George Hewett (British Army officer) explained

Honorific Prefix:Sir
George Hewett
Honorific Suffix:Bt
Birth Date:11 June 1750
Allegiance:United Kingdom
Branch:British Army
Rank:General
Commands:Indian Army
Battles:American Revolutionary War
Awards:Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

General Sir George Hewett, 1st Baronet (11 June 1750 – 21 March 1840) was Commander-in-Chief, India and then Commander-in-Chief, Ireland for the British Army.

Military career

Educated at Wimborne Grammar School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Hewett was commissioned into the 70th Regiment of Foot in 1762.[1] In 1771, he went to New York to help control the Carib Uprising and in 1780 he took part in the Siege of Charlestown.[1]

In 1787, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 43rd Regiment of Foot and in 1791, he went to Ireland where he became Adjutant-General (serving there until 1799).[2] He raised a new Regiment which was designated the 92nd Regiment of Foot.[1] [3]

He returned to England, where he served as Inspector General of Recruiting for the British Army from 1798 to 1804.[4] He was given the colonelcy of the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot for life in 1800 and became Barrackmaster-General in 1804.[1] In 1807, he became Commander-in-Chief, India and in 1809 he briefly took over the Government of India while the Governor-General put down a mutiny.[1] His last appointment was as Commander-in-Chief, Ireland in 1813.[1]

He was created a Baronet, of Nether Seale in the County of Leicester, on 6 November 1813.[5]

He lived at Freemantle Park near Southampton.[1]

Family

In 1785, he married Julia Johnson and together they went on to have five sons and six daughters, including Col. Sir George Henry Hewett, 2nd Baronet and Lieutenant-Colonel William Hewett.[1] [6]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/13143 George Hewett at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. Web site: Bonhams : IRELAND - WOLFE TONE, TEELING AND THE RISING OF 1798 Files of documents, kept by George Hewett, Adjutant-General of the British Army in Ireland 1791-99 and Commander-in-Chief of Ireland, 1813-16 . www.bonhams.com . 1 January 2024 . en.
  3. Web site: 'Rt Honble Genl Sir George Hewett, Bart. G.C.B.', 1815 (c) Online Collection National Army Museum, London . collection.nam.ac.uk . 1 January 2024.
  4. Book: Glover . Richard . Peninsular Preparation: the Reform of the British Army 1795-1809 . 1963 . Cambridge University Press . 219.
  5. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.
  6. Book: Notes and Queries . 1891 . Oxford University Press . 405-406 . en.