Home > John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton

He first saw service in the Helder expedition of 1799, and as a captain he took part in Sir Ralph Abercromby's expedition to Egypt in 1801. He distinguished himself at Maida, and soon afterwards was brought under the notice of Sir John Moore, who obtained a majority for him and made him his military secretary. In this capacity he served through the Corunna campaign, and Sir John Moore's dying request that he should be given a lieutenant-colonelcy was at once complied with. In the summer of 1809Events January 16 Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of Corunna. February 3 Illinois Territory was created. February 11 Robert Fulton patents the steamboat. February 20 A decision by the Supreme Court of the United States states t Lieut.-Colonel Colborne was again in the PeninsulaThe Peninsula War ( 1808- 1814) was a major conflict during the Napoleonic Wars. The war was fought in the Iberian Peninsula between Spain, Portugal and the British against the French. Progress of the War In November 1807 the Emperor Napoleon sent an army, and before taking command of the 66th regiment, he witnessed the defeat of the Spaniards at Ocana.

With the 66th he was present at Busaco and shared in the defence of the lines of Torres VedrasThe Lines of Torres Vedras were a line of forts in Portugal constructed between November 1809 and September 1810. After his troubling Spanish experience at Talavera, Wellington decided to strengthen Portugal. He first used a report of Colonel Vincent, ord, and next year, after temporarily commanding a brigade with distinction at the battle of AlbueraThe Battle of Albuera took place in Spain on May 16, 1811, between the French Army, under the command of Field Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult, and an Allied force of British, Spanish, and Portuguese troops. The combined forces were under the command o, he was appointed to command the famous 52nd Light Infantry (Oxfordshire and Bucks L.I.) with which corps he is most closely identified. He led it and was very severely wounded at Ciudad Rodrigo (1812), and only rejoined in July 1814. Shortly afterwards be was placed in temporary charge of a brigade of the Light Division which he commanded in the PyreneesFor other meanings see: Pyrenees, Victoria and Montes Pyrenaeus. The Pyrenees ( Spanish Pirineos French Pyrenees Catalan Pirineus Basque Aunamendi are a range of mountains in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. They separ engagements and the battles of Orthes and ToulouseThe battle of Toulouse was fought on April 10, 1814. The French under Marshall Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult, duke of Dalmatia, undertook a series of delaying actions against the British under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and the battle is usual.

At the peace he was made colonel, aide-de-campAn aide-de-camp ( French: camp assistant is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a military officer or a member of the nobility. The first aide-de-camp is the foremost personal aide. In some countries, aide-de-cam to the Prince Regent and K.C.B. In 1815 Colborne and the 52nd at Waterloo played a brilliant part in the repulse of the Old Guard at the close of the day. Promoted major-general in 1825, Colborne was soon afterwards made lieutenant-governor of Guernsey. From 1828 to 1836 served as lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada.

As lieutenant-governor, Colborne more than doubled the population of the province by initiating an organised system of immigration to bring in settlers from Britain. He also aided settlement by expanding the communication and trasportation infrastructure through a campaign to build roads and bridges. In 1829, Colborne founded Upper Canada College as a school based on the elite English public school model.

Colborne was a strong supporter of the Church of England and British traditions and an opponent of responsible government. His policies brought him into conflict with Reformers in Upper Canada and contributed to the Rebellions of 1837 during which he was made commander in chief of the armed forces and acting governor-general of British North America.

Colborne suppressed the rebellion with great violence and, in December 1837, he personally led the assault on St-Eustache in Lower Canada, where many Patriotes were burned to death in a church.

For his services he was rewarded upon returning to Britain by being raised to the peerage as Baron Seaton of Seaton in Devonshire. From 1843 to 1849 he was high commissioner of the Ionian Islands. In 1854 he was promoted full general, and from 1855 to 1860 he was commander-in-chief in Ireland. He died at Torquay on the 17th of April 1863.

See the Life by GC Moore Smith (1906).

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica