Colin Halkett
Encyclopedia
General
Sir Colin Halkett GCB
GCH
GCTE
(1774–1856) was a British Army
officer who became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
.
Frederick Godar Halkett and his younger brother was General
Hugh Halkett
.
From 1800 to 1801 he commanded Dutch
troops on the Island of Guernsey
. On 28 July 1803 , a letter of service was issued to Major
Halkett (and to Lieutenant Colonel
von der Decken
) empowering him "to raise a battalion of infantry with an establishment of four hundred and fifty-nine men" and offering him the rank of lieutenant colonel should he increase the number to eight hundred men. These men formed the nucleus of what was to become the King's German Legion
in December 1803. On November 17, 1803, Halkett was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of the 2nd Light Infantry Battalion
. This Battalion was involved in Cathcart
's expeditions to Hanover
, Rügen
and Copenhagen
.
. He held this command throughout the Peninsular War
from Albuera to Toulouse. On January 1, 1812 he was promoted to Colonel
. At the Battle of Salamanca
(July 22, 1812), he commanded 1st Brigade of the 7th Division under Major General Hope
.
Halkett was promoted to Major General on 4 June 1814.
On 18 June 1815, at the Battle of Waterloo
he commanded the 5th Brigade in the 3rd Division, under the command of Major General Carl von Alten
. He was wounded four times during the course of the battle.
Between 1821 and 1830 he was Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
and the first to reside in the St Saviour
Government House
, still in use today. During this time he married Letitia Cricket, widow of Captain Tyle of the Royal Artillery
. He had a son, Frederick (John) Colin Halkett, on 10 June 1826.
On July 22, 1830 he was promoted to Lieutenant General
.
He was Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
from 1849 until his death in 1856.
Two streets in Saint Helier
are named after him.
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General (United Kingdom)
General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....
Sir Colin Halkett GCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
GCH
Royal Guelphic Order
The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...
GCTE
Order of the Tower and Sword
The Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit is a Portuguese order of knighthood and the pinnacle of the Portuguese honours system. It was created by King Afonso V in 1459....
(1774–1856) was a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer who became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
The Lieutenant Governor of Jersey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown....
.
Family
Halkett came from a military family. His father was Major GeneralMajor General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Frederick Godar Halkett and his younger brother was General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Hugh Halkett
Hugh Halkett
General Baron Hugh Halkett, GCH, CB, was a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars and later a general of infantry in the Hanoverian service.-Early career:...
.
Military career
Halkett began his military career in the Dutch Guards and served in various companies for three years, leaving as a captain in 1795.From 1800 to 1801 he commanded Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
troops on the Island of Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
. On 28 July 1803 , a letter of service was issued to Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Halkett (and to Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
von der Decken
Johann Friedrich von der Decken
Johann Friedrich Graf von der Decken was a Hanoverian general and diplomat during the Napoleonic Wars.-Life:...
) empowering him "to raise a battalion of infantry with an establishment of four hundred and fifty-nine men" and offering him the rank of lieutenant colonel should he increase the number to eight hundred men. These men formed the nucleus of what was to become the King's German Legion
King's German Legion
The King's German Legion was a British Army unit of expatriate German personnel, 1803–16. The Legion achieved the distinction of being the only German force to fight without interruption against the French during the Napoleonic Wars....
in December 1803. On November 17, 1803, Halkett was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of the 2nd Light Infantry Battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
. This Battalion was involved in Cathcart
William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart
General William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart KT, PC, PC , Scottish soldier and diplomatist, was born at Petersham, and educated at Eton.-Military career:...
's expeditions to Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, Rügen
Rügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
and Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.
Peninsular War
In 1811 he was given command of the Light Brigade of the King's German LegionKing's German Legion
The King's German Legion was a British Army unit of expatriate German personnel, 1803–16. The Legion achieved the distinction of being the only German force to fight without interruption against the French during the Napoleonic Wars....
. He held this command throughout the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
from Albuera to Toulouse. On January 1, 1812 he was promoted to Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
. At the Battle of Salamanca
Battle of Salamanca
The Battle of Salamanca saw Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish armies under the Duke of Wellington defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces among the hills around Arapiles south of Salamanca, Spain on July 22, 1812 during the Peninsular War....
