Colquhoun Grant (British intelligence officer)

Lieutenant-Colonel Colquhoun Grant (1780–1829) was a British Army soldier and intelligence officer during the Napoleonic Wars.

Colquhoun Grant
Born	1780 Morayshire, Scotland
Died	28 September 1829 Aachen, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Lieutenant colonel
Unit	11th Foot and 54th Foot
Commands held	Head of Intelligence
Battles/wars	Waterloo, First Anglo-Burmese War

Career

Of a family from the Scots aristocracy, Grant, the youngest of eight brothers, was commissioned into the 11th Foot in 1795, reaching the rank of major by 1809 when he was posted to the Iberian Peninsula under the command of Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington. In 1810 he was appointed to Wellesley's personal staff as an Exploring Officer in the Peninsula Corps of Guides, a special reconnaissance unit whose members spoke the local languages.[1]

Grant never thought of himself as a spy, and always rode in full uniform, often behind enemy lines, to note the positions and strength of the enemy.

Grant was captured by French forces on 16 April 1812. As he was in uniform, he was treated as an officer and gentleman by his captors, who offered him parole, which Grant accepted. His servant Leon, a local guide, was not so fortunate, and was shot. Grant was invited to dine with Marshal Auguste de Marmont, who hoped to find out more about Wellington, and who was angered by Grant's reticence. Marmont had good reason to remain suspicious of Grant, as the latter managed to send and receive secret messages while in captivity.

Marmont sent Grant to Paris for interrogation. It is clear from Marmont's correspondence that he had no intention of exchanging Grant for a prisoner of equal rank, as was the custom of the time, considering him to be a spy. Grant, on seeing a copy of Marmont's letter, decided that it invalidated his parole agreement and escaped.

Grant was able to pass himself off as an American officer and spent some weeks at liberty in the streets and salons of Paris, sending intelligence reports to Wellington. He then escaped to England, rejoining Wellington in early 1814. Promoted to lieutenant-colonel, he was appointed commanding officer of the Corps of Guides and Head of Intelligence for the Peninsular Army.

During the Hundred Days Campaign, Grant was working as an intelligence officer in France when Wellington put him in charge of his own intelligence operations. Grant sent in a steady stream of reports regarding the build-up of French troops along the border and returned to Brussels in time to take part in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June.

In 1821, Grant transferred to the 54th Foot as lieutenant-colonel, later commanding a brigade in the First Anglo-Burmese War during the difficult Arakan campaign.

In 1829, he was invalided out of the army, and his doctor, Sir James McGrigor, sent him to take the waters at Aachen. On the night of 28 September 1829, he died there.[2]

Family

His son, Walter Colquhoun Grant, also became an army officer, the youngest captain in the army at 24, before financial troubles saw him become an early settler in the Colony of Vancouver Island. He later rejoined the army, serving in the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny.[3][4]

In media

He appears as a character in Susanna Clarke's fantasy novel set in the period, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

The character of Major Michael Hogan in Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series of novels is loosely based on Grant.

In James McGee's novel Rebellion, based on the real 'Malet Conspiracy', Grant joins forces with McGee's fictional hero, Matthew Hawkwood. Together, they take part in a plot by renegade French generals to seize control of the Empire while Napoleon Bonaparte is fighting in Russia.

He appears as a character in Winston Graham's "The Twisted Sword", the eleventh book in the author's Poldark series.

He was the subject of the 9th song on the debut album of the British power metal band Forlorn Hope

References

1. Hughes-Wilson, John (2004). The Puppet Masters: Spies, Traitors and the Real Forces Behind World Events. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 9780297846154.
2. McGrigor, Mary (2005). Wellington's Spies. Barnsley: Leo Cooper. p. 257. ISBN 1-84415-328-2.
3. "Grant, Walter Colquhoun", Dictionary of Canadian Biography, retrieved 8 September 2009
4. "No. 22107". The London Gazette. 24 July 1857. pp. 1251–1568.

Bibliography

• Jock Haswell: The First Respectable Spy. The Life and Times of Colquhoun Grant, Wellington's head of Intelligence, London 1969