Henry Edward Fox
Encyclopedia
General
Henry Edward Fox (4 March 1755 – 18 July 1811) was a British Army general. He also served for a brief spell as Governor of Minorca.
(1749–1806).
before being commissioned as a cornet in the 1st dragoon guards in 1770. Soon after that he spent 1 year's leave at the military academy at Strasbourg. After his return he rose to lieutenant (1773) then captain (1774).
, stationed at Boston
, and fought in the American War of Independence (spending 1778-79 on leave in England). By the end of the war he had risen to colonel and king's aide-de-camp
, and he then moved to command the forces in Nova Scotia
(1783–89), where he was influential in the creation of the new colony of New Brunswick
, and then the Chatham barracks (1789–93).
's staff in Flanders to replace the recently killed James Moncrieff (1793–95) and fought in the Netherlands theatre of the French Revolutionary Wars
. He then served as inspector-general of the recruiting service (1795–99), lieutenant-governor of Minorca (1799–1801), c-in-c of all British Mediterranean forces outside Gibraltar
(1801–03, replacing the killed General Sir Ralph Abercromby
at the battle of Aboukir
) and finally Commander-in-Chief, Ireland
(1803). In Ireland he was caught off-guard by Robert Emmet
's Dublin uprising (22 July 1803) and was quickly replaced by Lieutenant-General Cathcart
, whose appointment was gazetted on 20 October.
Fox moved to be commander of the London district (1803), Lieutenant-Governor of Gibraltar
(1804–06), Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean (1806–07) and minister to Sicily
. With his health weakening, Fox passed active command of the force to his deputy, Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore. The smallness of his force (made yet smaller when Major-General Mackenzie Fraser
was sent to occupy Alexandria) meant he refused the repeated requests from the Sicilian court and William Drummond
, British minister at the Sicilian court, for land operations on the Italian mainland. Fox and Moore also opposed the naval commander William Sidney Smith's political machinations at the Sicilian court, contrary as they were to the army's tactics for the Italian theatre, until Fox's ill health finally led to his being recalled by the British government and replaced by Moore. Fox was promoted full general on 25 April 1808 and appointed governor of Portsmouth in 1810, dying the following year.
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....
Henry Edward Fox (4 March 1755 – 18 July 1811) was a British Army general. He also served for a brief spell as Governor of Minorca.
Family
As a son of Henry Fox, first Baron Holland and his second wife, (Georgiana) Caroline Fox, née Lennox, he was a younger brother of the politician Charles James FoxCharles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
(1749–1806).
Life
He attended Westminster SchoolWestminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
before being commissioned as a cornet in the 1st dragoon guards in 1770. Soon after that he spent 1 year's leave at the military academy at Strasbourg. After his return he rose to lieutenant (1773) then captain (1774).
American War of Independence
In 1773 he moved to the 38th Regiment of Foot38th Regiment of Foot
The 38th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army.-History:It was formed in 1705 and amalgamated into the South Staffordshire Regiment in 1881....
, stationed at Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and fought in the American War of Independence (spending 1778-79 on leave in England). By the end of the war he had risen to colonel and king's aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
, and he then moved to command the forces in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
(1783–89), where he was influential in the creation of the new colony of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, and then the Chatham barracks (1789–93).
Later career
Next he was quartermaster-general on the duke of YorkPrince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
's staff in Flanders to replace the recently killed James Moncrieff (1793–95) and fought in the Netherlands theatre of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. He then served as inspector-general of the recruiting service (1795–99), lieutenant-governor of Minorca (1799–1801), c-in-c of all British Mediterranean forces outside Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
(1801–03, replacing the killed General Sir Ralph Abercromby
Ralph Abercromby
Sir Ralph Abercromby was a Scottish soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was noted for his services during the Napoleonic Wars, and served as Commander-in-Chief, Ireland.He twice served as MP for Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire, and was...
at the battle of Aboukir
Battle of Abukir (1801)
The Battle of Abukir of 8 March 1801 was the second battle of the Egyptian campaign in the French Revolutionary Wars, to be fought at Abu Qir on the Mediterranean coast, near the Nile delta. A British army of 5,000 led by General Ralph Abercromby landed along the beach to dislodge an entrenched...
) and finally Commander-in-Chief, Ireland
Commander-in-Chief, Ireland
Commander-in-Chief, Ireland was title of the commander of British forces in Ireland before 1922.The role nominally is held by the President of Ireland today as the supreme commander of the Defence Forces.-Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland, 1700-1922:...
(1803). In Ireland he was caught off-guard by Robert Emmet
Robert Emmet
Robert Emmet was an Irish nationalist and Republican, orator and rebel leader born in Dublin, Ireland...
's Dublin uprising (22 July 1803) and was quickly replaced by Lieutenant-General 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:...
, whose appointment was gazetted on 20 October.
Fox moved to be commander of the London district (1803), Lieutenant-Governor of Gibraltar
Governor of Gibraltar
The Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The Governor is appointed by the British Monarch on the advice of the British Government...
(1804–06), Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean (1806–07) and minister to Sicily
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
. With his health weakening, Fox passed active command of the force to his deputy, Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore. The smallness of his force (made yet smaller when Major-General Mackenzie Fraser
Alexander Mackenzie-Fraser
Lieutenant General Alexander Mackenzie-Fraser was a British General. He was known as Mackenzie until he took additional name of Fraser in 1803.- Family and early life :...
was sent to occupy Alexandria) meant he refused the repeated requests from the Sicilian court and William Drummond
William Drummond of Logiealmond
Sir William Drummond of Logiealmond was a Scottish diplomat and Member of Parliament, poet and philosopher. His book Academical Questions is arguably important in the development of the ideas of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.-Career:In 1795 he was MP for St. Mawes, and in the...
, British minister at the Sicilian court, for land operations on the Italian mainland. Fox and Moore also opposed the naval commander William Sidney Smith's political machinations at the Sicilian court, contrary as they were to the army's tactics for the Italian theatre, until Fox's ill health finally led to his being recalled by the British government and replaced by Moore. Fox was promoted full general on 25 April 1808 and appointed governor of Portsmouth in 1810, dying the following year.
Marriage and issue
On 14 November 1786 he married Marianne Clayton, daughter of William Clayton, 4th Baronet and sister of Catherine, Lady Howard de Walden, and they had 3 children- Louisa Amelia Fox (d. 1828), later wife of Major-General Sir Henry Bunbury
- Henry Stephen FoxHenry Stephen FoxHenry Stephen Fox was a British diplomat.-Life:As the only son of General Henry Edward Fox , Henry was educated at Eton College. Matriculating from Christ Church, Oxford in 1809, his wit, charm, love of gambling and manners made him popular in fashionable circles...
, (1791–1846), later the UK's envoy-extraordinary and minister-plenipotentiary to the United States of America - Caroline Fox, who married Major-General William NapierWilliam Francis Patrick NapierGeneral Sir William Francis Patrick Napier KCB , Irish soldier in the British Army and military historian, third son of Colonel George Napier was born at Celbridge, near Dublin.-Military service:...