Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough
Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, KP, GCB, GCSI, PC (3 November 1779 – 2 March 1869) was a senior British Army officer. After serving as a junior officer at the seizure of the Cape of Good Hope during the French Revolutionary Wars, Gough commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot during the Peninsular War. After serving as commander-in-chief of the British forces in China during the First Opium War, he became Commander-in-Chief, India and led the British forces in action against the Marathas defeating them decisively at the conclusion of the Gwalior campaign and then commanded the troops that defeated the Sikhs during both the First Anglo-Sikh War and the Second Anglo-Sikh War.
The Viscount Gough
3 November 1779
Woodstown, Annacotty, Kingdom of Ireland
2 March 1869 (aged 89)
Booterstown, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom
1794–1849
- Commander-in-Chief in China
- Commander-in-Chief in India
Early career[edit]
Born into Anglo-Irish gentry, Gough was the son of Lieutenant Colonel George Gough and Letitia Gough (née Bunbury), of Lisnavagh. His ancestors were originally from Wiltshire, settling in Ireland in the 17th century.[1]
Gough was commissioned into the Limerick Militia on 7 August 1793.[2] He transferred to a locally raised regiment on 7 August 1794 and, having been promoted to lieutenant in the 119th Regiment of Foot on 11 October 1794, transferred to the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot on 6 June 1795.[3] He took part in the capture of the Cape of Good Hope in September 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars and transferred to the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot in December 1795, before being deployed with his regiment in the West Indies and taking part in the expedition to Dutch Guiana in 1799.[4] After returning to England he was promoted to captain in the 2nd Battalion of his regiment on 25 June 1803 and to major in the same battalion on 25 June 1803.[4]
Peninsular War[edit]
Gough joined Sir Arthur Wellesley in Spain in January 1809 and commanded the 2nd Battalion of his regiment at the Battle of Talavera, during which he was wounded in July 1809 during the Peninsular War.[4] He also fought at the Battle of Barrosa, where his regiment captured a French Imperial Eagle in March 1811.[2] Promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel on 30 March 1811,[5] he also took part in the Siege of Tarifa in January 1812, the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813 and the Battle of Nivelle, during which he was again badly wounded in November 1813.[4] He was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant colonel on 25 May 1815,[6] appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 4 June 1815[7] and appointed a Knight Bachelor on 16 March 1816.[8]
Promoted to colonel on 12 August 1819,[9] Gough became commanding officer of the 22nd Regiment of Foot in County Tipperary where he also served as a local magistrate.[4] He was promoted to major general on 22 July 1830[10] and advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 18 September 1831.[11]
Family[edit]
In June 1807, Gough married Frances Maria Stephens, daughter of General Edward Stephens.[4] His daughter, the Hon. Frances Maria Gough, was married to Field Marshal Sir Patrick Grant.[28]
As the 1st Viscount Gough, he set down a family seat near Gort at Lough Cutra Castle, County Galway, Ireland, when purchased by him in 1852.[29]
Gough's first cousins included Thomas Bunbury of Lisnavagh, County Carlow, MP for Carlow, and Jane McClintock of Drumcar, mother of the 1st Baron Rathdonnell.[30]