Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
|
|
Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768–29 April 1854) was a British military leader and politician, now chiefly remembered for leading the charge of the heavy cavalry against d'Erlon's column during the Battle of Waterloo.
He was the eldest son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge (d. 1812), and was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, afterwards entering parliament in 1790 as member for Caernarvon. At the outbreak of the French Revolutionary wars, Lord Paget (as he was then styled) raised the regiment of Staffordshire volunteers and was given the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1793. As the 80th Foot, the corps took part in the Flanders campaign of 1794 under Paget's command. In 1795 he was made a lieutenant-colonel of the regular army; in that same year, he married the daughter of the Earl of Jersey. In 1796 he was made a colonel, and by 1801 he had become colonel of the 7th Light Dragoons. In 1802 he was promoted major-general, and six years later lieutenant-general. He commanded the cavalry for Sir John Moore's army during the Corunna campaign; this was his last service in the Peninsular War, because his liaison with the wife of Henry Wellesley, afterwards Lord Cowley, made it impossible at that time for him to serve with Wellington. His only war service from 1809 to 1815 was in the disastrous Walcheren expedition (1809) in which he commanded a division. In 1810 he was divorced and married Mrs. Wellesley, who had about the same time been divorced from her husband.
In 1815, on the eve of Waterloo, Wellington extended Paget's command so as to include the whole of the allied cavalry and horse artillery. He covered the retirement of the allies from Quatre Bras to Waterloo on 17 June, and on 18 June led the cavalry charge of the British centre, which checked and in part routed D'Erlon's corps d'armée (see Waterloo campaign). One of the last cannon shots fired hit Paget in the leg, necessitating amputation. According to anecdote, he was close to Wellington when his leg was hit, and exclaimed, "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!" -- to which Wellington replied, "By God, sir, so you have!" Five days later the Prince Regent created him Marquess of Anglesey and made him a G.C.B., among other decorations from the allied sovereigns. A 27m high monument to his heroism (designed by Thomas Harrison) was erected at Llanfair PG on Anglesey in 1816.
In 1818 the marquess was made a Knight of the Garter, in 1819 he became full general, and at the coronation of George IV he acted as Lord High Steward of England. His support of the proceedings against Queen Caroline made him for a time unpopular, and when he was on one occasion beset by a crowd, who compelled him to shout "The Queen," he added the wish, "May all your wives be like her." In April 1827 he became a member of the Canning administration, taking the post of Master-General of the Ordnance and becoming a member of the Privy Council. Under the Wellington administration he accepted the appointment of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (March 1828). In December 1828 he addressed a letter to the Roman Catholic primate of Ireland stating his belief in the need for Catholic emancipation, which led to his recall by the government; on the formation of Earl Grey's administration in November 1830, he again became lord-lieutenant of Ireland. In July 1833 the ministry resigned over the Irish question, he spent thirteen years out of office, then joined Lord John Russell's administration in July 1846 as master-general of the ordnance, finally retiring in March 1852 with the rank of field-marshal and colonel of the Royal Horse Guards.
The marquess had two sons and six daughters by his first wife and six sons and four daughters by the second. He was succeeded in the marquessate by his eldest son.
Literature
- Marquess of Anglesey, F.S.A.: One-Leg : The Life and Letters of Henry William Paget, First Marquess of Anglesey, KG, 1768–1854. – The Reprint Society : London, 1961
| Preceded by: The Duke of Wellington | Master-General of the Ordnance 1827–1828 | Succeeded by: The Viscount Beresford |
| Preceded by: The Marquess Wellesley | Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1828–1829 | Succeeded by: The Duke of Northumberland |
| Preceded by: The Duke of Northumberland | Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1830–1833 | Succeeded by: The Marquess Wellesley |
| Preceded by: Sir George Murray | Master-General of the Ordnance 1846–1852 | Succeeded by: The Viscount Hardinge
|