Robert Craufurd

Robert Craufurd

Robert Craufurd (born May 5, 1764 in Newark , Ayrshire (Scotland), † January 23, 1812 in Ciudad Rodrigo ( province of Salamanca ), Spain) was a British general and politician.

Life

Robert Craufurd joined the 25th Regiment of Foot as Ensign in 1779 , was promoted to Lieutenant in 1781 and moved to the 75th Regiment of Foot as Captain in 1783 . With this unit fought against Tipu Sultan in British India from 1790 to 1792 and returned to England in 1793 .

In 1794 he accompanied his brother, later Lieutenant-General Charles Craufurd, to the Austrian army , represented his position for a while and recommended himself to the government with his clear, insightful reports. On his return he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1797 and during the Irish Rebellion in 1798 he was made Vice Quartermaster General.

In 1799 he took part in General Suvorov's invasion of Switzerland as a British liaison officer on the staff of General Suvorov and was then assigned to the Dutch expeditionary army of the Duke of York .

From 1800 to 1805 he was a member of the House of Commons when he was a member of the House of Commons for the Borough of East Retford in Northumberland . In 1805 he was promoted to colonel , took part in the attack on Buenos Aires from 1807 as part of the British invasions on the Río de la Plata under General John Whitelocke and commanded the vanguard as brigadier general .

As major-general , he sailed with Sir David Baird to the Iberian Peninsula in 1807 , where Baird's corps met with the troops of Sir John Moore on December 20 in Mayorga. Craufurd's troops were repeatedly involved in fighting, especially on December 28th in Castro Gonzalo. On December 31, the light division was sent to Vigo under the command of Carl von Alten and Craufurd , where it embarked for England.

After the return of the Anglo-Allied troops to the peninsula, he led Lord Wellington to reinforcement at the Battle of Talavera July 29, 1809 , distinguished himself at Almeida and Coimbra and at the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo , but was on January 19 at the Storming this fortress mortally wounded and died five days later, on January 23, 1812.

In memory of General Craufurd, a plaque is attached to the city wall of Ciudad Rodrigo, near the wall breakthrough where he fell when he was stormed. In addition, a memorial was erected for him and General Mackinnon, who also fell in the storm on Ciudad Rodrigo, in London's St Paul's Cathedral .

literature

• Alexander H. Craufurd: General Craufurd and his Light Division. N&M Press, Uckfield, East Sussex 2004, ISBN 1-84574-013-0 . Reprint of the 1891 edition. The author is Craufurd's grandson
• Christopher Hibbert (Ed.): The Recollections of Rifleman Harris. The Windrush Press, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire 1996, ISBN 0-900075-64-3 .
• Craufurd, Robert . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 7 : Constantine Pavlovich - Demidov . London 1910, p. 382–383 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
• Henry Morse Stephens:  Craufurd, Robert . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 13:  Craik - Damer. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1888, pp. 41 - 42 (English).