Sir Ralph Abercromby (sometimes spelled Abercrombie) (October 7, 1734–March 28, 1801) was a British lieutenant-general noted for his services during the Napoleonic Wars. October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years). ... Events January 8 - Premiere of George Frideric Handels opera Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. ... March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in Leap years). ... 1801 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in almost every country in the world. ... The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule of France. ...

Sir Ralph Abercromby K.B., Engraving by William Finden after John Hoppner

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (499x619, 151 KB) Sir Ralph Abercromby, (1734–1801), britischer General Engraver: William Finden (1787–1852) published 1 July 1834 by Harding & Lepard, Pall Mall East nach einem Original von John Hoppner, oil on canvas (circa 1798) File links The following pages... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (499x619, 151 KB) Sir Ralph Abercromby, (1734–1801), britischer General Engraver: William Finden (1787–1852) published 1 July 1834 by Harding & Lepard, Pall Mall East nach einem Original von John Hoppner, oil on canvas (circa 1798) File links The following pages... William Finden (1787 - 20 September 1852) was an English line engraver. ... John Hoppner (April 4?, 1758 - January 23, 1810), English portrait-painter, was born in Whitechapel. ...

Biography

Early life

He was the eldest son of George Abercromby of Tillibody, Clackmannanshire. Educated at Rugby and Edinburgh University, in 1754 he was sent to Leipzig to study civil law, with a view to his proceeding to the Scottish bar. Clackmannanshire (Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn in Gaelic) is one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area, bordering onto the areas of Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife. ... A view of Rugby School from the rear, including the playing field, where according to legend Rugby football was invented Rugby School, located in the town of Rugby in Warwickshire, is one of the oldest public schools in the United Kingdom and is perhaps one of the top co-educational... The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 as a renowned centre for teaching in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... 1754 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Map of Germany showing Leipzig   Leipzig? [ˈlaiptsɪç] (Polish; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk) is the largest city in the federal state (Bundesland) of Saxony in Germany. ... Civil law has at least three meanings. ...

On returning from the continent he expressed a strong preference for the military profession, and a cornet's commission was accordingly obtained for him (March 1756) in the 3rd Dragoon Guards. He served with his regiment in the Seven Years' War, and the opportunity thus afforded him of studying the methods of Frederick the Great moulded his military character and formed his tactical ideas. He rose through the intermediate grades to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the regiment (1773) and brevet colonel in 1780, and in 1781 he became colonel of the King's Irish infantry. When that regiment was disbanded in 1783 he retired upon half-pay. The cornet is a brass instrument that closely resembles the trumpet. ... 1756 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Seven Years War (1754 and 1756–1763) pitted Great Britain, Prussia, and Hanover against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony. ... Frederick II of Prussia (January 24, 1712–August 17, 1786) was a king of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty, reigning from 1740 to 1786. ... 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... In the US military, brevet refers to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank. ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Up to this time, he had scarcely been engaged in active service, and this was due mainly to his disapproval of the policy of the government, and especially to his sympathies with the American colonists in their struggles for independence. His retirement is no doubt to be ascribed to similar feelings. On leaving the army he for a time took up political life as member of Parliament for Clackmannanshire. This, however, proved uncongenial, and, retiring in favour of his brother, he settled at Edinburgh and devoted himself to the education of his children. Betsy Ross purportedly sewed the first American flag with 13 stars and 13 stripes representing each of the 13 colonies. ... Edinburghs location in Scotland Edinburgh viewed from Arthurs Seat. ...

War service

However, when France declared war against Great Britain in 1793, he hastened to resume his professional duties. Being esteemed one of the ablest and most intrepid officers in the whole British forces, he was appointed to the command of a brigade under the Duke of York, for service in the Netherlands. He commanded the advanced guard in the action at Le Cateau, and was wounded at Nijmegen. The duty fell to him of protecting the British army in its disastrous retreat out of Holland, in the winter of 1794-1795. In 1795, he received the honour of a knighthood of the Bath, in acknowledgment of his services. 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Prince Andrew, the current Duke of York since 1986 Duke of York is also a small island in Papua-New Guinea, see Duke of York (island) The title Duke of York is a title of nobility usually given to the second son of the British monarch, unless the title is... Le Cateau-Cambrésis is a commune in northern France, in the Nord département. ... Nijmegen (obsolete spellings: Nijmwegen, Nymegen, Nieumeghen — known in German as Nimwegen, French as Nimègue, and Spanish as Nimega) is a municipality and a city in the east of the Netherlands, near the German border. ... 1794 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Military Badge of the Order of the Bath Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-04-11, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...

