieutenant-General Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole 2 January 1815 1 February 1813
Lieutenant-General Charles Stewart, 1st Baron Stewart 2 January 1815 1 February 1813
Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Hope 2 January 1815 29 June 1813
Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton 2 January 1815 29 June 1813
Lieutenant-General George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie 2 January 1815 11 September 1813
Lieutenant-General Sir William Stewart 2 January 1815 11 September 1813
Major-General Sir George Murray 2 January 1815 11 September 1813
Major-General Sir Edward Pakenham 2 January 1815 11 September 1813
General William, Prince of Orange 2 January 1815 14 August 1814
Field Marshal Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn 2 January 1815
Field Marshal Prince Ernest, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale 2 January 1815 [15]
Field Marshal Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge 2 January 1815
Field Marshal Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge 2 January 1815
General Robert Brownrigg 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General Harry Calvert 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General Thomas Maitland 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General William Henry Clinton 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General Sir John Abercromby 7 April 1815
Major-General Sir Charles Colville 7 April 1815
Major-General Sir James Kempt 22 June 1815

Knight Commander

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Rank Name Date Ref.
Lieutenant-General Gordon Drummond 2 January 1815 [15]
Lieutenant-General John Abercromby 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General Ronald Craufurd Ferguson 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General Henry Warde 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General William Houston 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General William Lumley 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General Wroth Palmer Acland 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General Miles Nightingall 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General Henry Frederick Campbell 2 January 1815
Major-General Alan Cameron 2 January 1815
Major-General Charles Colville 2 January 1815
Major-General Henry Fane 2 January 1815
Major-General George Anson 2 January 1815
Major-General Kenneth Howard 2 January 1815
Major-General Henry Bell 2 January 1815
Major-General John Oswald 2 January 1815
Major-General William Anson 2 January 1815
Major-General Edward Howorth 2 January 1815
Major-General Charles Wale 2 January 1815
Major-General Ormsby Vandeleur 2 January 1815
Major-General Edward Stopford 2 January 1815
Major-General George Walker 2 January 1815
Major-General James Kempt 2 January 1815
Major-General Robert Rollo Gillespie 2 January 1815 [16]
Major-General William Henry Pringle 2 January 1815
Major-General Frederick Robinson 2 January 1815
Major-General Edward Barnes 2 January 1815
Major-General William Ponsonby 2 January 1815
Major-General John Byng 2 January 1815
Major-General Thomas Brisbane 2 January 1815
Major-General Denis Pack 2 January 1815
Major-General Lord Edward Somerset 2 January 1815
Major-General Thomas Bradford 2 January 1815
Major-General John Lambert 2 January 1815
Major-General James Gordon 2 January 1815
Major-General Manley Power 2 January 1815
Major-General Samuel Gibbs 2 January 1815
Major-General Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer 2 January 1815
Major-General Colquhoun Grant 2 January 1815
Major-General Thomas Sydney Beckwith 2 January 1815
Major-General Robert O'Callaghan 2 January 1815
Major-General John Keane 2 January 1815
Major-General Colin Halkett 2 January 1815
Major-General Henry Bunbury 2 January 1815
Major-General Hussey Vivian 2 January 1815
Major-General Henry Torrens 2 January 1815
Colonel John Elley 2 January 1815
Colonel Charles Belson 2 January 1815
Colonel William Howe De Lancey 2 January 1815
Colonel Benjamin D'Urban 2 January 1815
Colonel George Bingham 2 January 1815
Colonel Charles Greville 2 January 1815
Colonel Hoylet Framingham 2 January 1815
Colonel Andrew Barnard 2 January 1815
Colonel William Robe 2 January 1815
Colonel Henry Ellis 2 January 1815
Colonel John Cameron 2 January 1815
Colonel Robert Trench 2 January 1815
Colonel Charles Pratt 2 January 1815
Colonel Edward Blakeney 2 January 1815
Colonel John McLean 2 January 1815
Colonel Richard Jackson 2 January 1815
Colonel William Douglas 2 January 1815
Colonel Colin Campbell 2 January 1815 [17]
Colonel John Colborne 2 January 1815
Colonel Sir Archibald Campbell 2 January 1815
Colonel Thomas Arbuthnot 2 January 1815
Colonel Henry Bouverie 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel William Williams 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Hollis Bradford 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Leith 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Lawrence Dundas 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Arbuthnot 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Sutton 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel James Douglas 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Hardinge 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel George Berkeley 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremiah Dickson 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Milley Doyle 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Thomas Noel Hill 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Macara 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Gordon 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Carr 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Broke 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Lord FitzRoy Somerset 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel James Wilson 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Dickson 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel John May 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel George Scovell 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel William Gomm 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Ulysses Burgh 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Francis D'Oyly 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Williams 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel James Malcolm 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel James Archibald Hope 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Augustus Frazer 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Hew Dalrymple Ross 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Kenyton Williams 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell Grant 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Stovin 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Carncross 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Gardiner 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-Colonel John Dyer 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General Charles, Baron Linsingen 2 January 1815
Major-General Sigismund, Baron Low 2 January 1815 [18]
Major-General Henry de Hinuber 2 January 1815
Major-General William de Dornberg 2 January 1815
Colonel Frederick de Arentsschildt 2 January 1815
Colonel Julius Hartmann 2 January 1815
Lieutenant-General Moore Disney 7 April 1815
Major-General William Inglis 7 April 1815
Major-General James Lyon 7 April 1815
Major-General George Cooke 20 June 1815
Major-General Peregrine Maitland 22 June 1815
Major-General Frederick Adam 22 June 1815

