Major-General Saunders Alexius Abbott (9 July 1811 – 7 February 1894) was an army officer in the British East India Company

British East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

.

Family Background

Saunders was the 4th son of Henry Alexius Abbott, a retired Calcutta merchant of Blackheath, Kent, and his wife Margaret Welsh, the daughter of William Welsh of Edinburgh. He had the following siblings:

• Margaret (1801–1877)
• Major General Augustus Abbott
  Augustus Abbott
  Major-General Augustus Abbott was an army officer in the British East India Company. He was the eldest of several prominent brothers. He served in various military campaigns including the First Anglo-Afghan War...
  
   CB (1804–1867)
• Major General Sir Frederick Abbott CB (1805–1892)
• General Sir James Abbott KCB (1807–1896)
• Emma Abbott (1809–1875)
• Keith Edward Abbott
  Keith Edward Abbott
  Keith Edward Abbott was a British diplomat and consul general at Tabriz and later Odessa.-Family background:Keith was born in London, the 5th son of Henry Alexius Abbott, a retired Calcutta merchant of Blackheath, Kent, and his wife Margaret Welsh, the daughter of William Welsh of Edinburgh...
  
  , Consul General (1814–1873)
• Edmund Abbott (1816–1816)

Career

Abbott was educated privately at Addiscombe

Addiscombe

Addiscombe is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated south of Charing Cross.It is situated just to the northeast of central Croydon, and is home to a high proportion of people who commute to Central London, owing to its proximity to the busy...

. In 1828, Abbott joined the Bengal Infantry. He was appointed in 1836 to be Assistant in the Revenue Survey under Henry Montgomery Lawrence

Henry Montgomery Lawrence

Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence was a British soldier and statesman in India, who died defending Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny.-Career:Lawrence was the brother of John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence and was born at Matara, Ceylon...

. Abbott held Survey charges from 1838 to 1842. Abbott fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War

First Anglo-Sikh War

The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company between 1845 and 1846. It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom.-Background and causes of the war:...

. At the Battle of Mudki

Battle of Mudki

The Battle of Mudki was fought on 18 December 1845, between the forces of the British East India Company and part of the Khalsa, the army of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab. The British army won an untidy encounter battle, suffering heavy casualties....

, he forced marched reserves from Kasauli

Kasauli

Kasauli is a cantonment and town, located in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established by the British Raj in 1842 as a Colonial hill station, from Shimla, from Chandigarh, and from Panchkula, and lies at a height of .-Demographics:According to the...

 and Sabathu

Sabathu

Sabathu is a cantonment town in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.-Geography:Sabathu is located at . It has an average elevation of 1265 metres .-Demographics:...

. He served later as 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 Sir Henry Hardinge at the Battle of Ferozeshah

Battle of Ferozeshah

The Battle of Ferozeshah was fought on 21 December and 22 December 1845 between the British and the Sikhs, at the village of Ferozeshah in Punjab. The British were led by Sir Hugh Gough and Governor-General Sir Henry Hardinge, while the Sikhs were led by Lal Singh.The British emerged victorious,...

, during which he was dangerously wounded. In 1846 he was a brevet

Brevet (military)

In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...

-major.

Abbott was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Umbala in 1847. He was appointed to the same post in Hoshiarpur

Hoshiarpur

Hoshiarpur is a city and a municipal council in Hoshiarpur district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the fourth century. In 1809 it was occupied by the forces of Maharaja Karanvir Singh and was united into the greater state of Punjab....

 in 1849 and held the post during a mutiny. From 1858 to 1863 he was Commissioner of Lucknow

Lucknow

Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....

. He was an honorary aide-de-camp to the governors-general

Governor-General of India

The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...

 until his retirement in September 1864.

After his retirement, Abbott became an agent for a railway company in Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

 before being promoted to its board of directors. He died in Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

on 7 February 1894.