Sir Peregrine Maitland, KCB, GCB (July 6, 1777 – May 30, 1854) was a British soldier and colonial administrator who played first-class cricket from 1798 to 1808.
Born at Long Parish House, Hurstbourne, Hampshire, the eldest of five sons of Thomas Maitland of Lyndhurst, Hampshire, (d. 1798) by his spouse Jane, daughter of Edward Mathew, General of the Coldstream Guards by his wife Lady Jane (d. 21 August 1793), daughter of Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven. Thomas Maitland possessed plantations in the parish of St. Thomas Middle Island on the island of St. Christopher.
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He joined the Grenadier Guards at the age of 15 as an Ensign. He went on to serve in Flanders in 1794 and both Corunna and Walcheren in 1809. During the later stages of the Peninsula War Maitland commanded his regiment and he became a Major General in 1813
He served with distinction at the Battle of Waterloo and was dubbed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, June 22, 1815. He was appointed lieutenant governor of Upper Canada in 1818 and supported the Family Compact that dominated the province. He attempted to suppress and reform pro-American tendencies in the colony and resisted demands of radicals in the government. His tenure in Upper Canada ended in 1828 when he was appointed lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia serving there from 1828 until 1834.
Maitland went to India and became commander in chief of the Madras army in 1836 serving for two years. In 1844 he became governor of the Cape of Good Hope, but was removed during the Xhosa War. He is still highly respected in the Kingdom of Lesotho for his judgment on the border issue between the Orange River Afrikaners and the Basotho of King Moshoeshoe, which, had it been implemented, would have secured the economic future of the kingdom. He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on April 6, 1852.
Maitland became the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia on 29 Nov. 1828, with the added responsibility of commander-in-chief of the forces in the Atlantic region. He was popular. Certainly, his strongly moral conduct had an impact on Halifax’s society. By insisting on walking to church, he effectively ended the garrison parades on Sunday, the city’s major social event, and he publicly denounced the open market that day.
Maitland was responsible for the settlement reached for Pictou Academy. In dealing with immigration and settlement, he had lands laid out in Cape Breton at crown expense so that the 4,000 immigrants expected that year could be legally placed and systematically settled.
In October 1832 Maitland went to England on leave, presumably because of his health, and the government was placed in charge of Thomas Nickleson Jeffery. Though he continued to conduct official correspondence from England, he never returned to North America and he was succeeded in Nova Scotia by Sir Colin Campbell in July 1834.
Maitland was an amateur first-class cricketer who made 27 known appearances in major cricket matches from 1798 to 1808.
He was mainly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and he also played for Surrey and Hampshire.[1]
He married twice: (1) in 1803, Louisa (d. 1805), daughter of Sir Edward Crofton, 2nd Baronet, and (2) at the Duke of Wellington's HQ during the occupation of Paris, October 9, 1815, Lady Sarah (1792–1873), daughter of the 4th Duke of Richmond. By his second wife he had an eldest daughter Sarah (1817–1900), who married Thomas Bowes Forster (1802–1870), Lieutenant-Colonel in the Madras Army.
In his novel Les Misérables Victor Hugo credits Maitland (or Colville) with asking for the surrender of the Imperial Guard and receiving General Cambronne's reply of "Merde". (Chapter XIV. The Last Square)
Maitland, Hants County, Nova Scotia is named after him. Maitland Street, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia is named after him. The Church of St. John the Evangelist Anglican in Niagara Falls, Ontario was constructed in 1825 largely through the efforts of Lieutenant-Governor Sir Peregrine Maitland. The church remained in regular use until 1957.[2]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Samuel Smith |
Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada 1818–1828 |
Succeeded by Sir John Colborne |
| Preceded by Thomas N. Jeffrey |
Governor of Nova Scotia 1828–1834 |
Succeeded by Sir Colin Campbell |
| Preceded by Sir George Thomas Napier |
Governor of the Cape Colony 1844–1847 |
Succeeded by Henry Pottinger |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by New Position |
Chancellor of King's College 1827–1828 |
Succeeded by Sir John Colborne |
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