Robert Crauford

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Robert Crauford (1764-1812) was a general who participated in the Napoleonic Wars.

He was the third son of Sir Alexander Crauford, a Scottish Baronet.

Crauford was a strict disciplinarian and somewhat prone to violent mood swings which earned him the nickname "Black Bob". After a military career which took him from India to the Netherlands, he found himself commanding a brigade during the Peninsular War in 1808. By 1809 he was in charge of the Light Brigade, which was composed of the elite foot soldiers in the army at the time.

Despite his fearsome reputation, Crauford made the Light Brigade into a fantastic fighting unit. As a soldier he was as tough as any of the men he commanded, and would never ask them to do anything or take any risk that he was not willing to take himself. Nothing demonstrated this better than the manner of his own death, when he was shot in the spine whilst assaulting the breach at Ciudad Rodrigo. He was not killed outright, but spent 5 days in agony before succumbing to his wounds.