Forbes Champagné | |
---|---|
Born | 2 July 1754
[1] Clonmacnoise, County Offaly, Kingdom of Ireland |
Died | 23 October 1816[2] Mitcham, London [3] | (aged 62)
Buried | Church of St. Peter & St. Paul, Mitcham |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Rank | Lieutenant General |
Commands held | British Indian Army |
Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War |
Lieutenant General Forbes Champagné (2 July 1754 – 23 October 1816) was a British Army officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War and officiated as Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army from 1807 to 1811.
Champagné was born into a family of French Huguenot exiles in Ireland, [1] the son of the Very Rev. Arthur de Robillard Champagné, Dean of Clonmacnoise, and Marianne Hamon, daughter of Colonel Isaac Hamon. His paternal great-grandfather was Chevalier Josias de Robillard, Seigneur de Champagné de Torxé, Saintonge, [4] who fled to Holland after the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685, [5] joining William of Orange's army. He married Marie de la Rochefoucauld of the noble house of the same name. Their daughter Susanne married Henri de la Motte-Fouqué, baron de Saint-Seurin et de Tonnay-Boutonne, and was mother of Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué. Their eldest son, Josias de Robillard (Forbes' grandfather), distinguished himself at a young age in service of Major-General Isaac de Monceau de la Melonière, who commanded a regiment of exiles in William's army during the Irish campaigns. [1] He married Lady Jane Forbes, daughter of Arthur Forbes, 2nd Earl of Granard. [6]
Forbes had three brothers: General Sir Josiah Champagné; Rev. Arthur Champagné, vicar of Castlelyons; and Rev. George Champagné, Canon of Windsor and Rector of Twickenham. He had six sisters, including Jane, who married the Earl of Uxbridge; Henrietta, wife of Sir Erasmus Dixon Borrowes, 6th Baronet; and Marianne, wife of Sir Charles des Voeux, 1st Baronet. [1] [6]
Champagné was commissioned into the 4th Regiment of Foot in 1773. [7] He served in the Southern Colonies during the American Revolutionary War [8] and took part in the Battle of Wetzell's Mill in 1781. [9] By 1796 he had been appointed Commanding Officer of the 20th Regiment of Foot. [10]
He was promoted to colonel on 26 January 1797 and to major general on 25 September 1803. [11] He started officiating as Commander-in-Chief, India in 1807 and was also appointed colonel of the 1st Battalion of the 95th Regiment of Foot in 1809. [12]
Promoted to lieutenant general on 25 July 1810, [13] he ceased officiating as Commander-in-Chief, India, following the appointment of Sir George Nugent, 1st Baronet in 1811. [14]
He lived in Merton [15] and died on 23 October 1816. [16]
Forbes Champagné.
chevalier de Champagné josias.