Field Marshal Stapleton Cotton 1st Viscount Combermere 1773 1865 British military leader diplomat politician colonel
Field Marshal Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere GCB, GCH, KSI, PC (14 November 1773 – 21 February 1865), was a British military leader, diplomat and politician. He was a colonel of the 1st Life Guards, Commander-in-Chief, Ireland and served with distinction under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War. Lord Combermere was not present at Waterloo, the command, which he expected, and bitterly regretted not receiving, having been given to Lord Uxbridge. When the latter was wounded Combermere was sent for to take over his command, and he remained in France until the reduction of the allied army of occupation. In 1817 he was appointed governor of Barbados and commander of the West Indian forces. While serving as Governor of Barbados, Lord Combermere had the Chase Vault opened and examined in search of an explanation for the "moving coffins" there. Between 1814 and 1820, Combermere undertook an extensive remodelling of his home, Combermere Abbey, including Gothic ornamentation of the Abbot's House and the construction of Wellington's Wing (now demolished) to mark Wellington's visit to the house in 1820. From 1822 to 1825 Combermere was Commander-in-Chief, Ireland. His career of active service was concluded in India (1826), where he besieged and took Bharatpur—a fort which twenty-two years previously had defied the genius of Lake and was deemed impregnable. For this service he was created Viscount Combermere. A long period of peace and honour still remained to him at home. In 1834 he was sworn a privy councillor, and in 1852 he succeeded Wellington as Constable of the Tower and Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets. In 1855 he was made a field marshal and He died at Clifton on 21 February 1865. Despite Combermere's distinguished service, much of it under Wellington's command, the Duke is reported to have referred to Combermere as "a damned fool", but at the same time recommending him for command in the East.
Size: 2990px × 4502px
Photo credit: © SOTK2011 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: -fashioned, 1800, 19th, 1st, 2d, academic, age, aged, ancient, antiquarian, antique, antiquity, art, artist, artistic, black, book, bw, bygone, century, chief, classical, commander, copy, cotton, cut, cut-, drawing, embossed, empire, engrave, engraved, engraver, engraving, etching, expression, face, field, figure, formal, front, frontispiece, government, graphic, guards, hand, head, heritage, historic, historical, history, illustrated, illustration, image, imperial, life, majesty, marshal, master, monotone, mood, national, neoclassical, nineteenth, notable, obscure, obsolete, olden, original, painting, paper, parliament, peninsular, period, person, personality, pictorial, picture, politic, political, politics, portrait, portraits, pose, pre, press, print, printed, printing, profile, proof, publication, publicity, rare, real, realism, realistic, reference, regal, relief, replica, represent, representation, repro, reproduce, reproduction, retro, romantic, snapshot, social, standard, stapleton, steel, studio, style, teach, time, title, tool, topic, topical, tract, unusual, victoria, victorian, view, vintage, viscount, war, white
