John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton

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John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton (February 16, 1778 – April 17, 1863), British field marshal, was born at Lyndhurst, Hants and entered the 20th (Lancashire Fusiliers) in 1794, winning thereafter every step in his regimental promotion without purchase.

He first saw service in the Helder expedition of 1799, and as a captain he took part in Sir Ralph Abercromby's expedition to Egypt in 1801. He distinguished himself at Maida, and soon afterwards was brought under the notice of Sir John Moore, who obtained a majority for him and made him his military secretary. In this capacity he served through the Corunna campaign, and Sir John Moore's dying request that he should be given a lieutenant-colonelcy was at once complied with. In the summer of 1809 Lieut.-Colonel Colborne was again in the Peninsula, and before taking command of the 66th regiment, he witnessed the defeat of the Spaniards at Ocana.

With the 66th he was present at Busaco and shared in the defence of the lines of Torres Vedras, and next year, after temporarily commanding a brigade with distinction at the battle of Albuera, he was appointed to command the famous 52nd Light Infantry (Oxfordshire and Bucks L.I.) with which corps he is most closely identified. He led it and was very severely wounded at Ciudad Rodrigo (1812), and only rejoined in July 1814. Shortly afterwards be was placed in temporary charge of a brigade of the Light Division which he commanded in the Pyrenees engagements and the battles of Orthes and Toulouse.

At the peace he was made colonel, aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent and K.C.B. In 1815 Colborne and the 52nd at Waterloo played a brilliant part in the repulse of the Old Guard at the close of the day. Promoted major-general in 1825, Colborne was soon afterwards made Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey. From 1828 to 1836 served as Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada.

As Lieutenant Governor, Colborne more than doubled the population of the province by initiating an organised system of immigration to bring in settlers from Britain. He also aided settlement by expanding the communication and transportation infrastructure through a campaign to build roads and bridges. In 1829, Colborne founded Upper Canada College as a school based on the elite English public school model to educate boys in preparation for becoming leaders of the colonies.

Being a member of the family compact, Colborne was a strong supporter of the Church of England and British traditions and an opponent of responsible government. His policies brought him into conflict with Reformers in Upper Canada and contributed to the Rebellions of 1837 during which he was made commander-in-chief of the armed forces and acting Governor General of British North America.

Colborne raised a local militia to join the same contingent of British regulars to suppress a rebel force in December 1837. He personally led the offensive at St-Eustache in Lower Canada. In Canada, he won the nickname of le vieux brûlot for his habit of burning down villages and houses.

For his services he was rewarded upon returning to Britain by being raised to the peerage as Baron Seaton of Seaton in Devonshire. From 1843 to 1849 he was high commissioner of the Ionian Islands. In 1854 he was promoted full general, and from 1855 to 1860 he was commander-in-chief in Ireland. He died at Torquay on 17 April 1863.

See the Life by GC Moore Smith (1906).

[edit] External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Military Offices
Preceded by Sir George Prevost	Commander-in-Chief, North America 1838–1839	Succeeded by vacant from 1839-1846 and after 1846 - General Charles Murray
Preceded by Sir Edward Blakeney	Commander-in-Chief, Ireland 1855–1860	Succeeded by Sir George Brown
Political offices
Preceded by Sir Peregrine Maitland	Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada 1828–1836	Succeeded by Sir Francis Bond Head
Preceded by The Earl of Gosford	Acting Governor General of British North America 1837–1838	Succeeded by The Earl of Durham as Governor General and high commissioner of British North America
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by New Creation	Baron Seaton 1839–1863	Succeeded by James Colborne

	Lieutenant-Governors of Ontario
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