Daniel Hoghton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 27 August 1770 Castle Hedingham,Essex |
| Died | 16 May 1811 Albuera,Spain |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom/British Empire |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1793 to 1811 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Battles / wars | |
Major-GeneralDaniel Hoghton (27 August 1770 – 16 May 1811) was a talented and experiencedBritish Army officer who served during theNapoleonic Wars with distinction until his death during combat with the French at theBattle of Albuera in thePeninsula War. His death brought general mourning in Britain and a monument to his memory was raised inSt Paul's Cathedral.
During his long career, Hoghton had fought on several West Indian islands, in India, Denmark, Portugal and Spain and had even spent a brief period standing in for aRoyal Marines detachment in the Channel Fleet. A popular and able officer,Wellington was reported to have commented on his death: "I understand that it was impossible for anybody to behave better than he did . . . he,actually fell waving his hat and cheering his brigade on to the charge"[1]
Hoghton was born inCastle Hedingham inEssex as second son toSir Henry Hoghton, 6th Baronet and his second wife Fanny in 1770. He was educated atSt John's College, Cambridge.[2] Raised in political circles as the son of anMP, Daniel instead chose a military career and at 23 joined the82nd Regiment of Foot as acaptain through purchase at the outbreak of theFrench Revolutionary War in 1793. It took some time for Hoghton to settle, moving in 1794 to the short-lived97th Regiment of Foot and in 1795 on their disbandment joining the67th Regiment of Foot. Whilst with the 97th, Hoghton and his troops spent some months with the Channel Fleet as makeshift marines after manning shortages necessitated the posting.[1] His father died the same year and the titles, estates and political offices passed to his elder brotherHenry Philip Hoghton.
The 67th Regiment was dispatched to the West Indies in 1796 to take part in several campaigns, including serving inSan Domingo during theHaitian Revolution and spending time stationed inJamaica. The same year Hoghton was promoted tolieutenant colonel. In January 1799 Hoghton was transferred to the88th Regiment of Foot, also known as the Connaught Rangers who were stationed in India. Hoghton took passage and met his regiment inBombay. For unknown reasons Hoghton did not accompany his men toEgypt for the final defeat of theFrench army stationed there in 1801 and instead spent some years on the staff ofLord Mornington, returning to England with dispatches in 1804.[1]
Following his arrival in England during November 1804, Hoghton was given command of the newly raised 2nd battalion,8th Regiment of Foot, gaining promotion to full colonel the following year. After training and preparing the regiment, Hoghton was dispatched with his troops to Denmark for participation in theSiege of Copenhagen underSir Arthur Wellesley, whose brother Hoghton had known in India.[1] Hoghton was not heavily engaged at Copenhagen and was soon transferred to the West Indies once more, participating in the invasion and capture ofMartinique in 1809. It was for this reason that Hoghton did not join Wellesley in the Iberian Peninsula until 1810, taking command of a brigade inCadiz.[1]
On 25 July 1810, Hoghton made the jump tomajor-general and in September took command of the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Division underSir William Stewart, a man he had served under during the 1790s. Hoghton's first taste of action during the Peninsular War was at theBattle of Albuera, where Stewart's division was hastily deployed after a Spanish withdrawal on the right of the battleline.[1] The rapid nature of the deployment opened the division to attack by French cavalry and the 1st brigade underColonel John Colborne was almost destroyed. Hoghton's brigade held firm however and drove off the French cavalry and then withstood an attack by the 11,000 men of the French 5th Corps, three-quarters of the brigade falling dead or wounded during the furious battle. As the attack subsided, Hoghton removed his hat to motion his men forward and as he did so was struck by amusket ball and killed instantly.[1]
Despite Hoghton's death, the brigade remained strong and withdrew from the field in good order, the action failing to produce a clear victor. Alone amongst the hundreds of men who fell from his division, Hoghton's body was retrieved in the immediate aftermath and carried toElvas, where it was buried in theBritish Cemetery Elvas which is now a memorial to the 60,000 officers and men of the British and Portuguese armies who died alongside their Spanish allies in the cause of freedom and independence in the Peninsular War of 1808–1814.[3] In Britain his death was treated with sorrow and a government motion paid for a monument to his memory to be raised inSt Paul's Cathedral.[1]