Robert Craufurd (May 5, 1764 - January 23, 1812), British major-general, was born at Newark, Ayrshire, and entered the 25th Foot in 1779. May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1764 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Ayrshire (Scottish Gaelic, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir) is a traditional county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. ...

As captain in the 75th regiment he first saw active service against Tippoo Sahib in 1790-92. The next year he was employed, under his brother Charles, with the Austrian armies operating against the French. Returning to England in 1797, he soon saw further service, as a lieutenant-colonel, on Lake's staff in the Irish rebellion. A year later he was British commissioner on Suvarov's staff when the Russians invaded Switzerland, and at the end of 1799 was in the Holder expedition. Tipu sultans summer palace Tipu Sultan, also known as Tipu Sahib (1753 - May 4, 1799) was ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1782, and one of the primary native sources of resistance to the establishment of British rule in India. ... Sir Charles Craufurd (1761 - 1821), Lieutenant-General and elder brother of Robert Craufurd, entered the 1st Dragoon Guards in 1778. ... Monument to Suvorov as youthful Mars, the Roman god of war (Italy (November 24, 1729 - May 18, 1800), was a Russian Generalissimo, reckoned one of a few great generals in history who never lost a battle. ...

From 1801 to 1805 Lieutenant-Colonel Craufurd sat in parliament for East Retford, but in 1807 he resumed active service with Whitelock in the unfortunate Buenos Aires expedition. He was almost the only one of the senior officers who added to his reputation in this affair, and in 1808 he received a brigade command under Sir John Moore. His regiments were heavily engaged in the earlier part of the famous retreat, but were not present at Corunna, having been detached to Vigo, whence they returned to England. John Whitelocke (1757 - December 23, 1833), British soldier, was doubtless a descendant of Sir James Whitelocke. ... Buenos Aires (Good Airs in Spanish, originally meaning Fair Winds) is the capital of Argentina and its largest city and port, as well as one of the largest cities in South America. ... Sir John Moore (November 13, 1761 – January 16, 1809) was a British soldier and General. ... Tower of Hercules View from the Tower of Hercules A Coruña (Galician name, also known in English as Corunna; in Spanish as La Coruña) is a Galician city, in north-western Spain at 43° 22′ 0″ N 8° 22′ 60″ W. It is the capital of A Coru... Situation of Vigo within Galicia Vigo is the largest city of the Galicia region and Pontevedra province in northwestern Spain. ...

Later in 1809, once more in the Peninsula, Brigadier-General Craufurd was three marches or more in rear of Wellesley's army when a report came in that a great battle was in progress. The march which followed is one almost unparalleled in military annals. The three battalions of the Light Brigade (43rd, 52nd and 95th) started in full marching order, and arrived at the front on the day after the battle of Talavera, having covered 62 m. in twenty-six hours. Beginning their career with this famous march these regiments and their chief, under whom served such men as Charles and William Napier, Shaw and Colborne, soon became celebrated as one of the best corps of troops in Europe, and every engagement added to their laurels. 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Peninsular War (1808–1814) (It is known in Spain as War of Independence) was a major conflict during the Napoleonic Wars, fought in the Iberian Peninsula with Spanish, Portuguese, and the British forces fighting against the French. ... The battle of Talavera was fought on July 27 and 28 of 1809 and resulted in the difficult victory of the British and Spanish under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington against the French under King Joseph. ... Sir Charles James Napier (August 10, 1782 _ August 29, 1853) was a British general and Commander-in-Chief in India. ... Sir William Francis Patrick Napier (December 7, 1785 - February 12, 1860), British soldier and military historian, third son of Colonel George Napier (1751-1804) was born at Celbridge, near Dublin. ... Sir James Shaw-Kennedy (1788 - 1865), British soldier and military writer, was the son of Captain John Shaw, of Dalton, Kirkcudbrightshire. ... John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton (February 16, 1778 - April 17, 1863), British field marshal, was born at Lyndhurst, Hants and entered the 2Oth (Lancashire Fusiliers) in 1794, winning thereafter every step in his regimental promotion without purchase. ...

Craufurd's operations on the Coa and Agueda in 1810 were daring to the point of rashness, but he knew the quality of the men he led better than his critics did, and though Wellington censured him for his conduct, he at the same time increased his force to a division by the addition of two picked regiments of Portuguese Cacadores. The conduct of the renowned Light Division at Busaco is described by Napier in one of his most vivid passages. 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1 May 1769–14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, widely considered one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century. ... The Battle of Buçaco was a battle of the Peninsular War, fought by British and Portuguese forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington on September 27, 1810, to check French pursuit of his retreat to the Lines of Torres Vedras. ...

The winter of 1810-1811 Craufurd spent in England, and his division was commanded in the interim by another officer, who did not display much ability. He reappeared on the field of the battle of Fuentes d'Onoro amidst the cheers of his men, and nothing could show his genius for war better than his conduct on this day, in covering the strange readjustment of his line which Wellington was compelled to make in the face of the enemy. The Battle of Fuentes de Onoro was fought on May 3 - 5, 1811 and resulted in an undecided battle between French troops under Marshall André Masséna and British under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. ...

A little later he obtained major-general's rank; and on the 19th of January 1812, as he stood on the glacis of Ciudad Rodrigo, directing the stormers of the Light Division, he fell mortally wounded. His body was carried out of action by his staff officer, Lieutenant Shaw of the 43rd, and, after lingering four days, he died. Ciudad Rodrigo is a small town in Salamanca province in western Spain Its position as a fortified town on the main road from Portugal to Salamanca made it militarily important in the middle years of the Peninsular War. ...

He was buried in the breach of the fortress where he had met his death, and a monument in St Paul's cathedral commemorates Craufurd and Mackinnon, the two generals killed at the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo. The exploits of Craufurd and the Light Division are amongst the most cherished traditions of the British and Portuguese armies. One of the quickest and most brilliant, if not the very first, of Wellingtons generals, he had a fiery temper, which rendered him a difficult man to deal with, but to the day of his death he possessed the confidence and affection of his men in an extraordinary degree. St Pauls Cathedral is a cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London in London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. ...

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), contend supporters, in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...