THE LETTERS AND DIARIES OF SIR EDWARD PAGET
Published by Ken Trotman Publishing November 2024
The original book these letters and diaries are taken from was privately published in 1898 with only 50 copies printed – Gareth Glover was able to obtain a copy of this very rare book, this book has been completely redesigned for a modern audience, whilst retaining all of the material by Dr Stephen Summerfield
Sir Edward Paget was the fourth son of the Henry Paget, the 1st Earl of Uxbridge (1744-1812) and is probably only remembered for being captured by the French in 1812, but this is unfair.
His brothers are all well known.
• Lord Henry Paget (1768-1854) who later became the Earl of Uxbridge and then Marquis of Anglesey. Commanding the
cavalry at Waterloo, he suffered a severe leg injury whilst talking to the Duke of Wellington and it was amputated later.
• Sir Arthur Paget (1771-1840) who was a senior diplomat
• Sir Charles Paget (1778-1839) who had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy, rising to the rank of Vice Admiral.
Edward Paget was born on 3 November 1775. When he was a schoolboy at Westminster School, a friend of the family thought that,
with his ‘solemn mind and serious face’, he would make a good bishop. He showed his more martial qualities when ‘he received such a thrashing from one of the bigger boys that it was for some time doubtful whether he would recover from the injuries inflicted upon him, but he never would reveal the name of his assailant’.
He began his military career as a Cornet and 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Life Guards (23 March 1792). He purchased a captaincy in the 54th Foot (1 December 1792) then became Major (14 November 1793). As Lieutenant-Colonel of the 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of
Foot (30 April 1794) and saw action in Flanders and Holland until March 1795 when his regiment was ordered to Quiberon and
subsequently ordered to the West Indies under Sir Ralph Abercromby. Twice driven back by storms, he finally landed at Portsmouth in January 1796. In that year he was returned as Member of Parliament for the family borough of Caernarvon – according to Hansard, he made no speech.
In July 1796, the 28th Foot were in Gibraltar. He was one of very few soldiers present at the naval battle of Cape St Vincent (14 February
1797) and was later at the capture of Minorca in 1798. On 1 January 1798, he was made Aide-de-Camp to King George III.
In 1801, he served in Egypt as part of Sir John Moore’s Reserve Division being present at the actions on 8 and 13 March 1801. On 21
March 1801, he ‘highly distinguished himself’ at the Battle of Alexandria and was lightly wounded. French cavalry broke through the British lines, formed up behind the regiment, and began to charge. Still heavily engaged to their front, he ordered, “Rear Rank, 28th! Right About Face”, and standing in two ranks back-to-back, the regiment successfully defended itself. After the battle, the regiment began wearing a badge on the back as well as the front of the headdress to commemorate their action. This unique distinction in the British Army was officially sanctioned in 1830. He was present also at the investment of Cairo and Alexandria, and was used as a hostage to the French army at Cairo until they embarked in July 1801. It was not until December 1815, that Sir Edward Paget obtained the Colonelcy of his beloved 28th Foot upon the death of General Robert Prescott (1726-1815).
He returned to England in late 1801 and in October 1803, he was appointed Brigadier-General on the staff at Fermoy in Ireland. Under
the Addington administration, Sir Edward Paget’s only vote was for Calcraft’s motion for an inquiry into the Prince of Wales’s debts (4
March 1803), and he supported Pitt’s second administration when he was present. On 2 July 1804, he moved to England and was made
Major-General on 1 January 1805, stationed at Eastbourne. He then proceeded in October with his regiment to Cuxhaven and Bremen,
returning in February 1806. He voted against the Grenville ministry on 3 March and 30 April 1806.
In June 1806, he was sent to the Mediterranean, and placed in command of the Reserve in Sicily, from whence in January 1808, he returned with the part of the army which was under Sir John Moore. On 23 February 1808, he succeeded General Gerard Lake (1744-1808) as colonel of the 80th (Staffordshire Volunteers) Regiment of Foot that had been raised by his brother, Lord Henry Paget on 9 December 1793. In April 1808, he accompanied Sir John Moore to Sweden in command of the Reserve and then proceeded with him to Portugal. Edward Paget served throughout the Corunna campaign, commanding the Reserve. For his part in the victory, he received a medal and the thanks of the House, 25 January 1809.
He was appointed to the staff of the Peninsular army under Sir Arthur Wellesley, with the local rank of Lieutenant-General, and command of the left wing of the army. He conducted the advance from Coimbra to Oporto and on 12 May 1809, in the action before Oporto he lost his right arm and his eyesight was damaged. He was mentioned in despatches again. In February 1810 his family were dissatisfied that his
role in the passage of the Douro was not publicly recognised. On 4 June 1811 he was promoted Lieutenant-General. In December
1810, he returned to Parliament on a vacancy occurring in the other family borough of Milborne Port; one minority vote is recorded before
his return to Spain, for Grattan’s motion for a committee on Catholic disabilities, (24 April 1812). He voted against Stuart Wortley’s motion for a stronger administration (21 May 1812). Subsequently, when present, he gave a general support to the administration, though he may again have supported Catholic relief on 9 May 1817.
In August 1812 he was sent back to Spain as second in command. During the retreat after the failure to capture Burgos, Sir Edward Paget
was surprised by a small detachment of French cavalrymen, whilst travelling alone between two columns of British troops and he remained in France as a prisoner of war until the end of the war in April 1814.
He served from 1816-21 as Groom of the Bedroom to George IV. On 31 October 1818, he was made Captain of Cowes Castle, where he
resided for a time. On 4 November 1820, he received a commission as Governor of Ceylon and administered the colony uneventfully from
August 1821 to March 1823. Meanwhile, on 3 January 1822, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the forces in the East Indies, and
took up his new duties as soon as he was relieved in Ceylon. He was responsible for the conduct of the Burmese campaigns of 1824-25.
The Barrackpore Mutiny occurred on 2 November 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26). The Indian forces of the 47th
Bengal Native Infantry Regiment were ordered to march to Chittagong by land because caste taboo forbade high-caste men to go by sea. Under the regulations they had to transport their personal effects, but had no bullocks available because the army had already engaged the supply. The men’s complaints and petitions were disregarded, and their grievances increased when camp followers were offered higher pay than the troops themselves. When the regiment refused to march, they were surrounded on the parade ground by the loyal soldiers of the 26th and 62nd Bengal Native Infantry plus two British regiments. After a final ultimatum, they were bombarded by the artillery, and 180 sepoys were killed. The regiment’s name was erased from the army list, the Indian officers dismissed, eleven ringleaders were hanged and 52 were sentenced to 14 years hard labour. The incident nearly led to the recall of the British Governor-General, Lord Amherst, and the military authorities were criticized for their rigidity and vindictive harshness. The Duke of
Wellington intervened on behalf both of Sir Edward Paget and Lord Amherst.
Sir Edward Paget returned to England in 1825 where on 27 May he was promoted to full General and resided at Cowes Castle. He was
Governor of the Royal Military College at Sandhurst on 25 March 1826 then Governor of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea from 10 January 1837 until his death on 13 May 1849 at Cowes, Isles of Wight. He was buried in the cemetery at Chelsea Hospital, of which he had been Governor, on 21 May. He is described as handsome, courteous in manner, firm in demeanour, and personally very brave.