John Jarvis Bisset

Sir John Bisset
Sir John Bisset
Born25 December 1819
Died25 March 1894 (1894-03-26) (aged 74)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
RankLieutenant General
CommandsCape Mounted Riflemen
Battles / wars6th, 7th and 8th Frontier wars
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Companion of the Order of the Bath

Lieutenant General Sir John Jarvis Bisset KCMG, CB (25 December 1819 – 25 March 1894) was a British Army officer who became colonel of the 106th Regiment of Foot.

Family

He was the son of Captain Alexander Bissett, flag lieutenant to Lord Nelson,[1] and Alicia Tyndal of Jersey.[2] He married firstly Charlotte Morgan and secondly Frances Hannah Bridge.[3] They had six children; the third, Amy Morgan, married Charles Hoskins Master. The second marriage produced one child.[4][5]

Military career

Bisset arrived in South Africa as a child in 1820 and, having been commissioned as an ensign in the Cape Mounted Riflemen in 1835,[6] fought in the 6th, 7th and 8th Frontier wars.[7] He became Commanding officer of his regiment, brigade major in 1847 and was severely wounded in the battle of Boomah Pass and went on to be acting Governor of Natal in 1865.[6] He also became colonel of the 106th Regiment of Foot.[8] In 1861, he was appointed to command a brigade of Imperial troops in Canada. Between 1869 and 1873, he was commandant at Gibraltar. In 1877, he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. He moved to the retired list in 1881.[9][10]

Books

  • Bisset, Major-General. (1875). Sport and War. London: John Murray.

References

  1. ^ The Halifax Herald, 30 June 1894, p.2
  2. ^ The Jersey, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1540–1812
  3. ^ The Belfast Newsletter, 10 March 1888, Births Marriage and Death notices
  4. ^ Surrey, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns; 1877 Upper Norwood, All Saints with St Margaret p. 199
  5. ^ Union of South Africa death notice 1916.
  6. ^ a b Wright, William (2014). Warriors of the Queen: Fighting Generals of the Victorian Age. Spellmount. ISBN 978-0752493176.
  7. ^ Merriman, Nathaniel James (1957). "The Cape Journals of Archdeacon N. J. Merriman, 1848-1855". Van Riebeeck Society. p. 41.
  8. ^ "Durham Light Infantry Colonels". British Armed Forces. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  9. ^ Halifax Herald, Obituary, 30 June 1894, p. 2
  10. ^ Folkestone Express, Sandgate, Shorncliffe and Hythe Advertiser, 2 June 1894, p. 8