Robert Craufurd (1764 - 1812)

Born 5 May 1764 in Newark, Ayrshire, Scotland [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 23 Jan 1812 at age 47 in Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Castilla y León, Spain

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Biography

Robert Craufurd is Notable.

Born on 5 May 1764, Robert Craufurd was the 3rd son of Sir Alexander Craufurd, 1st Baronet of Newark, Ayrshire. He was educated at Harrow. In 1780 he joined the army as an ensign in the 65th Regiment of Foot, transferring to the 26th and becoming lieutenant in the 98th all in the same year. In 1782 he became captain in the 75th.

In 1787 while studying at Göttingen University he met Prince Augustus who reported favourably on his character to his father, the King, George III.

In 1795, while he was Lt. Colonel while Georg Freidrich Wilhelm von Pfeilitzer gen Franck (1767 - 1853) was Major to von Hompesch. Perhaps this eventually led to his son Hugh Crawford (1807 - 1871) becoming brother in law to von Pfeilitzer's daughter Maria Bellendon Pfeilitzer (1799 - 1874))

On the 6th of February 1800, he married Mary Frances, daughter of Henry Holland, architect, of Hans Place, Chelsea and his wife, Bridget Brown. Together they had 3 sons. ^[1] On the following day his brother, Charles, married the widowed Duchess of Newcastle. ^[2] The Duchess arranged for her husband to be returned as Member of Parliament for East Retford in 1802, but Charles was unable, because of his injuries, to serve and Robert was returned in his stead. In Parliament he spoke only on defence matters and was appointed under-secretary of state for War and Colonies in 1806 before the dissolution. He did not seek election again.

He was living at 24 Berkeley Square in 1805.

He is most noted for the retreat of the Light Division at the Battle of Fuentes d'Onoro during the Peninsula War. ^[3]

Robert died on the 24th of January 1812 from injuries sustained at the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo and was buried in the breach.

Sources

1. ↑ History of Parliament online: CRAUFURD, Robert (1764-1812), of Blyth Hall, Yorks
2. ↑ History of Parliament online: CRAUFURD, Charles Gregan (1763-1821), of Clumber Park, Notts.
3. ↑ General Craufurd and his light division, with many anecdotes, a paper and letters by Sir John Moore, and also letters from the Right Hon. W. Windham, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Londonderry, and others by Craufurd, Alexander H. (Alexander Henry), 1843-1917 Page 176/8

• General Craufurd and his Light division
• The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Craufurd, Robert

• Wikipedia: Robert Craufurd

• Thepeerage.com: Maj.-Gen. Robert Craufurd Cites: Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Crawford-3421 created through the import of crawford.GED on Jan 2, 2012 by Rae Ball. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Rae and others.