Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings

(1754-1826)
BIRTH
December 9, 1754
PLACE
County Down, Ireland
DEATH
November 28, 1826
PLACE
at sea near Naples, Italy
FAMILY
FATHER
Adelaide Augusta Lavinia Rawdon-Hastings
(1812–1860)
HOMES
RELIGIOUS VIEWS
RELIGION NOT DOCUMENTED
DENOMINATION NOT DOCUMENTED
MEMBERSHIPS
FREEMASON, PREMIER GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND ACTING GRAND MASTER
AWARDS
KNIGHT OF THE GARTER RECIPIENT, ORDER OF THE GARTER RECIPIENT
Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings, styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762, Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783, The Lord Rawdon from 1783 to 1793 and The Earl of Moira between 1793 and 1816, was an Anglo-Irish politician and military officer who served as Governor-General of India from 1813 to 1823. His superior, Captain Harris, was wounded beside him. Rawdon commanded the British left wing at the Battle of Camden.
EARLY LIFE
Hastings was born at Moira, County Down, the son of John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira and Elizabeth Hastings, 13th Baroness Hastings, who was a daughter of the 9th Earl of Huntingdon. He was baptised at St. Audoen's Church, Dublin, on 2 January 1755. He grew up in Moira and in Dublin. He joined the British Army on 7 August 1771 as an ensign in the 15th Foot (the going rate for purchasing a commission for this rank was £200). From that time on his life was spent entirely in the service of his country. He was at Harrow School and matriculated at University College, Oxford, but dropped out. He became friends there with Banastre Tarleton.
Rawdon was posted at Boston as a lieutenant in the 5th Regiment of Foot's Grenadier company, which was then under the command of Captain Francis Marsden. He first saw action at the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill. Serving with the grenadiers, he participated in the second assault against Breed's Hill (which failed), and the third assault against the redoubt. His superior, Captain Harris, was wounded beside him.
At the age of 21, Lord Rawdon took command of the company for the third and final assault. When the troops of the third assault began to falter, Rawdon stood atop of the American redoubt, waving the British ensign. John Burgoyne noted in dispatches: "Lord Rawdon has this day stamped his fame for life." He also was wounded during the assault. He was promoted captain, and given a company in the 63rd Foot.
He went south to the Siege of Charleston with reinforcements. After the city fell to the British, Lord Cornwallis posted him at Camden (16 August 1780) as the British sought to occupy South Carolina. Rawdon commanded the British left wing at the Battle of Camden. When Cornwallis went into Virginia, he left Rawdon in effective command in the South.
CAREER
DEATH
Francis Rawdon died on Nov 28, 1826. Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings, styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762, Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783, The Lord Rawdon from 1783 to 1793 and The Earl of Moira between 1793 and 1816, was an Anglo-Irish politician and military officer who served as Governor-General of India from 1813 to 1823. His superior, Captain Harris, was wounded beside him. Rawdon was appointed Governor of Malta in 1824 but died at sea off Naples two years later aboard HMS Revenge, while attempting to return home with his wife. She returned his body to Malta, and following his earlier directions, cut off his right hand and preserved it, to be buried with her when she died. His body was then laid to rest in a large marble sarcophagus in Hastings Gardens, Valletta. His hand was eventually interred, clasped with hers, in the family vault at Loudoun Kirk. The surviving summary is clearer about the date and setting than about the day-by-day medical course. A specific treatment history, exact final symptoms or unrecorded bedside conversations cannot be reconstructed confidently from it. The events of the earlier public career provide context for the final period but should not be mistaken for evidence of the immediate physical cause. Illnesses, injuries and deaths involving relatives or contemporaries are separate events.
POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
The list combines biographies where available with clearly labelled related studies, memoirs, primary accounts or reference works.
1. Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Marquess of Hastings: Soldier, Peer of the Realm, Governor-General of India — Paul David Nelson. Find on Amazon
2. The Private Journal of the Marquess of Hastings — Francis Rawdon-Hastings; Sophia Bute (editor). [Memoir and journal] Find on Amazon
3. The Marquess of Hastings, K.G. — John Foster George Ross-of-Bladensburg. Find on Amazon
4. The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas — John Buchanan. [Study of his American campaigns] Find on Amazon
5. This Destructive War: The British Campaign in the Carolinas, 1780–1782 — John S. Pancake. [Study of his American command] Find on Amazon
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