(July 22, 1812), he commanded 1st Brigade of the 7th Division under Major General Hope
John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun
Lieutenant General John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun PC KB , known as the Honourable John Hope from 1781 to 1814 and as the Lord Niddry from 1809 to 1816, was a Scottish soldier and politician.-Military career:...
.
Halkett was promoted to Major General on 4 June 1814.
On 18 June 1815, at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
he commanded the 5th Brigade in the 3rd Division, under the command of Major General Carl von Alten
Charles Alten
Sir Charles Alten , Hanoverian and British soldier, son of Baron Alten, a member of an old Hanoverian family, entered the service of the elector as a page at the age of twelve. He led a famous Anglo-Portuguese division during the Peninsular War. At the Battle of Waterloo, he commanded a division...
. He was wounded four times during the course of the battle.
Governor
Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
The Lieutenant Governor of Jersey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown....
and the first to reside in the St Saviour
Saint Saviour, Jersey
-Notable sites:*Highlands College*De La Salle College*St. Michael's Preparatory School*Hautlieu School*Grainville Cricket Ground*Grainville School*Jersey Evening Post offices and printing works-External links:**...
Government House
Government House, Jersey
Government House is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey. The building is situated in the parish of St Saviour in Jersey. It is also used for ceremonial functions, receptions and meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries and heads of state...
, still in use today. During this time he married Letitia Cricket, widow of Captain Tyle of the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
. He had a son, Frederick (John) Colin Halkett, on 10 June 1826.
On July 22, 1830 he was promoted to Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
.
He was Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
Royal Hospital Chelsea
The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for British soldiers who are unfit for further duty due to injury or old age, located in the Chelsea region of central London, now the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is a true hospital in the original sense of the word,...
from 1849 until his death in 1856.
Two streets in Saint Helier
Saint Helier
Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 28,000, roughly 31.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island . The urban area of the parish of St...
are named after him.
Distinctions
- Britain
- Gold CrossArmy Gold MedalThe Army Gold Medal , also known as the Peninsular Gold Medal, with an accompanying Gold Cross, was a British campaign medal awarded in recognition of field and general officers' successful commands in recent campaigns, predominately the Peninsular War...
for Albuera, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nive - GCBOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
- Waterloo MedalWaterloo MedalThe Waterloo Medal was awarded to any soldier of the British Army who took part in one or more of the following battles: Battle of Ligny , Battle of Quatre Bras , and the Battle of Waterloo ....
- Gold Cross
- Hanover
- GCHRoyal Guelphic OrderThe Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...
- GCH
- Portugal
- Order of the Tower and SwordOrder of the Tower and SwordThe Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit is a Portuguese order of knighthood and the pinnacle of the Portuguese honours system. It was created by King Afonso V in 1459....
2nd rank
- Order of the Tower and Sword
- Bavaria
- Order of Maximilian Joseph 2nd rank
- Netherlands
- Military Order of William 2nd rank
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| Unit | Commander | Number of Men |
| 1st Brigade | Colonel Sir Colin Halkett | unknown |
| 1st Light Battalions King’s German Legion | unknown | unknown |
| 2nd Light Battalions King’s German Legion | unknown | unknown |
| 7 Cos Brunswick Oels | unknown | unknown |
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| Unit | Commander | Number of Men |
| 5th Brigade | Major General Sir Colin Halkett | 2,274 |
| 2nd/30th Foot Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Bailey | 635 |
| 33rd Foot Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Elphinstone | 576 |
| 2nd/69th Foot Regiment | Major Muttlebury | 565 |
| 2nd/73rd Foot Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Harris | 498 |
Literature
- N. Ludlow Beamish; History of the King's German Legion Vol 1. 1832-37 (new edition: Naval and Military Press 1997 ISBN 0-952201-10-0)
- N. Ludlow Beamish; History of the King's German Legion Vol 2. 1832-37 (new edition: Naval and Military Press 1997 ISBN 0-952201-10-0)
- Mike Chappell; The King's German Legion (2) 1812-1816. Osprey 2000 ISBN 1-85532-997-2
External links
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