General

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 George Augustus Wetherall (1788 – 8 April 1868) was a British

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

 General.

Military career

He was the son of General Sir Frederick Wetherall

Frederick Augustus Wetherall

Sir Frederick Augustus Wetherall, GCH , British General, of Castle Bear House, Ealing. He took part in the conquest of Java during the Napoleonic Wars, during which campaign he was assisted by his son George Wetherall....

 and was educated in the senior department of the Royal military college, and entered the army in 1803. He served as brigade-major at the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...

 in 1807, took part in the conquest of Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

 as aide-de-camp to his father, from 1822 till 1825 was military secretary to the commander-in-chief of Madras, and in 1826 was appointed deputy judge-advocate-general in India.

General Wetherall is most famous for his services during the rebellion in Canada of 1837/38 during which he was the Commander of the Royals’ 2nd battalion in the Battle of Saint-Charles

Battle of Saint-Charles

The Battle of Saint-Charles was fought on November 25, 1837 between Great Britain and Lower Canada rebels. The British were victorious.On the morning of 25 November 1837, 2 days after Charles Gore's defeat at the Battle of Saint-Denis and the retreat to Sorel the troops of Colonel George Wetherall...

, a battle part of the Lower Canada Rebellion

Lower Canada Rebellion

The Lower Canada Rebellion , commonly referred to as the Patriots' War by Quebeckers, is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada and the British colonial power of that province...

 fought on November 25, 1837 between Great Britain and Lower Canada Patriote rebels. After the victory, he and his troops unearthed the Colonne de la liberté

Colonne de la liberté (Quebec)

The Colonne de la liberté was a symbol of the Patriote movement erected in Saint-Charles, Lower Canada on October 23, 1937. Its name is identical to the column that marked the history of the French Revolution...

, a column erected in Saint-Charles by the Patriotes for the Assembly of the Six Counties

Assembly of the Six Counties

The Assembly of the Six Counties was an assembly of Patriote leaders and approximately 6,000 followers held in Saint-Charles, Lower Canada on October 23 and October 24, 1837, despite the June 15 Proclamation of the government forbidding public assemblies.Presided by Wolfred Nelson, it is the most...

, and brought it back as a war trophy

War trophy

In ancient Greece and Rome, military victories were commemorated with a display of captured arms and standards. A trophy was originally a war memorial assembled from such items on a battlefield. The Roman triumph‎ also displayed these items as well as cultural objects, which later came to be...

 to Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, along with a number of prisoners.

For his services, Wetherall was made a companion of the Order of the Bath

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...

. He was deputy adjutant-general in Canada from 1843 till 1850. In 1854 he was made Adjutant-General to the Forces

Adjutant-General to the Forces

The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General , is one of the most senior officers in the British Army. He is in charge of administration, personnel and organisational matters. The Adjutant-General usually holds the rank of General or Lieutenant-General...

, which post he held till in 1860 he took command of the Northern District

Northern Command (United Kingdom)

-Nineteenth century:The District Commands of the British Army in Great Britain and Ireland first appear in print in 1840, at which time Northern Command was held by Maj-Gen Charles James Napier, appointed in 1838. During his time the troops stationed within Northern Command were frequently deployed...

 of England. At the expiration of his services in 1865 he was appointed Governor of the Royal Military College Sandurst. He became colonel of the 84th regiment in 1854, was knighted in 1856, made a lieutenant-general in 1857, and a GCB in 1865.