Samuel Ford Whittingham
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham (1772–1841), whose Christian names were contracted by himself and his friends into "Samford", was a British and Spanish army officer during the Napoleonic Wars
. Postbellum he served in the British Army predominately in India.
Whittingham entered mercantile house at Bristol; travelled in Spain; ensign, 1803; lieutenant, 1st Life Guards, 1803. Sent by Pitt
on secret mission to Iberian Peninsula, 1804–5; captain, 1805; transferred to command of troop of 13th Light Dragoons
, 1805. He served at Buenos Ayres on staff of John Whitelocke
; deputy assistant quartermaster-general to force under Sir Arthur Wellesley
, 1808. He was a brigadier-general In Spanish army, 1809; at Talavera, 1809. He commanded Spanish force at Barrosa
, 1811. He was an inspector-general of division, 1811; at Palma, Majorca, where he established a military training college, 1812. He cooperated with Lord William Bentinck
in Spain, 1812–13. He was lieutenant-general in the Spanish army, colonel
in the British Army, and aide-de-camp to Prince Regent, 1814. He was knighted and C.B., 1815; again in Spain after Napoleon Bonaparte's escape from Elba. He was governor-general of Dominica
, 1819–21; quartermaster-general in India, 1821–1825; major-general, 1825; K.O.B., 1826; returned to England, 1835. He was lieutenant-general and commander of forces in Windward
and Leeward Islands
, West Indies, 1836–9. He was commander of Madras Army
, 1839-41. He wrote on military and political subjects. He died at Madras.
, was born at Bristol on 29 January 1772. Samuel Ford was educated at Bristol and was intended for the law. Determined to be a soldier, but unwilling to oppose his father's wishes during his lifetime, he entered temporarily the mercantile house of his brother-in-law, travelling for it in Spain.
In 1797 he was enrolled at Bristol in the mounted volunteers, a force organised among the wealthier citizens on a threatened French invasion. On his father's death, on 12 Sept. 1801 (aged 60), at Earl's Mead, Bristol, Samford, who was in Spain, became independent, and took steps to enter the army. On his return to England he was gazetted ensign on 20 January 1803. He bought a lieutenancy on 25 February, and was brought into the 1st Life Guards on 10 March the same year. He went to the military college at High Wycombe
, and joined his regiment in London towards the end of 1804. Introduced by Thomas Murdoch, an influential merchant, to William Pitt the Younger
, then Prime Minister, as an officer whose knowledge of the Spanish language would be useful, Whittingham was sent by Pitt at the end of 1804 on a secret mission to the Iberian Peninsula, and during absence promoted, on 14 February 1805, to be captain in the 20th Foot. On his return he was complimented by Pitt, and on 13 June 1805 he was transferred to the command of a troop in the 13th Light Dragoons
.
On 12 November 1806 Whittingham sailed from Portsmouth as deputy-assistant quartermaster-general of the force, under Brigadier-general Robert Craufurd
, intended for Lima
; but on arrival at the Cape of Good Hope
on 15 March 1807 its destination was changed, and on 13 June it reached Montevideo
, recently captured by Sir Samuel Auchmuty. General John Whitelocke
had arrived to take command of the combined forces, and as Whittingham's staff appointment ceased on the amalgamation of the forces, Whitelocke made him an extra aide-de-camp
to himself. He took part in the disastrous attack on Buenos Ayres
and in the capitulation on 6 July, and sailed for England on 30 July. He gave evidence before the general court-martial, by which Whitelocke was tried in London in February and March 1808. Owing to his having served on Whitelocke's personal staff, Whittingham's position was a delicate one; but he acquitted himself with discretion.
