Charles Leigh (British Army officer)

General Charles Leigh (1748 - 7 August 1815) was a British Army officer.

Charles Leigh
Born	1748
Died	7 August 1815
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	General
Battles/wars	American Revolutionary War Flanders Campaign

Military career

Educated at Eton College, Leigh was commissioned into the 3rd Regiment of Guards on 12 March 1764.[1] He took part in the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, the Battle of White Plains in October 1776 and the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776 during the American Revolutionary War.[1] He went on to command the flank battalion of guards at the Siege of Valenciennes in June 1793 and the Siege of Dunkirk in August 1793 during the Flanders Campaign.[1]

Leigh raised the 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) in September 1793.[2] He went on to be Commander-in-Chief of Saint Kitts in 1795[3] and, having been promoted to full general on 25 September 1803,[4] he became Commander-in-Chief of Martinique in September 1805.[1] He also served as Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Wight from 1812[5] to 1815.[6]

Leigh served as colonel of the 82nd (The Prince of Wales's Volunteers) Regiment of Foot from 1793 to 1797,[2] colonel of the 20th (the East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot from 1797 to 1809[7] and colonel of the 3rd (the East Kent) Regiment of Foot from 1809 to 1815.[8]

His son, Lt-Col George Leigh, married Augusta Byron, the half-sister of the poet Lord Byron.[9]

References

1. Philippart, John (1815). Royal Military Calendar. p. 63.
2. "82nd (The Prince of Wales's Volunteers) Regiment of Foot". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 19 May 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
3. Flannigan, Mrs (1844). Antigua and the Antiguans: a Full Account of the Colony and Its Inhabitants. Saunders and Otley. p. 124. Charles Leigh St Kitts.
4. Haydn's Book of Dignities (1851) p. 320.
5. "No. 16561". The London Gazette. 11 January 1812. p. 68.
6. "The monuments to Charles Leigh and Frances Longe". Church Monuments Society. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
7. "Lancashire Fusiliers". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
8. "The Buffs (East Kent Regiment)" (PDF). Kent Fallen. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
9. "Lieut.-Col. George Leigh 1771 - 1850". Kindred Britain. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.