William Wemyss

General William Wemyss of Wemyss (9 April 1760 – 30 November 1852) was a Scottish soldier in the British Army and Member of Parliament.

Family

He was the son of the Hon. James Wemyss, third son of the 5th Earl of Wemyss, and his wife Lady Elizabeth, only daughter of the 17th Earl of Sutherland.^[1]

On 16 September 1788^[2] he married Frances, daughter of Sir William Erskine, 1st Baronet. Their children included

• Frances (1794–1858), who married James St Clair-Erskine, 3rd Earl of Rosslyn;^[3]
• James Erskine Wemyss (1789–1854), a Rear-Admiral; and
• William Wemyss (1790–1852), also a Lieutenant-General.

Both sons married daughters of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll.^[4]

Member of Parliament

From 1784 to 1787 Wemyss was MP for Sutherland, succeeding his father,^[5] before sitting for Fife from 1787 to 1796 and again from 1807 to 1820.^[6]

Military career

Captain in the Army by brevet, 1 July 1783^[7] DAG in Scotland and Major, 18 November 1786^[8] DAG in Scotland and Lieutenant-Colonel, 1 October 1791^[9] Colonel, 22 August 1795^[10]

He attained the rank of Major-General on 23 June 1798.^[11] Action near Ardee^[12]

On 16 September 1800 he was Colonel of a new Regiment of Infantry,^[13][14] later the 93rd Regiment of Foot. On 30 October 1805 he was promoted to lieutenant-general. He was aide-de-camp to Major-General Sir William Erskine in the 1809 Walcheren Campaign and during the Peninsular War.^[15] In 1810 it was announced that he would succeed Sir Hew Dalrymple as Colonel of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot, with General Needham becoming Colonel of the 93rd,^[16] but the appointments did not take place^[17] and Wemyss remained Colonel of the 93rd Foot until his death, when he was succeeded by Sir Thomas Hislop.^[18] He did however gain a promotion to full general on 4 June 1814.^[19]

Death

Wemyss died on 4 February 1852 at his home in Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park after a "lingering and distressing illness".^[20] He is buried in a railed enclosure in St Mary's Churchyard, Wimbledon, London.^[15]

References

1. http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/Sutherland1235.htm
2. http://thepeerage.com/p1087.htm#i10870
3. http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/index730.htm
4. http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/Erroll1452.htm
5. http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Scommons6.htm
6. http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Fcommons.htm
7. The London Gazette: no. 12453. p. 1. 1 July 1783.
8. The London Gazette: no. 12804. p. 552. 18 November 1786.
9. The London Gazette: no. 13347. p. 542. 1 October 1791.
10. The London Gazette: no. 13806. p. 860. 22 August 1795.
11. The London Gazette: no. 15032. p. 551. 23 June 1798.
12. The London Gazette: no. 15042. p. 680. 21 July 1798.
13. The London Gazette: no. 15293. p. 1055. 16 September 1800.
14. The London Gazette: no. 15297. p. 1118. 30 September 1800.
15. Bromley, Janet; Bromley, David (2015). Wellington's Men Remembered Volume 2: A Register of Memorials to Soldiers who Fought in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo- Volume II: M to Z. Pen and Sword. p. 1828. ISBN 978-1-4738-5768-1.
16. The London Gazette: no. 16381. p. 922. 26 June 1810.
17. The London Gazette: no. 16383. p. 963. 3 July 1810.
18. The London Gazette: no. 17791. p. 282. 16 February 1822.
19. https://archive.org/stream/royalmilitaryca06goog#page/n84/mode/2up
20. "Death of Lieutenant-General Wemyss". The Morning Post. 29 November 1852. Retrieved 26 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).

• http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/wemyss.htm
• http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/wemyss-william-1760-1822
• http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/wemyss-william-1760-1822
• https://archive.org/stream/royalmilitaryca06goog#page/n84/mode/2up

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Wemyss