The Viscount Hill | |
|---|---|
 1836 portrait byWilliam Salter | |
| Commander-in-Chief of the Forces | |
| In office 22 January 1828 – 15 August 1842 | |
| Monarchs | George IV William IV Victoria |
| Preceded by | Duke of Wellington |
| Succeeded by | Duke of Wellington |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 August 1772 (1772-08-11) Prees,Shropshire, England |
| Died | 10 December 1842 (1842-12-11) (aged 70) Hadnall,Shropshire, England |
| Political party | Tory |
| Relations |
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| Parents |
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| Awards | |
| Nickname | Daddy Hill |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Great Britain United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1790–1842 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | II Corps |
| Battles/wars | |
GeneralRowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill,GCB, GCH (11 August 1772 – 10 December 1842) was aBritish Army officer and politician who served in theFrench Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Hill becameCommander-in-Chief of the Forces in 1828. Well-liked by the soldiers under his command, he was nicknamed "Daddy Hill".
Hill was born on 11 August 1772 inPrees, Shropshire. He was the second son and fourth child of Sir John Hill, 3rd Baronet, a landowner, and Mary, co-heir and daughter of John Chambré ofPetton, Shropshire.[2][3]
Educated atThe King's School inChester,[4] Hill was commissioned into the38th Foot in 1790.[5] He was promoted to lieutenant on 27 January 1791.[6] On 16 March 1791, after a period of leave, he was appointed to the53rd Regiment of Foot.[7] He was asked to raise an independent company and given the rank ofcaptain on 30 March 1793.[8]
He served at theSiege of Toulon in Autumn 1793 asaide-de-camp toGeneral O'Hara[3] from where he carried the dispatches to London.[9] He then transferred to one of Major-GeneralCornelius Cuyler's independent companies on 16 November 1793.[10] In 1794 he assistedThomas Graham in raising the90th Foot for which he was promoted tomajor on 27 May 1794[11] and tolieutenant-colonel on 26 July 1794.[12] He was promoted tocolonel on 1 January 1800.[13]
In 1801 he commanded the 90th Foot when they landed atAbukir Bay in Egypt as part of a force underSir Ralph Abercromby; Hill was seriously wounded in the action when amusket ball hit his head.[9] In the ensuing weeks Hill helped drive the French forces out of Egypt, and fought at theBattle of Alexandria in 1801.[9] Hill became abrigadier in 1803 and amajor-general on 2 November 1805.[14]
During thePeninsular War, Hill commanded a brigade at theBattle of Roliça and also at theBattle of Vimeiro in 1808.[9] He participated inSir John Moore's 1808–1809 campaign in Spain, commanding a brigade at theBattle of Corunna.[9] While serving underWellington at theSecond Battle of Porto, units of Hill's brigade launched an impromptu assault across the Douro River that ultimately routed MarshalJean-de-Dieu Soult's French corps from Oporto.[9]
Hill commanded the2nd Division at theBattle of Talavera. The night before the battle, MarshalClaude-Victor Perrin mounted a surprise attack, swept aside two battalions of theKing's German Legion and seized a key elevation. As Hill later recounted, "I was sure it was the old Buffs, as usual, making some blunder."[15] Nevertheless, he led a reserve brigade forward in the dark. In the short clash that followed, Hill was briefly grabbed and nearly captured by a Frenchman, but his troops recovered the summit. This is the first occasion on which Hill supposedly swore.[16]
Still leading the 2nd Division during MarshalAndré Masséna's 1810 invasion of Portugal, Hill fought at theBattle of Bussaco.[9] In autumn 1811, Wellington placed Hill in independent command of 16,000 men watchingBadajoz. On 28 October he led a successful raid on the French at theBattle of Arroyo dos Molinos. On 21 January 1812 he was appointed to the honorary position ofGovernor of Blackness Castle[17] and on 22 February 1812 he was appointed a Knight Companion of theOrder of the Bath.[18] He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the PortugueseOrder of the Tower and Sword on 4 May 1812.[19]
In May 1812, after the capture ofBadajoz, Hill led a second raid that destroyed a key bridge in theBattle of Almaraz.[9] While Wellington won theBattle of Salamanca, Hill protected Badajoz with an independent 18,000-man corps, including the British 2nd Division,John Hamilton's Portuguese division andWilliam Erskine's 2nd Cavalry Division. He was promoted tolieutenant-general on 30 December 1811.[20]
After the British capture of Madrid, Hill had responsibility for an army of 30,000 men.[9] Hill commanded the Right Column during the campaign and decisive British victory at theBattle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813.[9][21] Still in corps command, he fought in theBattle of the Pyrenees.[22] At Vitoria and in Wellington's invasion of southern France, Hill's corps usually consisted ofWilliam Stewart's 2nd Division, the Portuguese Division (under John Hamilton, Francisco Silveira or Carlos Le Cor)[23] and Pablo Morillo's Spanish Division. For his leadership in these battles he was awarded a medal and two clasps on 7 October 1813.[24] He led the Right Corps at theBattle of Nivelle on 10 November 1813.[25]
On 13 December 1813, during theBattle of the Nive, Hill performed what may have been his finest work in his defence of St-Pierre d'Irube. With his 14,000 men and 10 guns isolated on the east bank of the Nive by a broken bridge, Hill held off the attacks of MarshalJean-de-Dieu Soult's 30,000 soldiers and 22 guns. He fought the battle with great skill and "was seen at every point of danger, and repeatedly led up rallied regiments in person to save what seemed like a lost battle ... He was even heard to swear."[16] Later, he fought at theOrthez andToulouse. Wellington said, "The best of Hill is that I always know where to find him."[26] He was appointedGovernor of Hull on 13 July 1814.[27]
Nicknamed "Daddy Hill", he looked after his troops and was adored by his men.[9] On one occasion, he provided a wounded officer who arrived at his headquarters with a lunch basket. Another time, a sergeant delivered a letter to Hill. Expecting nothing but a nod of thanks, the man was astonished when the general arranged for his supper and a place for him to stay for the night. The next day, Hill gave him food and a pound for the rest of his journey.[28]
He was alsoTory[29] Member of Parliament (MP) forShrewsbury from 1812[30] to 1814,[31] when he was raised to his peerage asBaron Hill of Almaraz and of Hawkestone in the county of Salop,[32][33] although military duties made him unable to attend the House of Commons prior to his elevation to theLords. The peerage brought with it a £2,000 pension.[29]
Hill was also colonel of the 3rd Garrison Battalion from 14 January 1809,[34] colonel of the94th Regiment of Foot from 23 September 1809,[35] colonel of the72nd Regiment of Foot from 29 April 1815[36] and colonel of theRoyal Regiment of Horse Guards from 19 November 1830.[37]
At theBattle of Waterloo Hill commanded the IICorps.[9] He led the charge ofSir Frederick Adam's brigade against theImperial Guard towards the end of the battle. For some time it was thought that he had fallen in the melee. He escaped unwounded, and after the battle wrote to his sister, "I verily believe there never was so tremendous a battle fought as that at Waterloo."[3] Thereafter he continued with the army in France until its withdrawal in 1818.[9]
He received several awards from allied nations after the battle. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of the Bath on 4 January 1815[38] and on 21 August 1815 he was made Knight Commander of theOrder of Maria Theresa of Austria[39] and Knight of theOrder of St. George of Russia.[40] On 27 August 1815 the Dutch KingWilliam I made him a Commander of the exclusiveMilitary Order of William. At thecoronation ofGeorge IV in 1821, Lord Hill bore the Standard of England in the procession fromWestminster Hall toWestminster Abbey.[41] From 1828 to 1842, he succeeded the Duke of Wellington asCommander-in-Chief of the Forces.[9] He was also appointedGovernor of Plymouth on 18 June 1830[42] and becameViscount Hill of Almaraz on 22 September 1842.[9]
A keen foxhunter, Hill was master of the North Shropshire Foxhounds until 1823.[43] The pack exists to this day and hunts the north of the county, including the grounds of his childhood home,Hawkstone Hall.[43] He later shared the Mastership with Sir Bellingham Graham and Sir Edward Smythe, the hounds at this time being kennelled two miles south-east of Hawkstone Hall.[43] Hill also formed the Hawkstone Otter Hunt around 1800, which was maintained and hunted by successive viscounts.[43] He served as treasurer of theSalop Infirmary at Shrewsbury in 1825,[44] laying the foundation stone of a major rebuild of the hospital in 1827.[45]
He died at Hardwicke Grange,Hadnall, Shropshire on 10 December 1842.[9] He is buried in the churchyard at Hadnall.[9]
Hill never married and on his death the baronetcy passedin remainder toRowland Hill, 2nd Viscount Hill, the son of his deceased brother, John.[2] His brothersRobert,Clement andThomas, also followed military careers and were present at the Battle of Waterloo.[46]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hill, Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 466–467.| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Colonel of the3rd Garrison Battalion 1809 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonel of the94th Regiment of Foot 1809–1815 | Unknown |
| Preceded by | Governor of Blackness Castle 1812–1814 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull 1814–1830 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonel of the72nd Regiment of Foot 1815–1817 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonel of the53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot 1817–1830 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief of the Forces 1828–1842 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonel of theRoyal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) 1830–1842 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Plymouth 1830–1842 | Office abolished |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forShrewsbury 1812–1814 With:Henry Grey Bennet | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Viscount Hill 1842 | Succeeded by |
| Baron Hill 1814–1842 | Extinct | |
| Baron Hill 1816–1842 | Succeeded by | |
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