Sir John Braithwaite, 1st Baronet

Sir John Braithwaite, 1st Baronet
Born	3 February 1739
Died	16 August 1803
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1765 - 1801
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Madras Army
Battles/wars	Second Anglo-Mysore War Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

Major-General Sir John Braithwaite, 1st Baronet (3 February 1739 - 16 August 1803) was Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army.

Military career

Educated at Westminster School, Braithwaite was commissioned as an ensign in the 53rd Regiment of Foot on 6 November 1765.^[1] Promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 22 October 1772, he seized the Maharaja of Vizianagram's fort during a local dispute on 28 August 1777.^[1] He was then given command of a brigade which included one battalion of Europeans, the 3rd Carnatic Battalion, the 4th Carnatic Battalion and the 20th Carnatic Battalion: with this army he defeated a French force at Mahé in March 1779.^[1]

In Summer 1780 Hyder Ali invaded the Carnatic with over 60,000 men precipitating the Second Anglo-Mysore War: he took Braithwaite prisoner at Seringapatam in February 1782 and held him captive for two years.^[1] Braithwaite became acting Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army in August 1792, conducting the successful Siege of Pondicherry in 1793 and remained in that role until 1796.^[1]

Braithwaite was adjutant-general of the force that defeated Tipu Sultan at the Siege of Seringapatam in April 1799 so concluding the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.^[1] He became Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army in January 1800^[2] and, after retiring in 1801, he was created a Baronet on 18 December 1802 and died at his home in London in August 1803.^[1]

References