General Sir Edward Paget (3 November 1775 – 13 May 1849) was a British Army officer, politician, courtier and colonial administrator.

Early life and family

Edward Paget was born the fourth son and sixth child of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge.

During the course of his life, he and several of his 11 siblings achieved played a prominent role in British military and policital life; his eldest brother Henry William, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge (1768–1854), was in 1815 created Marquess of Anglesey and is best remembered for leading the charge of the heavy cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo. The third eldest brother, Sir Arthur Paget (1771–1840), was an eminent diplomat during the Napoleonic Wars, the fifth, Sir Charles Paget (1778–1839), served with distinction in the navy, and rose to the rank of vice-admiral.

Paget's sisters were each married to prominent aristocrats and military figures; they included Caroline, Countess of Enniskillen, Mary, Baroness Graves, Jane Stewart, Countess of Galloway, and Louisa, Lady Erskine.

Marriages and issue

On 22 May 1805 Paget married The Hon. Frances Bagot, youngest daughter of William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot. The couple had one child:

  • Reverend Francis Edward Paget (24 May 1806 – 4 August 1882).

Frances Paget did not long survive the birth of her only child; within a week of his birth she died on 30 May 1806.

  • Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Lewis Cole Paget (10 February 1820 – 17 July 1879).

Career

Soldier

Edward Paget became a cornet in the 1st Regiment of Life Guards in 1792.

In 1808, he was with John Moore in Gothenburg to assist the Swedish in the Finnish War. Moore's disagreements with Gustavus IV soon led to their being sent home where they were ordered to Portugal.

thumb|The capture of General Edward Paget by the French, 17 November 1812

He served in the British Army during the Peninsular War commanding the reserve at the Battle of Corunna in 1809 and then conducting the advance to Porto in 1809, during which he lost his right arm. He was second in command under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington in 1811

Briefly serving as the Governor of Ceylon in 1822, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India, on 13 January 1823 and conducted the Burmese campaigns of 1824 to 1825, The post was instead re-conferred upon Lord Hill's predecessor, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

Member of Parliament

Paget was Member of Parliament (MP) for Caernarvon Boroughs from 1796 to 1806, and later as the Member for Milborne Port from 1810 to 1820.

In 1806 his self-described political views centred upon his desire that the United Kingdom should "maintain our navy at its highest establishment and contrive some means of creating a real army of 200,000 men at home and never make peace as long as Europe remains in so complete a state of subjection."

Paget was appointment as Governor of Cowes Castle in 1818, and held the post until 1826.

References

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