George Thomas Napier

Sir George Napier
Born	30 June 1784
Died	September 16, 1855(1855-09-16) (aged 71) Geneva, Switzerland
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Lieutenant general
Battles/wars	Peninsular War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Lieutenant-General Sir George Thomas Napier KCB (30 June 1784 – 16 September 1855) was a British Army officer who saw service in the Peninsular War (1807−1814) and later commanded the army of the Cape Colony.

Life

He entered the British army in 1800, and served with distinction under Sir John Moore and the Duke Wellington in the Peninsula—losing his right arm at the 1812 storming of Ciudad Rodrigo, where, as a major in the 52nd Foot, he led the Light Division's storming party.^[1]

He became major-general in 1837, KCB in 1838 and lieutenant-general in 1846. He was governor and Commander-In-Chief of the army in the Cape Colony from 1839 to 1843, during which time the abolition of slavery and the expulsion of the Boers from Natal were the chief events. He was offered, but declined, the chief command in India after the Battle of Chillianwalla, and also that of the Sardinian army in 1849. He became full general in 1854. He died at Geneva, Switzerland on 16 September 1855, aged 71.

His autobiography, Passages in the Early Military Life of General Sir G.T. Napier, was published by his surviving son, General William Craig Emilius Napier (the author of an important work on outpost duty) in 1885.

The town of Napier, Western Cape, is named for Sir George Thomas Napier as is Napier House at Fairbairn College, Goodwood, Cape Town.

See also

• Father - Colonel George Napier (1751–1804)
• Mother - Lady Sarah Lennox (1745–1826), daughter of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond.
• Brother - Sir Charles James Napier (1782–1853), Commander-in-Chief in India. The New Zealand city of Napier is named after him.
• Brother - Sir William Francis Patrick Napier (1785–1860), soldier and military historian.
• Brother - Henry Edward Napier (1789–1853), naval officer and historian
• Wife - Frances Dorothea Blencowe, formerly married to William Peere Williams Freeman.
• Lieut. Colonel George S. F. Napier (c. 1862–1942)

References

1. ↑ Glover, Michael; (1974) The Peninsular War 1807–1814: A Concise Military History, UK: David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-6387-5, pp. 180-181

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "^{article name needed}". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Governors of the Cape Colony
	British occupation 1806–1814	David Baird Henry George Grey Du Pre Alexander Henry George Grey John Francis Cradock Robert Meade
	British colony 1814–1910	Charles Somerset Rufane Shaw Donkin Richard Bourke Galbraith Lowry Cole Thomas Francis Wade Benjamin D'Urban George Thomas Napier Peregrine Maitland Henry Pottinger Harry Smith George Cathcart Charles Henry Darling George Grey Robert Henry Wynyard Philip Edmond Wodehouse Charles Craufurd Hay Henry Barkly Henry Bartle Frere Henry Hugh Clifford George Cumine Strahan Hercules Robinson Leicester Smyth Henry D'Oyley Torrens Henry Augustus Smyth Henry Brougham Loch William Gordon Cameron Hercules Robinson William Howley Goodenough Alfred Milner William Francis Butler Walter Hely-Hutchinson Henry Jenner Scobell Those in italics were Acting Governors
State President of the South African Republic State President of the Orange Free State Prime Minister of the Cape Colony Prime Minister of Natal