THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON

Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington, born in 1769, was the third son of the first Earl of Mornington, and was educated at Eton, at Brighton, and finally at the Military College of Angers. In 1787 he received a commission as ensign in the 73d Foot, and after a rapid series of changes and promotions, attained by purchase in 1798 the command as lieutenant-colonel of the 88d Regiment. During 1794 and 1795 he served with his regiment under the Duke of York in Flanders. In 1796 his regiment was despatched to Bengal, Colonel Wellesley landing at Calcutta in Feb. 1797 at a critical moment for the British power in India War had just been declared against Tippoo Saib, and an army of 80,000, of which Colonel Wellesley's regiment formed parts marched against him. An engagement took place at Mallavelly (Mysore) on the 27th, in which Wellesley, who commanded the left wing, turned the right of the enemy. He was subsequently employed to dislodge the enemy from their posts in front of Seringapatam, and after the capture of that capital he was appointed, in 1799, to the administration of Mysore, his brother being at this time governor-general. In 1802 he attained the rank of major-general, and in the following year be was appointed to the command of a force destined to restore the Peishwa of the Mahrattas, driven from his capital by Holkar. After this operation had been successfully performed the other Mahratta chiefs, Scindia and the Rajah of Berar, showed hostile designs against the British, and Wellesley was appointed to the chief military and political command in the operations against them. After an active campaign, in which he took Ahmednuggur and Arungabad, he encountered a powerful Mahratta army, assisted by French officers, at Assaye, on 23d September, and entirely defeated it. The parallel successes of General Lake, and the defeat of the Rajah of Berar by Wellesley at Argaum on 29th November, compelled the submission of the Mahrattas, and peace was restored on conditions drawn up by the successful general.

Early in 1805, his health failing, Wellesley obtained leave to return home, and arrived in England in September. He had before leaving Madras received his appointment as Knight Commander of the Bath. From November to February he was engaged as brigadier-general in Lord Cathcart's expedition to the Continent, which was without result. In January 1806 he succeeded Lord Cornwallis as colonel of his own regiment, the 33d. On 10th April, 1806, he married Lady Catherine Pakenham, third daughter of the Earl of Longford. He was shortly afterwards elected M.P. for Rye, and in April 1807 was appointed secretary of state for Ireland. In August he received the command of a division in the expedition to Copenhagen under Lord Cathcart and Admiral Gambier and took Kioge on April 29, the only land operation of importance. On April 28, 1808, he attained the rank of lieutenant-general, and in June received the command of a force destined to operate in the north of Spain and Portugal. He was subsequently superseded; but before giving up the command he gained the battle of Vimeira over Junot, the campaign being brought to a close with the convention of Cintra, by which the French agreed to evacuate Portugal. In 1809 Wellesley was appointed to take the chief command in the Peninsula which had been overrun by the French. The famous passage of the Douro, and the defeat of Soult which followed, fittingly opened this masterly campaign. For the victory at Talavera (July 28), the first of a long list that subsequently took place in the Peninsula, the government raised the cornnander-in-chief to the peerage as Viscount Wellington. Towards the end of 1810 Wellington fought the battle of Busaco, which was followed by the famous fortification and defence of the lines of Torres Vedras. A little later (in 1811) occurred the victory of Fuentes de Onoro. In the following year he took Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz by storm, and fought the battle of Salamanca, accounted one of his most famous victories. On August 12, 1812, Wellington entered Madrid. For his brilliant conduct of the campaign thus far he received the thanks of parliament, was raised to the dignity of marquis, and a sum of £100,000 was voted to purchase him an estate. Next followed the battle of Vittoria (June 21, 1813), for which decisive victory Wellington was given the baton of field-marshal; then battles in the Pyrenees, the capture of San Sebastian, and the crossing of the Bidassoa into France. In 1814 the battle of Orthez was gained, and in the same year the battle of Toulouse, in which Soult's best troops were routed, and the hopes of France in the Peninsula utterly annihilated. The way was now open for the British troops to the heart of France. In six weeks, with scarcely 100,000 men, Wellington had marched 600 miles, gained two decisive battles, invested two fortresses, and driven 120,000 veteran troops from Spain. Napoleon abdicated on April 12, and a few days later the war was brought to a close by the signing of conventions with Soult and Berthier. In May the triumphant general was created Marquis of Douro and Duke of Wellington, with an annuity of £10,000, commuted afterwards for £400,000. He received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. In July he went as ambassador to France, and succeeded Lord Castlereagh as British representative in the Congress of Vienna. In April he took the command of the army assembled in the Netherlands to oppose Napoleon. On his return to England after the restoration of peace he received a vote of £200,000 for the purchase of the estate of Strathfieldsaye, to be held on presenting a coloured flag at Windsor on the 18th of June each year. With the return of peace he resumed the career of politics. He accepted the post of master-general of the ordnance with a seat in the cabinet of Lord Liverpool in January, 1819. In 1822 he represented Great Britain in the Congress of Vienna. In 1826 he was appointed high-constable of the Tower. On 22d Jan. 1827, he succeeded the Duke of York as commander-in-chief of the forces. On 8th January, 1828, he accepted the premiership, resigning the command of the forces to Lord Hill. In January 1829 he was appointed governor of Dover Castle and lord warden of the Cinque Ports. In 1830 repeated motions for parliamentary reform were defeated, but the growing discontent throughout the country on this subject and a defeat in parliament caused the resignation of the government in November. His opposition to reform made the duke so unpopular that he was assaulted by the mob on 18th June, 1832, and his life endangered. He accepted office under Sir Robert Peel in 1834-41, and again in 1846, when he helped to carry the repeal of the corn-laws, which till then he had opposed. In 1842 he resumed the command of the forces on the death of Lord Hill. He died at Walmer Castle, 14th September, 1852.