Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byWilliam Dyce (1834) | |
| Born | 1 May 1772 |
| Died | 4 October 1842 (aged 70) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Service years | 1787–1833 |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot |
| Commands | 4th Division Northern District |
| Conflicts | Peninsular War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Bath |
| Other work | Governor ofMauritius 1823–1828 Governor of theCape Colony 1828–1833 |
GeneralSir Galbraith Lowry ColeGCB (1 May 1772 – 4 October 1842) was aBritish Army officer and politician.
Cole was the second son of an Irish peer,William Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen (1 March 1736 – 22 May 1803), and Anne Lowry-Corry (d. September 1802), the daughter of Galbraith Lowry-Corry ofCounty Tyrone, and the sister ofArmar Lowry-Corry, 1st Earl Belmore.[1]
Cole was commissioned acornet in 12th Dragoon Guards in 1787.[2] He transferred to 5th Dragoon Guards as a lieutenant in 1791 and to 70th Foot as a captain in 1792, and served in theWest Indies,Ireland, andEgypt. He was appointed lieutenant-colonel in Ward’s late regiment of foot in 1794 and lieutenant-colonel in the late General Villette's corps in 1799, on full pay although these units had been disbanded.[3] He was promoted to colonel in the Army in 1801 and served as brigadier-general inSicily and commanded the 1st Brigade at theBattle of Maida on 4 July 1806. In 1808 he was promoted to major-general. In 1809 he was appointed to the staff of the army serving in Spain and Portugal and granted the local rank of lieutenant-general in 1811. This rank was confirmed in the Army in 1813.[4] He commanded the4th Division in thePeninsular War underWellington, and was wounded at theBattle of Albuera in which he played a decisive part. He was also wounded, much more seriously, atSalamanca. He was promoted to full general in 1830.[2]
For having served with distinction in the battles ofMaida,Albuera,Salamanca,Vitoria,Pyrenees,Nivelle,Orthez andToulouse, he received theArmy Gold Cross with four clasps.[2] In 1815 he became General Officer CommandingNorthern District.[5]
He was appointed Colonel of the 103rd Foot in 1812, 70th Foot in 1814 and 34th Foot in 1816. He subsequently became Governor of Gravesend and Tilbury Fort. He was also colonel of the27th Foot.
He was Member of Parliament in theIrish House of Commons for the family seat ofEnniskillen from 1797 to 1800, and representedFermanagh in theBritish House of Commons in 1803.
He was appointed 2ndGovernor of Mauritius from 12 June 1823 to 17 June 1828. He left in 1828 to take up the post of Governor of theCape Colony which position he filled until 1833.
Cole was knighted in 1813, and was invested as aKnight Grand Cross, Order of the Bath on 2 January 1815.[2]
He is commemorated inEnniskillen by a statue surmounting a 30-metre (98 ft) column in Fort Hill Park, carried out by the Irish sculptor, Terence Farrell.[6]
The first road throughSir Lowry's Pass over the Hottentots Holland mountains near Cape Town was built while he was Governor, and the pass named after him.
Cole was married on 15 June 1815 to Lady Frances Harris (d. 1 November 1847), daughter ofJames Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury, for whomMalmesbury, South Africa is named, and Harriet Mary (née Amyand), his wife. His late marriage was attributed by his family to the unhappy outcome of his romance with the futureCatherine Pakenham (later Duchess of Wellington) to whom he had been briefly engaged in 1802–3. Frances Cole played a prominent part insocial philanthropy in the Cape and worked towards havingcoloured children taught useful trades.Colesberg, a town in the Cape, is named after him, as isSir Lowry's Pass near Cape Town. They had seven children:[7][8]
His elder brotherJohn Willoughby Cole married Lady Charlotte Paget, the daughter ofHenry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge.
His other siblings were:[1]
He lived atHighfield House in Hampshire, adjacent to theStratfield Saye estate of his friend the Duke of Wellington.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Parliament of Ireland | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEnniskillen 1797–1800 With:Arthur Cole-Hamilton | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forFermanagh 1803–1823 With:Mervyn Archdall | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | GOC Northern District 1815–1816 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Gravesend and Tilbury 1818–1842 | Office abolished |
| Preceded by | Governor of Mauritius 1823–1828 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Richard Bourke,acting | Governor of the Cape Colony 1828–1833 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonel of the27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot 1826–1842 | Succeeded by Sir John Maclean |
| Preceded by | Colonel of the70th (Glasgow Lowland) Regiment of Foot 1814–1816 | Succeeded by |
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| People | |
| Other | |