Whittingham was immediately afterwards appointed deputy-assistant quartermaster-general on the staff of the army in Sicily
. On arrival at Gibraltar
, however, he acted temporarily as assistant military secretary to Lieutenant-general Sir Hew Dalrymple
, the governor, and, hearing of a projected campaign of the Spaniards under Don Xavier Castaños
against the French, obtained leave to join Castaños as a volunteer, with instructions to report in detail to Dalrymple on the progress of affairs. This special duty was approved from home on 2 July 1808, and on the 18th of the same month Whittingham was appointed a deputy-assistant quartermaster-general to the force under Sir Arthur Wellesley
, but was ordered to remain with Castaños. He took part under La Peña on 18 July 1808 in the victorious battle of Baylen, and for his services was made a colonel of cavalry in the Spanish army on 20 July.
On his recovery from a severe attack of rheumatic fever, Whittingham was sent to Seville
on a mission from the Duke of Infantado, and in February 1809 joined the army corps of the Duke of Albuquerque
in La Mancha
, where he took part in several cavalry affairs with such distinction that he was promoted to be brigadier-general in the Spanish army, to date from 2 March 1809. He was present at the battle of Medellin
on 28 March, when the Spanish general Cuesta
was defeated by the French general Victor-Perrin
. On this occasion Whittingham re-formed the routed cavalry and led them against the enemy. He reported constantly throughout these campaigns to the British minister in Spain, John Hookham Frere
, as to the state and operations of the Spanish army.
A short time previous to Wellesley's advance into Spain Whittingham joined the British headquarters on the frontier of Portugal, and became the medium of communication with the Spanish general Cuesta. On 28 July at the battle of Talavera he was severely wounded when gallantly bringing up two Spanish battalions to the attack, and was mentioned in Sir Arthur Wellesley's despatch of 29 July 1809. He went to Seville to recover, and lived with the British minister, Lord Wellesley; employing himself during his convalescence in translating Dundas's Cavalry Movements into Spanish. He was promoted to be major-general in the Spanish army on 12 August.
On the appointment of Castaños to be captain-general of Andalusia
, Whittingham became one of his generals of division. At Isla-de-Leon, whither he went by Sir Arthur Wellesley's direction to see General Venegas about the defence of Cadiz, he was given the command of the Spanish cavalry, which he remodelled upon British lines.
Whittingham served in command of a force of Spanish cavalry and infantry under La Peña
at the battle of Barrosa
, on 5 March 1811, and kept in check a French corps of cavalry and infantry which attempted to turn the Barossa heights by the seaward side. In June he went to Palma, Majorca, with the title of inspector-general of division, and, in spite of the opposition and intrigues of Don Gregorio Cuesta, captain-general of the Balearic Islands, raised a cavalry corps two thousand strong, and established in February 1812 a college in Palma for the training of officers and cadets of his division.
On 24 July 1812 the Majorca division embarked for the eastern coast of Spain to co-operate with the troops under Lord William Bentinck
from Sicily. In October Whittingham's corps (increased to seven thousand) was employed on outpost duty with its headquarters at Muchamiel, three miles from Alicante
. In March 1813 Whittingham was appointed inspector-general of both the cavalry and infantry troops of his division. He was engaged on the 7th of the month in the affair of Xegona, and on the 15th in the affair of Concentayña was wounded by a musket-ball in the right cheek, and was on both occasions most favourably mentioned by Sir John Murray
in despatches. On 13 April he took part in the victorious battle of Castalla
, and was again mentioned in despatches. When Murray invested Tarragona
on 3 June Whittingham's division occupied the left. On Suchet's
advance to relieve the place Whittingham vainly suggested to Murray that a corps of observation should be left before Tarragona, and that Murray should move to meet Suchet with all his force. The siege was raised. Murray was relieved in command of the army by Lord William Bentinck, and Whittingham covered the retreat, checking and repulsing the French column in pursuit, and joining the main army again at Cambrils
. In July he was given the command of the cavalry of the II and III army corps in addition to his own division.
In March 1814 Whittingham escorted King Ferdinand VII in his progress to Madrid
, and was presented with a mosaic snuffbox by the king, who on 16 June 1814 promoted him to be lieutenant-general in the Spanish army. On 4 June Wellington wrote from Madrid to the Duke of York, in anticipation of Whittingham's return home: "He has served most zealously and gallantly from the commencement of the war in the peninsula, and I have had every reason to be satisfied with his conduct in every situation in which he has been placed". Whittingham was promoted to be colonel in the British army and appointed aide-de-camp to the prince regent from the date of Wellington's letter.