Companion

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320 men were created Companions of the Order of the Bath between 4 June and 8 December 1815. 73 of these were colonels, with 215 lieutenant-colonels receiving awards alongside 32 majors. Three of the majors were Royal Marines.[19]

Knights bachelor

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Knight bachelor was the lowest rank of knighthood available, not being hereditary or part of any order. Most commonly, British Army officers who were made knights bachelor had already received foreign knighthoods for their services, such as the Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword, which by itself would not allow awardees to style themselves as knights. Officers were also made knights bachelor if they stood as proxy in the installation ceremony for another officer's knighthood, most commonly for the Order of the Bath.[20]

Rank Name Date Reason Ref.
Lieutenant-Colonel George Smith 9 December 1807 Aide de camp to George III [20]
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Imhoff 1807 Unknown
Brigadier-General Charles Shipley 11 March 1808 Royal Engineers
Captain Mark Gerard 30 March 1809 Royal Marines
Captain William Wynn 2 March 1810 Governor of Sandown Fort
Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Fletcher 18 April 1812 Royal Engineers
Lieutenant-Colonel George Adam Wood 22 May 1812 Proxy for Sir John Sherbrooke
Major John Tylden 22 May 1812 Proxy for Sir Samuel Auchmuty
Captain Charles Gordon 29 May 1812 Proxy for Sir John Hope
Colonel Thomas Sydney Beckwith 29 May 1812 Proxy for Sir George Beckwith
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Chambre Hill 29 May 1812 Proxy for Sir Rowland Hill
Lieutenant-General Alexander Campbell 29 May 1812 Proxy for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Earl of Wellington
Lieutenant-General John Hamilton 15 July 1813 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword
Colonel George Elder 11 November 1813 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword
Brigadier-General John Wilson 16 April 1814 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword
Lieutenant-Colonel John Browne 16 April 1814 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword [21]
Colonel Hudson Lowe 26 April 1814 Royal Corsican Rangers
Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell 7 May 1814 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword
Lieutenant-General Albert Gledstanes May 1814 Unknown
Captain Freeman Barton 25 June 1814 2nd Regiment of Foot
Colonel Charles Sutton 13 July 1814 Portuguese Army service
Lieutenant-General Tomkyns Hilgrove Turner 28 July 1814 Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
Lieutenant-Colonel Gregory Way 28 July 1814 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword
Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Noel Hill 28 July 1814 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword
Lieutenant-Colonel John Milley Doyle 28 July 1814 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword
Colonel Neil Campbell 7 October 1814 54th Regiment of Foot
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Felix Smith 10 November 1814 Award of Spanish Order of Charles III
Colonel Edward Kerrison 5 January 1815 7th Light Dragoons
Major-General Loftus William Otway 15 January 1815 Unknown
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Pynn 23 February 1815 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword
Lieutenant-Colonel John Campbell 9 March 1815 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword
Colonel Sir Charles Greville 20 April 1815 38th Regiment of Foot
Lieutenant-Colonel Victor von Arentsschildt 20 April 1815 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword
Colonel Samuel Ford Whittingham 3 May 1815 Aide de camp to the Prince Regent
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Richard Williams 25 May 1815 Royal Marines
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir James Malcolm 25 May 1815 Royal Marines
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir James Archibald Hope 25 May 1815 Unknown
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hew Dalrymple Ross 25 May 1815 Royal Artillery
Lieutenant-Colonel William Osborne Hamilton 25 May 1815 Meritorious Service on Heligoland
Major-General Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer 6 June 1815 Unknown
Colonel Sir Charles Pratt 29 June 1815 5th Regiment of Foot
Major-General Warren Peacocke 27 July 1815 Award of Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword [10]
Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Reade 27 November 1815 Deputy Adjutant General Saint Helena
Colonel Hugh Gough 4 December 1815 Meritorious Service
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Williams 4 December 1815 Unknown
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Robert Arbuthnot 4 December 1815 Unknown
Major-General Benjamin Bloomfield 11 December 1815 Chief Equerry to the Prince Regent
Colonel Charles William Doyle 1815 Unknown
Colonel Sir Robert Trench 22 December 1815 74th Regiment of Foot
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Joseph Carncross 22 December 1815 Royal Artillery

Citations

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References

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  • Burnham, Robert; McGuigan, Ron (2010). The British Army against Napoleon. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-84832-562-3.
  • Holmes, Richard (2001). Redcoat. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-257097-1.
  • Pumphrey, Ralph E. (October 1959). "The Introduction of Industrialists into the British Peerage: A Study in Adaptation of a Social Institution". The American Historical Review. 64 (1): 1–16. doi:10.2307/1846598. JSTOR 1846598.
  • Risk, James. C. (1972). The History of The Order of the Bath. London: Spink & Son. OCLC 571736.