The same year he was appointed to succeed Sir Charles Grey, as commander-in-chief of the British forces in the West Indies. In 1796, Grenada was suddenly attacked and taken by a detachment of the army under his orders. Abercromby afterwards obtained possession of the settlements of Demerara and Essequibo, in South America, and of the islands of Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Trinidad. He returned in 1797 to Europe, and, in reward for his important services, was appointed colonel of the regiment of Scots Greys, entrusted with the governments of the Isle of Wight, Fort-George and Fort-Augustus, and raised to the rank of lieutenant-general. The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ... 1796 was a leap year starting on Friday. ... Demerara was one of the original British colonies that was joined into the colony of British Guiana, now Guyana. ... The Essequibo River is the longest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Trinidad (Spanish, Trinity) is the largest of the 23 islands which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago. ... 1797 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Isle of Wight is an island off the south coast of England, opposite Southampton. ...

He held, in 1797-1798, the chief command of the forces in Ireland. There he laboured to maintain the discipline of the army, to suppress the rising rebellion, and to protect the people from military oppression, with the care worthy of a great general and an enlightened and beneficent statesman. When he was appointed to the command in Ireland, an invasion of that country by the French was confidently anticipated by the British government. He used his utmost efforts to restore the discipline of an army that was utterly disorganized; and, as a first step, he anxiously endeavoured to protect the people by re-establishing the supremacy of the civil power, and not allowing the military to be called out, except when it was indispensably necessary for the enforcement of the law and the maintenance of order. Finding that he received no adequate support from the head of the Irish government, and that all his efforts were opposed and thwarted by those who presided in the councils of Ireland, he resigned the command. His departure from Ireland was deeply lamented by the reflecting portion of the people, and was speedily followed by those disastrous results which he had anticipated, and which he so ardently desired and had so wisely endeavoured to prevent. 1798 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

After holding for a short period the office of commander-in-chief in Scotland, Sir Ralph, when the enterprise against the Dutch Batavian Republic was resolved upon in 1799, was again called to command under the duke of York. The campaign of 1799 ended in disaster, but friend and foe alike confessed that the most decisive victory could not have more conspicuously proved the talents of this distinguished officer. Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (Latin: No one provokes me with impunity) (Scots: Wha daur meddle wi me) Scotlands location within the UK Languages with Official Status1 English Gaelic Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... From 1795 to 1806, the Batavian Republic (Bataafse Republiek in Dutch) designated the Netherlands as a republic modelled after the French Republic, to which it was a vassal state. ... 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

His country applauded the choice when, in 1801, he was sent with an army to dispossess the French of Egypt. His experience in the Netherlands and the West Indies particularly fitted him for this new command, as was proved by his carrying his army in health, in spirits and with the requisite supplies, in spite of very great difficulties, to the destined scene of action. The debarkation of the troops at Abukir, in the face of strenuous opposition, is justly ranked among the most daring and brilliant exploits of the British army. Abū Qīr (Arabic أبو قير) (also Abukir or Aboukir) was a village on the Egypt, twenty-three kilometers (fourteen and one-half miles) northeast of Alexandria by rail, containing a castle used as a state prison by Muhammad Ali of Egypt. ...

Death

A battle in the neighbourhood of Alexandria (March 21, 1801) was the sequel of this successful landing, and it was Abercromby's fate to fall in the moment of victory. He was struck by a spent ball, which could not be extracted, and died seven days after the battle. Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic, الإسكندرية, transliterated al-ʼIskandariyyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. ... March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). ...

His old friend and commander the Duke of York paid a tribute to the soldier's memory in general orders: "His steady observance of discipline, his ever-watchful attention to the health and wants of his troops, the persevering and unconquerable spirit which marked his military career, the splendour of his actions in the field and the heroism of his death, are worthy the imitation of all who desire, like him, a life of heroism and a death of glory."

By a vote of the House of Commons, a monument was erected in his honour in St Paul's cathedral. His widow was created Baroness Abercromby of Tullibody and Aboukir Bay, and a pension of L. 2000 a year was settled on her and her two successors in the title.

References

Wikisource, as part of the 1911 Encyclopedia Wikiproject, has original text related to this article:

Abercromby, Sir Ralph

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en:Ralph Abercromby The office of Commander-in-Chief, Ireland was the commander of British forces in Ireland before 1922. ... Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (December 31, 1738-October 5, 1805) was a British general and colonial governor. ...