In January and February 1815 Whittingham gave evidence in London before the general court-martial for the trial of Sir John Murray. On 3 May he was made a companion of the order of the Bath
, and also knighted. On Napoleon's escape from Elba Whittingham returned to Spain, at the special request of King Ferdinand, who conferred upon him the grand cross of the order of San Fernando
. He was employed as a lieutenant-general in the Spanish army under General Castaños. When the war was over he resided at Madrid, enjoying the favour of the court, and using for good such influence as he possessed with the king. In July 1819 he took leave of the Spanish court, upon accepting the lieutenant-governorship of Dominica
. Sir Henry Wellesley
wrote at this time to Lord Castlereagh, expressing the sense he entertained of Whittingham's services both during the war and after, and reporting that he left Spain with the testimony of all ranks in his favour, "but without any other reward from the government for the valuable services rendered by him to the Spanish cause than that of being allowed to retain his rank in the Spanish army". His private means had been reduced by losses, and he was at this time a poor man with an increasing family. He arrived at Dominica on 28 March 1820. On his departure to take up the appointment, dated 5 October 1821, of quartermaster-general of the king's troops in India, the inhabitants presented him with the grand cross of San Fernando set in diamonds, while the non-resident proprietors of estates in the island gave him a sword of honour. On his arrival in England he was made a knight commander of the Hanoverian Guelphic Order.
Whittingham reached Calcutta on 2 November 1822. He was busy in 1824 with the preparations for the expedition to Ava, and in November of that year with the Barrackpur Mutiny. On 27 May 1825 he was promoted to be major-general, retaining his appointment as quartermaster-general until a command became vacant. He took part in the siege of Bhartpur, was slightly wounded on 13 January 1826, but was present at the capture on the 18th. He was made a knight commander of the order of the Bath, military division, on 26 December, for his services at Bhartpur, and received the thanks of the House of Commons. In February 1827 he was appointed to command the Cawnpore Division. On 1 November 1830 he was transferred to the Mirat Command, on exchange with Sir Jasper Nicholl. His tenure of command came to an end in August 1833, and he then acted temporarily as military secretary to his old commander, Lord William Bentinck, the governor-general, with whom he returned to England in 1835.
On arrival in England in July he was near fighting a duel with Sir William Napier
, on account of the slur which he considered that Napier had cast on the Spanish troops in his History of the War in the Peninsula, but the matter was arranged by Sir Rufane Donkin. In October 1836 Whittingham was appointed to the command of the forces in the Windward
and Leeward Islands
of the West Indies. He sailed for Barbados on 22 December, with the local, exchanged in a few months for the substantive, rank of lieutenant-general. In September 1839 he was given the command of the Madras Army
; he arrived at Madras on 1 August 1840, and died there suddenly on 19 January 1841. He was buried with military honours at Fort George on the following day, salutes being fired at the principal military stations of the presidency. A tablet to his memory was placed in the garrison church, Madras.
He was the author of several unpublished papers on military and political subjects, which in 1900 were in possession of the family. A list of them is given in the Memoir of Whittingham's Services (1868), which has as frontispiece a portrait engraved by H. Adlard from an original miniature.
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Postbellum he served in the British Army predominately in India.
Whittingham entered mercantile house at Bristol; travelled in Spain; ensign, 1803; lieutenant, 1st Life Guards, 1803. Sent by Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
on secret mission to Iberian Peninsula, 1804–5; captain, 1805; transferred to command of troop of 13th Light Dragoons
13th Light Dragoons
The 13th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army whose battle honours include Waterloo and The Charge of the Light Brigade. 1n 1922, the regiment was amalgamated with the 18th Royal Hussars, to form the 13th/18th Hussars.-Regimental history:British light dragoons were first raised in...
