Gough, Hugh Gough

Gough, Hugh Gough, Viscount (1779-1869), British field-marshal, a descendant of Francis Gough who was made bishop of Limerick in 1626, was born at Woodstown, Limerick, on the 3rd of November 1779. Having obtained a commission in the army in August 1794, he served with the 78th Highlanders at the Cape of Good Hope, taking part in the capture of Cape Town and of the Dutch fleet in Saldanha Bay in 1796. His next service was in the West Indies, where, with the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers), he shared in the attack on Porto Rico, the capture of Surinam, and the brigand war in St Lucia. In 1809 he was called to take part in the Peninsular War, and, joining the army under Wellington, commanded his regiment as major in the operations before Oporto, by which the town was taken from the French. At Talavera he was severely wounded, and had his horse shot under him. For his conduct on this occasion he was afterwards promoted lieutenant-colonel, his commission, on the recommendation of Wellington, being antedated from the day of the duke’s despatch. He was thus the first officer who ever received brevet rank for services performed in the field at the head of a regiment. He was next engaged at the battle of Barrosa, at which his regiment captured a French eagle. At the defence of Tarifa the post of danger was assigned to him, and he compelled the enemy to raise the siege. At Vitoria, where Gough again distinguished himself, his regiment captured the baton of Marshal Jourdan. He was again severely wounded at Nivelle, and was soon after created a knight of St Charles by the king of Spain. At the close of the war he returned home and enjoyed a respite of some years from active service. He next took command of a regiment stationed in the south of Ireland, discharging at the same time the duties of a magistrate during a period of agitation. Gough was promoted major-general in 1830. Seven years later he was sent to India to take command of the Mysore division of the army. But not long after his arrival in India the difficulties which led to the first Chinese war made the presence of an energetic general on the scene indispensable, and Gough was appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in China. This post he held during all the operations of the war; and by his great achievements and numerous victories in the face of immense difficulties, he at length enabled the English plenipotentiary, Sir H. Pottinger, to dictate peace on his own terms. After the conclusion of the treaty of Nanking in August 1842 the British forces were withdrawn; and before the close of the year Gough, who had been made a G.C.B, in the previous year for his services in the capture of the Canton forts, was created a baronet. In August 1843 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in India, and in December he took the command in person against the Mahrattas, and defeated them at Maharajpur, capturing more than fifty guns. In 1845 occurred the rupture with the Sikhs, who crossed the Sutlej in large numbers, and Sir Hugh Gough conducted the operations against them, being well supported by Lord Hardinge, the governor-general, who volunteered to serve under him. Successes in the hard-fought battles of Mudki and Ferozeshah were succeeded by the victory of Sobraon, and shortly afterwards the Sikhs sued for peace at Lahore. The services of Sir Hugh Gough were rewarded by his elevation to the peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron Gough (April 1846). The war broke out again in 1848, and again Lord Gough took the field; but the result of the battle of Chillianwalla being equivocal, he was superseded by the home authorities in favour of Sir Charles Napier; before the news of the supersession arrived Lord Gough had finally crushed the Sikhs in the battle of Gujarat (February 1849). His tactics during the Sikh wars were the subject of an embittered controversy (see Sikh Wars). Lord Gough now returned to England, was raised to a viscountcy, and for the third time received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. A pension of £2000 per annum was granted to him by parliament, and an equal pension by the East India Company. He did not again see active service. In 1854 he was appointed colonel of the Royal Horse Guards, and two years later he was sent to the Crimea to invest Marshal Pélissier and other officers with the insignia of the Bath. Honours were multiplied upon him during his latter years. He was made a knight of St Patrick, being the first knight of the order who did not hold an Irish peerage, was sworn a privy councillor, was named a G.C.S.I., and in November 1862 was made field-marshal. He was twice married, and left children by both his wives. He died on the 2nd of March 1869.