Henry Smyth (British Army officer, born 1816) explained

Henry Smyth
Birth Date:5 April 1816
Death Date:1891
Birth Place:Warmfield cum Heath, Yorkshire
Commands:68th Regiment of Foot
Western District
Battles:Crimean War
Awards:Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Major-General Henry Smyth CB (5 April 1816 – 1891) was a British Army officer who became General Officer Commanding Western District.[1]

Early life

Smyth was the second son of John Henry Smyth, of Heath Hall, Wakefield, Yorkshire, a Whig MP for Cambridge University (1812–1822) and Lady Elizabeth Anne FitzRoy.[2] His elder brother, John George Smyth, was an MP for the City of York.[3]

His maternal grandfather was George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton and the former Charlotte Maria Waldegrave. His paternal grandparents were Lady Georgiana FitzRoy (daughter of Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton) and John Smyth, who served as MP of Pontefract, and was a Lord of the Admiralty, Lord of the Treasury, Master of the Mint, and a Commissioner of the Board of Trade.[4]

Military career

Smyth was commissioned as an ensign in the 68th Regiment of Foot on 28 June 1833.[5] He became commanding officer of the 68th Foot and commanded it at the Battle of Alma in September 1854 and the Battle of Inkerman in November 1854 as well as the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War.[5] He went on to be General Officer Commanding Western District in February 1874.[6]

He became Colonel of the 2nd (The Queen's Royal) Regiment of Foot on 10 April 1877 and was made full General on 29 September 1878.

Family

In 1865, he married Rebecca Mary Pierce, the daughter of Thomas Peirce.[7] Together, they were the parents of:[3]

Smyth died in 1891.[3]

Descendants

Through his son William he was a grandfather of Sir John Smyth, 1st Baronet, a recipient of the Victoria Cross.[3]

References

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Notes and References

  1. Book: Burke . Sir Bernard . A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland . 1871 . Harrison . 1283 . 25 May 2019 . en.
  2. Book: Boase . Frederic . Modern English biography: containing many thousand concise memoirs of persons who have died between the years 1851–1900, with an index of the most interesting matter . 1965 . Frank Cass . 1885 . en.
  3. Book: Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood. Burke's Peerage & Gentry . Mosley, Charles . Charles Mosley (genealogist) . 107 . 2003 . 3671 . Burke . 0-9711966-2-1.
  4. Web site: SMYTH, John (1748-1811), of Heath Hall, nr. Pontefract, Yorks.. History of Parliament Online. 24 November 2017.
  5. Web site: General Sir Henry Smythe KCB 1877 – 1891. Queen's Royal Surreys. 22 November 2015.
  6. Web site: Army Commands . 21 November 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112744/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf . 4 March 2016.
  7. Book: Burke . Bernard . Burke's Landed Gentry . 1898 . Harrison & sons . 1370 . 26 May 2019.