, 1805. He served at Buenos Ayres on staff of John Whitelocke
John Whitelocke
-Military career:Whitelocke entered the army in 1778 and served in Jamaica and in San Domingo. In 1805 he was made a lieutenant-general and inspector-general of recruiting, and in 1807 he was appointed to command an expedition to seize Buenos Aires from the Spanish Empire, which was in disarray due...
; deputy assistant quartermaster-general to force under Sir Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley may refer to:*Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman*Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington , British soldier and nobleman...
, 1808. He was a brigadier-general In Spanish army, 1809; at Talavera, 1809. He commanded Spanish force at Barrosa
Battle of Barrosa
The Battle of Barrosa was an unsuccessful French attack on a larger Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish force attempting to lift the siege of Cádiz, Spain during the Peninsular War...
, 1811. He was an inspector-general of division, 1811; at Palma, Majorca, where he established a military training college, 1812. He cooperated with Lord William Bentinck
Lord William Bentinck
Lieutenant-General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck GCB, GCH, PC , known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British soldier and statesman...
in Spain, 1812–13. He was lieutenant-general in the Spanish army, 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...
in the British Army, and aide-de-camp to Prince Regent, 1814. He was knighted and C.B., 1815; again in Spain after Napoleon Bonaparte's escape from Elba. He was governor-general of Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
, 1819–21; quartermaster-general in India, 1821–1825; major-general, 1825; K.O.B., 1826; returned to England, 1835. He was lieutenant-general and commander of forces in Windward
Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...
and Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
, West Indies, 1836–9. He was commander of Madras Army
Madras Army
The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of the British India within the British Empire.The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all three...
, 1839-41. He wrote on military and political subjects. He died at Madras.
Biography
Whittingham was the elder son and second child of William Whittingham of BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, was born at Bristol on 29 January 1772. Samuel Ford was educated at Bristol and was intended for the law. Determined to be a soldier, but unwilling to oppose his father's wishes during his lifetime, he entered temporarily the mercantile house of his brother-in-law, travelling for it in Spain.
In 1797 he was enrolled at Bristol in the mounted volunteers, a force organised among the wealthier citizens on a threatened French invasion. On his father's death, on 12 Sept. 1801 (aged 60), at Earl's Mead, Bristol, Samford, who was in Spain, became independent, and took steps to enter the army. On his return to England he was gazetted ensign on 20 January 1803. He bought a lieutenancy on 25 February, and was brought into the 1st Life Guards on 10 March the same year. He went to the military college at High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, and joined his regiment in London towards the end of 1804. Introduced by Thomas Murdoch, an influential merchant, to William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, then Prime Minister, as an officer whose knowledge of the Spanish language would be useful, Whittingham was sent by Pitt at the end of 1804 on a secret mission to the Iberian Peninsula, and during absence promoted, on 14 February 1805, to be captain in the 20th Foot. On his return he was complimented by Pitt, and on 13 June 1805 he was transferred to the command of a troop in the 13th Light Dragoons
13th Light Dragoons
The 13th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army whose battle honours include Waterloo and The Charge of the Light Brigade. 1n 1922, the regiment was amalgamated with the 18th Royal Hussars, to form the 13th/18th Hussars.-Regimental history:British light dragoons were first raised in...
.
On 12 November 1806 Whittingham sailed from Portsmouth as deputy-assistant quartermaster-general of the force, under Brigadier-general Robert Craufurd
Robert Craufurd
Major-General Robert Craufurd was a Scottish soldier and Member of Parliament . After a military career which took him from India to the Netherlands, he was given command of the Light Division in the Napoleonic Peninsular War under the Duke of Wellington...
