Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill | |
|---|---|
| 11 August 1772–10 December 1842 | |
 General Hill |
|
| Place of birth | Hawkstone, Shropshire |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |  British Army |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | Napoleonic Wars Peninsular War |
| Awards | GCB, GCH, Military Order of William |
General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Almaraz GCB, GCH (11 August 1772 - 10 December 1842) served in the Napoleonic Wars as a trusted brigade, division and corps commander under the command of the Duke of Wellington. He became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1829.
Contents |
[edit] Early career
Educated at a school in Chester, Hill was commissioned into 38th Foot in 1790. He went on to serve at the siege of Toulon and also in Egypt, Ireland and Hanover. In 1805 he became a major-general. In 1808, Hill was shipped to Portugal where he began his long and distinguished service in the Peninsula.
He was a lieutenant general and second-in-command in the later stages of the Peninsular War. Nicknamed "Daddy Hill", he was generally well-liked by his soldiers. It was claimed that he used profanity on only two occasions.
Hill was known for his personal generosity towards his officers and men. On one occasion, he provided a wounded officer who arrived at his headquarters with a lunch basket. Another time, a sergeant delivered a letter to Hill. Expecting nothing but a nod of thanks, the man was astonished when the general arranged for his supper and a place for him to stay for the night. The next day, Hill gave him food and a dollar for the rest of his journey.[1]
[edit] The Peninsula
Hill commanded a brigade at the Battle of Vimeiro in 1808, but his unit was not engaged. He participated in Sir John Moore's 1808-1809 campaign in Spain, commanding a brigade at the Battle of Corunna. While serving under Wellington at the Second Battle of Porto, units of Hill's brigade launched an impromptu assault across the Douro River that ultimately routed Marshal Nicolas Soult's French corps from Oporto.
Hill commanded the 2nd Infantry Division at the Battle of Talavera. The night before the battle, Marshal Claude Victor mounted a surprise attack, swept aside two battalions of the King's German Legion and seized a key elevation. As Hill later recounted, "I was sure it was the old Buffs, as usual, making some blunder."[2] Nevertheless, he led a reserve brigade forward in the dark. In the short clash that followed, Hill was briefly grabbed and nearly captured by a Frenchman, but his troops recovered the summit. This is the first occasion on which Hill supposedly swore.[3]
Still leading the 2nd Division during Marshal André Masséna's 1810 invasion of Portugal, Hill fought at the Battle of Bussaco. In the fall of 1811, Wellington placed Hill in independent command of 16,000 men watching Badajoz. On October 28, he led a successful raid on the French at the Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos. In May 1812, after the capture of Badajoz, Hill led a second raid that destroyed a key bridge in the Battle of Almaraz. While Wellington won the Battle of Salamanca, Hill protected Badajoz with an independent 18,000-man corps, including the British 2nd Division, John Hamilton's Portuguese division and William Erskine's 2nd Cavalry Division.
After the British capture of Madrid, Hill had responsibility for an army of 31,000 Anglo-Portuguese and 12,000 Spanish troops during the campaign that centered on the Siege of Burgos. When the French massed superior forces against the British in the fall of 1812, Hill safely brought his army back from Madrid to join the main army under Wellington near Alba de Tormes.
Hill commanded the Right Column during the campaign and decisive British victory at the Battle of Vitoria on June 21, 1813. Still in corps command, he fought in the Battle of the Pyrenees. At Vitoria and in Wellington's invasion of southern France, Hill corps usually consisted of William Stewart's 2nd Division, the Portuguese Division (under John Hamilton, Francisco Silveira or Carlos Le Cor)[4] and Pablo Morillo's Spanish Division. He led the Right Corps at the Battle of Nivelle on November 10.
On December 13, 1813, during the Battle of the Nive, Hill performed what may have been his finest work in his defense of St-Pierre d'Irube. With his 14,000 men and 10 guns isolated on the east bank of the Nive by a broken bridge, Hill held off the attacks of Marshal Nicolas Soult's 30,000 soldiers and 22 guns. He fought the battle with great skill and "was seen at every point of danger, and repeatedly led up rallied regiments in person to save what seemed like a lost battle ... He was even heard to swear."[5] Later, he fought at the Orthez and Toulouse. Wellington said, "The best of Hill is that I always know where to find him."[6]
[edit] Waterloo and later career
At the Battle of Waterloo Hill commanded the II Corps. He led the famous charge of Sir Frederick Adam's brigade against the Imperial Guard towards the end of the battle. For some time it was thought that he had fallen in the melee. He escaped, however, without a wound, and continued with the army in France until its withdrawal in 1818.
On the 27 August 1815 the Dutch King William I made him a Commander of the exclusive Military Order of William.
He succeeded the Duke of Wellington as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in 1828 and served in this capacity until 1839.
He died at Hardwicke Grange on 10 December 1842.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Glover, Michael. The Peninsular War 1807-1814. London: Penguin Books, 2001. ISBN 0-141-39041-7
- Oman, Charles. Wellington's Army, 1809-1814. London: Greenhill, (1913) 1993. ISBN 0-947898-41-7
- regiments.org
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] Footnotes
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Lord Forbes |
Colonel of the 3rd Garrison Battalion 1809 |
Succeeded by Baldwin Leighton |
| Preceded by Francis Dundas |
Colonel of the 94th Regiment of Foot 1809–1815 |
Succeeded by Unknown |
| Preceded by James Stuart |
Colonel of the 72nd Regiment of Foot 1815–1817 |
Succeeded by Sir George Murray |
| Preceded by Sir John Abercromby |
Colonel of the 53rd (the Shropshire) Regiment of Foot 1817–1830 |
Succeeded by Lord FitzRoy Somerset |
| Preceded by The Duke of Wellington |
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces 1828–1842 |
Succeeded by The Duke of Wellington |
| Preceded by The Duke of Cumberland |
Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) 1830–1842 |
Succeeded by The Marquess of Anglesey |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New title | Viscount Hill 1842 |
Succeeded by Rowland Hill, 2nd Viscount |
