Everything about Sir David Baird totally explained
Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet GCB (
6 December 1757 –
18 August 1829), was a
British military leader.
He was born at Newbyth House in
Haddingtonshire,
Scotland, and entered the
British Army in 1772. He was sent to India in 1779 with the 73rd (afterwards 71st) Highlanders, in which he was a captain. Immediately on his arrival, Baird was attached to the force commanded by Sir
Hector Munro, which was sent forward to assist the detachment of Colonel Baillie, threatened by
Hyder Ali. In the action which followed the whole force was destroyed, and Baird, severely wounded, fell into the hands of the
Mysore chief. The prisoners remained captive for over four years. Baird's mother, on hearing that her son and other prisoners were in fetters, is said to have remarked, "God help the chiel chained to our Davie." The bullet wasn't extracted from Baird’s wound until his release.
He was promoted to major in 1787, visited
England in 1789, and purchased a lieutenant-colonelcy in 1790, returning to
India the following year. He held a brigade command in the war against
Tippoo Sultan, and served under
Lord Cornwallis in the
Seringapatam operations of 1792. He captured
Pondicherry being promoted colonel in 1795. Baird served also at the
Cape of Good Hope as a brigadier-general, and he returned to
India as a major-general in 1798. In the last war against Tippoo in 1799 Baird was appointed to the senior brigade command in the army. At the successful assault of
Seringapatam, Baird led the storming party, and soon took the stronghold where he'd previously been a prisoner.
Disappointed that the command of the large contingent of the nizam was given to the then
Colonel Arthur Wellesley, and that after the capture of the fortress the same officer obtained the governorship, Baird felt he'd been treated with injustice and disrespect. He later received the thanks of parliament and of the
Honourable East India Company for his gallant bearing on that important day, and a pension was offered him by the Company, which he declined, apparently in the hope of receiving the
Order of the Bath from the government. General Baird commanded the Indian army which was sent in 1801 to co-operate with
Ralph Abercromby in the expulsion of the
French from
Egypt. Wellesley was appointed second in command, but owing to ill-health didn't accompany the expedition. Baird landed at
Kosseir, conducted his army across the desert to
Kena on the
Nile, and then to
Cairo. He arrived before
Alexandria in time for the final operations.
On his return to
India in 1802, he was employed against
Sindhia, but being irritated at another appointment given to Wellesley he relinquished his command and returned to Europe. In 1804 he was knighted, and in 1805—1806, being by now a lieutenant-general, he commanded the expedition against the
Cape of Good Hope with complete success, capturing
Cape Town and forcing the Dutch general
Janssens to surrender. But here again his usual ill luck attended him.
Commodore Sir Home Popham persuaded Sir David to lend him troops for an expedition against
Buenos Aires; the successive failures of operations against this place involved the recall of Baird early in 1807, though on his return home he was quickly re-employed as a divisional general in the
Copenhagen expedition of 1807. During the bombardment of
Copenhagen, Baird was wounded.
Shortly after his return, he was sent out to the
Peninsular War in command of a considerable force which was sent to
Spain to cooperate with
Sir John Moore, to whom he was appointed second in command. It was Baird's misfortune that he was junior by a few days both to Moore and to Lord Cavan, under whom he'd served at
Alexandria, and thus never had an opportunity of a chief command in the field. At the
Battle of Corunna he succeeded to the supreme command after Moore's death, but shortly afterwards his left arm was shattered, and the command passed to Sir
John Hope. Once again thanked by parliament for his gallant services, he was made a
Knight Grand Cross of the Bath and a
baronet in 1809. Sir David married Miss Campbell-Preston, a
Perthshire heiress, in 1810. He wasn't employed again in the field, and personal and political enmities caused him to be neglected and repeatedly passed over.
He wasn't given the full rank of general until 1814, and his governorship of
Kinsale was given five years later. In 1820 he was appointed commander-in-chief in
Ireland and made a
Privy Counsellor for Ireland, but the command was soon reduced, and he resigned in 1822.
Popular Culture
Baird appears as a character in the
Richard Sharpe series of novels, focusing on his role in the 1799 Mysore campaign, and the 1807 expedition to
Copenhagen. Baird is shown as hearty, bluff likeable man, and is friendly towards Sharpe.
Resources
Further Information
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