, intended for Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
; but on arrival 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...
on 15 March 1807 its destination was changed, and on 13 June it reached Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, recently captured by Sir Samuel Auchmuty. General John Whitelocke
John Whitelocke
-Military career:Whitelocke entered the army in 1778 and served in Jamaica and in San Domingo. In 1805 he was made a lieutenant-general and inspector-general of recruiting, and in 1807 he was appointed to command an expedition to seize Buenos Aires from the Spanish Empire, which was in disarray due...
had arrived to take command of the combined forces, and as Whittingham's staff appointment ceased on the amalgamation of the forces, Whitelocke made him an extra 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...
to himself. He took part in the disastrous attack on Buenos Ayres
Buenos Ayres
Buenos Ayres is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in southwestern Trinidad, north of Erin and southeast of Point Fortin. Buenos Ayres is the hometown of the calypsonian Cro Cro. The Erin Savannas, one of the last remaining natural savannas in Trinidad and Tobago is located just east...
and in the capitulation on 6 July, and sailed for England on 30 July. He gave evidence before the general court-martial, by which Whitelocke was tried in London in February and March 1808. Owing to his having served on Whitelocke's personal staff, Whittingham's position was a delicate one; but he acquitted himself with discretion.
Whittingham was immediately afterwards appointed deputy-assistant quartermaster-general on the staff of the army in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. On arrival at 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...
, however, he acted temporarily as assistant military secretary to Lieutenant-general Sir Hew Dalrymple
Hew Dalrymple
Hew Dalrymple may refer to:*Sir Hew Dalrymple, 1st Baronet of Bargeny, Lord North Berwick, judge and politician*Sir Hew Dalrymple, 2nd Baronet , Scottish MP...
, the governor, and, hearing of a projected campaign of the Spaniards under Don Xavier Castaños
Francisco Javier Castaños, 1st Duke of Bailén
Francisco Javier Castaños Aragorri Urioste y Olavide, Count of Castaños y Aragones, 1st Duke of Baylen , was a Spanish general.Castaños was born at Madrid.He is remembered for his victory over the French under Dupont, whom he...
against the French, obtained leave to join Castaños as a volunteer, with instructions to report in detail to Dalrymple on the progress of affairs. This special duty was approved from home on 2 July 1808, and on the 18th of the same month Whittingham was appointed a deputy-assistant quartermaster-general to the force under Sir Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
, but was ordered to remain with Castaños. He took part under La Peña on 18 July 1808 in the victorious battle of Baylen, and for his services was made a colonel of cavalry in the Spanish army on 20 July.
On his recovery from a severe attack of rheumatic fever, Whittingham was sent to Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
on a mission from the Duke of Infantado, and in February 1809 joined the army corps of the Duke of Albuquerque
Jose Maria de la Cueva, 14th Duke of Albuquerque
General Jose Maria de la Cueva, 14th Duke of Albuquerque was a senior Spanish officer in the Peninsular War.-Biography:...
in La Mancha
La Mancha
La Mancha is a natural and historical region or greater comarca located on an arid, fertile, elevated plateau of central Spain, south of Madrid, stretching between the Montes de Toledo and the western spurs of the Serrania de Cuenca. It is bounded on the south by the Sierra Morena and on the north...
, where he took part in several cavalry affairs with such distinction that he was promoted to be brigadier-general in the Spanish army, to date from 2 March 1809. He was present at the battle of Medellin
Battle of Medellín
In the Peninsular War, the Battle of Medellín was fought on March 28, 1809 and resulted in a victory of the French under Marshal Victor against the Spanish under General Don Gregorio Garcia de la Cuesta...
on 28 March, when the Spanish general Cuesta
Gregorio García de la Cuesta
Gregorio García de la Cuesta y Fernández de Celis was a prominent Spanish general of the Peninsular War.-Early career:Born in La Lastra, Cantabria, to a family of petty nobles, Cuesta entered military service in 1758 as a member of the Spanish Royal Guards Regiment. He saw several successes as a...
was defeated by the French general Victor-Perrin
Claude Victor-Perrin, duc de Belluno
Claude Victor-Perrin, First Duc de Belluno was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
. On this occasion Whittingham re-formed the routed cavalry and led them against the enemy. He reported constantly throughout these campaigns to the British minister in Spain, John Hookham Frere
John Hookham Frere
John Hookham Frere PC was an English diplomat and author.Frere was born in London. His father, John Frere, the member of a Suffolk family, had been educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and would have been senior wrangler in 1763 but for the competition of William Paley; his mother, Jane,...
