Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala
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| Field Marshal The Lord Napier of Magdala | |
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| 1810 – 14 January 1890 | |
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| Place of birth | Ceylon |
| Place of death | London |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Indian Army |
| Years of service | 1828 - 1890 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Commands held | Commander-in-Chief in India |
| Battles/wars | First Anglo-Sikh War Second Anglo-Sikh War Indian Mutiny Second Anglo-Chinese War 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia |
| Awards | GCB, GCSI, CIE, FRS |
| Other work | Governor of Gibraltar Constable of the Tower |
Field Marshal Robert Cornelis Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, GCB, GCSI, CIE, FRS (6 December 1810 – 14 January 1890), was a British soldier.
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[edit] Early life
Napier was the son of Major Charles Frederick Napier, who was wounded at the storming of Meester Cornelis (now Jatinegara) in Java on (August 26, 1810) and died some months later. Robert was born in Ceylon on December 6, 1810.
He was educated at Addiscombe Military Academy from which he joined the Bengal Engineers at the age of 18, arriving in India in November 1828.
[edit] Indian service
Napier was employed in the irrigation works of the Public Works Department for some years, before being promoted to Captain in January 1841, when he was appointed to Sirhind.
[edit] First Anglo-Sikh War
In December 1845 he joined the Army of the Sutlej and commanded the Bengal Engineers at the Battle of Mudki. He was severely wounded at the battle of Ferozeshah on 1845-12-31 while storming the Skih camp. He was also present at the battle of Sobraon on 1846-02-10 and in the advance on Lahore. He was mentioned in despatches for his services and received a brevet majority.
In May 1846 he was chief engineer at the reduction of the fortress of Kote Kangra in the Punjab by Brigadier-General Wheeler, for which he received the thanks of the government.
[edit] Second Anglo-Sikh War
Having been appointed as consulting engineer to the Punjab resident and Council of Regency, in 1848 Napier was again called into action, to direct the siege of Multan. In September 1848 he was wounded in the attack, but managed to be present at the successful storming of Multan on 1849-01-23 and the surrender of the fortress of Chiniot
Joining Sir Hugh Gough, Napier then took part in the battle of Gujrat in February 1849, accompanied Sir Walter Gilbert as he pursued the Sikhs, and was present at the passage of the Jhelum, and the surrender of the Sikh army. For his services he was mentioned in despatches and received a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy. At the close of the war he was appointed civil engineer to the Board of Administration of the annexed province of Punjab, and carried out many significant public works during his time in that position.
[edit] North-West Frontier
In December 1852 Napier took command of a column in the first Hazara expedition, and in the following year against the Baris on the North-West frontier. For his services he was again mentioned in despatches, and received the special thanks of the government and a brevet-colonelcy.
[edit] Indian Mutiny
Napier was appointed military secretary and adjutant-general to Sir James Outram, whose forces took part in the actions leading to the first relief of Lucknow on 1857-09-25. He then took charge of Lucknow's defence until the second relief, when he was badly wounded while crossing an exposed space Outram and Sir Henry Havelock to meet with Sir Colin Campbell.
After the fall of Lucknow, Napier was mentioned in despatches and made CB. He then joined Sir Hugh Rose as second-in-command in the march on Gwalior, and commanded the 2nd Brigade at the battle of Morar on 1858-06-16. After Gwalior was taken he was given the task of pursuing the enemy. With only 700 men he pursued and caught Tantia Topi and 12,000 men on the plains of Jaora Alipur and completely defeated him.
After Sir Hugh Rose's departure Napier assumed the command of the Gwalior division. He captured Paori in August, routed Prince Ferozeshah at Ranode in December, and in January 1859, succeeded in securing the surrender of Man Singh and Tantia Topi, which ended the war. For his services Napier received the thanks of parliament and of the Indian government, and was made KCB.
[edit] Other service
[edit] China
In January 1860 during the First Anglo-Chinese War, Napier was appointed to the command of the 2nd division of the expedition to China under Sir James Hope Grant, and took part in the action at Sinho, the storming of the Taku (Peiho) Forts, and the entry to Peking. For his services he received the thanks of parliament, and was promoted major-general for distinguished service in the field.
Napier was a military member of the Governor-General of India's council until 1865, acting for a short while as Governor-General after the sudden death of Lord Elgin. In January 1865 he was made commander of the Bombay Army, in March 1867 he was promoted to lieutenant-general and later that year was appointed to command the punitive expedition to Abyssinia.
[edit] Abyssinia
He achieved his greatest fame as an army officer leading a punitive expedition in 1868 to Magdala, the capital of Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia. The expedition involved crossing 400 miles of mountainous terrain lacking roads or bridges to rescue several captured British diplomats and missionaries. The expedition took Maria Theresa thalers with them to pay local expenses.
The British won the battle of Magdala, which led Emperor Tewodros to commit suicide at the news. The expedition and its troops looted many historical and religious artifacts, which they took back to Britain, where they still reside in collections, despite representations by various parties for their return. [1] [2] Napier then ordered the burning of Magdala as a punitive measure.
After the Ethiopian campaign, Napier received many honors. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge inducted him as a member in 1869.[3] He received a parliamentary pension, was made Grand Commander of the Order of the Bath and a Freeman of the City of London and by way of victory title was given a hereditary peerage, Baron Napier of Magdala.
[edit] Later career
Napier became Commander-in-Chief in India (1870-1876), being promoted to general in 1874. From 1876 to 1883 he served as Governor of Gibraltar. In 1877, during a tense period in European politics, he was appointed commander-in-chief of a proposed force which was to be despatched to Constantinople.
In 1879 he was a member of the Royal Commission on the organization of the army, and in November of the same year represented Queen Victoria at Madrid as ambassador extraordinary upon the occasion of Alfonso XII of Spain's second marriage.
On 1883-01-01 Napier was promoted to fieldmarshal, and in December 1886 appointed Constable of the Tower of London.
He died in London on 1890-01-14, receiving a state funeral and being buried in St. Paul's Cathedral on 1890-01-14. His eldest son, Robert William Napier (born 1845) succeeded to his barony.
[edit] Honours
- In 1883, the British government installed one Armstrong 100 ton gun in a battery in Gibraltar that they named the Napier of Magdala Battery.
- A statue of him on horseback by Joseph Boehm was erected at Calcutta when he left India, and a replica of it was afterwards erected in Waterloo Place, London.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Andreas Eshete (Professor) Chairman and Richard Pankhurst (Professor) Historian, Memorandum on the Loot from Maqdala (Ethiopia) addressed to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the United Kingdom Parliament, by the Association for the Return of the Ethiopian Maqdala Treasures
- ^ Cf. Association for the Return of The Maqdala (or Magdala) Ethiopian Treasures
- ^ The Royal Society - Lists of Royal Society Fellows 1660-2007
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.[1]
[edit] External links
- Royal Engineers Museum - Sapper Biographies
- Royal Engineers Museum - Corps History - campaigns
- Almanach de Bruxelles (now a paying site)
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Earl of Elgin |
Viceroy of India 1862–1863 |
Succeeded by Sir William Denison, acting |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by The Lord Sandhurst |
Commander-in-Chief, India 1870–1876 |
Succeeded by Sir Frederick Paul Haines |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Sir Richard James Dacres |
Constable of the Tower 1887–1890 |
Succeeded by Sir Daniel Lysons |
| Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets 1887–1889 |
Office abolished | |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Napier of Magdala 1868–1890 |
Succeeded by Robert William Napier |
