John L. Pennefather

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John Pennefather in the Crimea, 1855
(Photo: R. Fenton )

Sir John Lysaght Pennefather GCB (* 1800 / 9. September 1798 ; † 9. May 1872 ) was a British general in the Crimean War .

Life

John Pennefather was the third son of Irish clergyman John Pennefather and a nephew of Judge Richard Pennefather, Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland. He was born in County Tipperary . In January 1818 he joined the army as a cornet of the 7th Dragoon Guards , but in 1826 he switched to the 22nd Infantry Regiment ( The Cheshire Regiment ). In 1823 lieutenant, 1825 captain, 1831 major and 1839 lieutenant colonel, he rose not through the usual job purchase, but through regular promotions.

In 1841 he took part as a brigadier in General Charles Napier's campaign for the conquest of Sindh (India, now Pakistan), where, as commander of the infantry brigade, the only European force - consisting primarily of Irish -, he played a key role in the decisive victory of the British in the Battle of Miani (February 17, 1843). Napier later stated that the victory was entirely thanks to Pennefather. Severely wounded in battle, Pennefather returned to England, was appointed Companion of the Order of Bath and received thanks from Parliament. In 1846 he was promoted to colonel in the army and appointed adjutant to the queen. From 1849 to 1854 he was Assistant Quartermaster-General (AQG) in the Cork District of Ireland.

After the outbreak of war with Russia, he was given command of the 1st Brigade in Sir De Lacy Evans ' 2nd Division. He led the brigade made up of the 30th, 55th and 95th regiments in the siege of Sevastopol , in the battle of the Alma , for which he was highly praised by Commander-in-Chief Lord Raglan in the war report, and excelled in repelling a Russian attack on the positions of the 2nd Division on October 26, 1854.

In the Battle of Inkerman on November 5, 1854, he took over the leadership of the 2nd Division in place of the seriously ill General Evans, with which he was able to repel the ten times superior Russian troops. Again, Lord Raglan, in his report to the Secretary of War, praised Pennefather's "admirable behavior" in the battle in which his horse was shot from under him.

After Evans' illness-related repatriation, Pennefather was given permanent command of the 2nd Division and was knighted as Knight Commander of the Order of Bath (KCB, July 5, 1855) and promoted to major general in the same year .

Returned to Great Britain in July 1856, he was given the local rank of Lieutenant General in September 1856 and was in command of the British troops in Malta from 1860 to 1865, and from 12 November 1860 he was in command of the Aldershot garrison in Hampshire , and since November 12, 1860 with the rank of scheduled Lieutenant General with patent . On May 13, 1867 raised to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Bath (GCB) and promoted to General of the Army on May 9, 1868, he was on August 27, 1870 governor of the Chelsea Invalid Hospital ( Royal Hospital Chelsea ).

Pennefather died on May 9, 1872 and was buried in Brompton Cemetery in London, where his grave still stands today.

In addition to his British awards, Pennefather was also Commander of the Sardinian Order of the Holy. Moritz and Lazarus, Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honor and holder of the Turkish Medjidie Order, second class. He was also Colonel in the 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot from 1854 to 1860 and the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot from 1860 until his death.

literature

  • Charles Knight: Biography. Bradbury, Agnew & Co, London 1856-1872. (The English Cyclopaedia. Division III)
  • Men of the Time. Biographical Sketches of Eminent Living Characters. Also Biographical Sketches of Women of the Time. Bogue, London 1856.
  • Frederic Boase: Modern English Biography. Containing Many Thousand Concise Memoirs of Persons who Have Died Since the Year 1850, with an Index of the most Interesting Matter. Netherton & Worth, Truro 1892-1921.
  • EM Lloyd in: Dictionary of National Biography. Volume XLIV. Smith, Elder & Co., London 1895

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The year 1800 is based on the information in his personal file. A plaque on the Royal Garrison Church in Portsmouth indicates September 9, 1798.
personal data
SURNAME Pennefather, John L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pennefather, John Lysaght
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British general in the Crimean War
DATE OF BIRTH September 9, 1798
PLACE OF BIRTH County Tipperary, Ireland
DATE OF DEATH May 9, 1872