, as to the state and operations of the Spanish army.
A short time previous to Wellesley's advance into Spain Whittingham joined the British headquarters on the frontier of Portugal, and became the medium of communication with the Spanish general Cuesta. On 28 July at the battle of Talavera he was severely wounded when gallantly bringing up two Spanish battalions to the attack, and was mentioned in Sir Arthur Wellesley's despatch of 29 July 1809. He went to Seville to recover, and lived with the British minister, Lord Wellesley; employing himself during his convalescence in translating Dundas's Cavalry Movements into Spanish. He was promoted to be major-general in the Spanish army on 12 August.
On the appointment of Castaños to be captain-general of Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, Whittingham became one of his generals of division. At Isla-de-Leon, whither he went by Sir Arthur Wellesley's direction to see General Venegas about the defence of Cadiz, he was given the command of the Spanish cavalry, which he remodelled upon British lines.
Whittingham served in command of a force of Spanish cavalry and infantry under La Peña
La Peña
La Peña is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
at the battle of Barrosa
Battle of Barrosa
The Battle of Barrosa was an unsuccessful French attack on a larger Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish force attempting to lift the siege of Cádiz, Spain during the Peninsular War...
, on 5 March 1811, and kept in check a French corps of cavalry and infantry which attempted to turn the Barossa heights by the seaward side. In June he went to Palma, Majorca, with the title of inspector-general of division, and, in spite of the opposition and intrigues of Don Gregorio Cuesta, captain-general of the Balearic Islands, raised a cavalry corps two thousand strong, and established in February 1812 a college in Palma for the training of officers and cadets of his division.
On 24 July 1812 the Majorca division embarked for the eastern coast of Spain to co-operate with the troops under Lord William Bentinck
Lord William Bentinck
Lieutenant-General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck GCB, GCH, PC , known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British soldier and statesman...
from Sicily. In October Whittingham's corps (increased to seven thousand) was employed on outpost duty with its headquarters at Muchamiel, three miles from Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
. In March 1813 Whittingham was appointed inspector-general of both the cavalry and infantry troops of his division. He was engaged on the 7th of the month in the affair of Xegona, and on the 15th in the affair of Concentayña was wounded by a musket-ball in the right cheek, and was on both occasions most favourably mentioned by Sir John Murray
Sir John Murray, 8th Baronet
General Sir John Murray, 8th Baronet, GCH led a brigade under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War. Later in the war, he commanded an independent force that operated on the east coast of Spain....
in despatches. On 13 April he took part in the victorious battle of Castalla
Battle of Castalla
In the Battle of Castalla on 13 April 1813, an Anglo-Spanish-Sicilian force commanded by Lieutenant General John Murray, 8th Baronet fought Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet's French Army of Valencia and Aragon. Murray's troops successfully repelled a series of French attacks causing Suchet to retreat....
, and was again mentioned in despatches. When Murray invested Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
on 3 June Whittingham's division occupied the left. On Suchet's
Louis Gabriel Suchet
Louis Gabriel Suchet, 1st Duc d'Albufera was a Marshal of France and one of Napoleon's most brilliant generals.-Early career:...
advance to relieve the place Whittingham vainly suggested to Murray that a corps of observation should be left before Tarragona, and that Murray should move to meet Suchet with all his force. The siege was raised. Murray was relieved in command of the army by Lord William Bentinck, and Whittingham covered the retreat, checking and repulsing the French column in pursuit, and joining the main army again at Cambrils
Cambrils
Cambrils is a coastal town in the comarca of Baix Camp, province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is nearby the tourist town, Salou and is frequently visited by those travelling by air using Reus Airport and major transport links such as the Plana Bus and the RENFE.-History:-Roman empire...
. In July he was given the command of the cavalry of the II and III army corps in addition to his own division.
In March 1814 Whittingham escorted King Ferdinand VII in his progress to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, and was presented with a mosaic snuffbox by the king, who on 16 June 1814 promoted him to be lieutenant-general in the Spanish army. On 4 June Wellington wrote from Madrid to the Duke of York, in anticipation of Whittingham's return home: "He has served most zealously and gallantly from the commencement of the war in the peninsula, and I have had every reason to be satisfied with his conduct in every situation in which he has been placed". Whittingham was promoted to be colonel in the British army and appointed aide-de-camp to the prince regent from the date of Wellington's letter.
In January and February 1815 Whittingham gave evidence in London before the general court-martial for the trial of Sir John Murray. On 3 May he 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...
, and also knighted. On Napoleon's escape from Elba Whittingham returned to Spain, at the special request of King Ferdinand, who conferred upon him the grand cross of the order of San Fernando
Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand
The Royal and Military Order of Saint Ferdinand , commonly known as Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand , is Spain's highest military award for gallantry...
. He was employed as a lieutenant-general in the Spanish army under General Castaños. When the war was over he resided at Madrid, enjoying the favour of the court, and using for good such influence as he possessed with the king. In July 1819 he took leave of the Spanish court, upon accepting the lieutenant-governorship of Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
. Sir Henry Wellesley
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley GCB was the youngest brother of the Duke of Wellington, and became a notable diplomat in his own right.-Life:...
wrote at this time to Lord Castlereagh, expressing the sense he entertained of Whittingham's services both during the war and after, and reporting that he left Spain with the testimony of all ranks in his favour, "but without any other reward from the government for the valuable services rendered by him to the Spanish cause than that of being allowed to retain his rank in the Spanish army". His private means had been reduced by losses, and he was at this time a poor man with an increasing family. He arrived at Dominica on 28 March 1820. On his departure to take up the appointment, dated 5 October 1821, of quartermaster-general of the king's troops in India, the inhabitants presented him with the grand cross of San Fernando set in diamonds, while the non-resident proprietors of estates in the island gave him a sword of honour. On his arrival in England he was made a knight commander of the Hanoverian Guelphic Order.
Whittingham reached Calcutta on 2 November 1822. He was busy in 1824 with the preparations for the expedition to Ava, and in November of that year with the Barrackpur Mutiny. On 27 May 1825 he was promoted to be major-general, retaining his appointment as quartermaster-general until a command became vacant. He took part in the siege of Bhartpur, was slightly wounded on 13 January 1826, but was present at the capture on the 18th. He was made a knight commander of the order of the Bath, military division, on 26 December, for his services at Bhartpur, and received the thanks of the House of Commons. In February 1827 he was appointed to command the Cawnpore Division. On 1 November 1830 he was transferred to the Mirat Command, on exchange with Sir Jasper Nicholl. His tenure of command came to an end in August 1833, and he then acted temporarily as military secretary to his old commander, Lord William Bentinck, the governor-general, with whom he returned to England in 1835.
On arrival in England in July he was near fighting a duel with Sir William Napier
William Francis Patrick Napier
General 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:...
, on account of the slur which he considered that Napier had cast on the Spanish troops in his History of the War in the Peninsula, but the matter was arranged by Sir Rufane Donkin. In October 1836 Whittingham was appointed to the command of the forces in the Windward
Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...
and Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
of the West Indies. He sailed for Barbados on 22 December, with the local, exchanged in a few months for the substantive, rank of lieutenant-general. In September 1839 he was given the command of the Madras Army
Madras Army
The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of the British India within the British Empire.The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all three...
; he arrived at Madras on 1 August 1840, and died there suddenly on 19 January 1841. He was buried with military honours at Fort George on the following day, salutes being fired at the principal military stations of the presidency. A tablet to his memory was placed in the garrison church, Madras.
Works
Whittingham published:- (1811) Primera Parte de la Táctica de la Caballeria Inglesa traducida, 8vo
- (1815) A System of Manœuvres in Two Lines
- A System of Cavalry Manœuvres in Line, London and Madrid, 8vo.
He was the author of several unpublished papers on military and political subjects, which in 1900 were in possession of the family. A list of them is given in the Memoir of Whittingham's Services (1868), which has as frontispiece a portrait engraved by H. Adlard from an original miniature.