Scottish soldier in the British Army and Member of Parliament
Major General William Wemyss c.1800 General William Wemyss of Wemyss (9 April 1760 – 4 February 1822) was a Scottish soldier in the British Army and Member of Parliament.
Early life
He was the son of the Hon. James Wemyss , third son of the 5th Earl of Wemyss , and his wife Lady Elizabeth Sutherland, only daughter of William Sutherland, 17th Earl of Sutherland .[ 1]
Career
From 1784 to 1787 Wemyss was MP for Sutherland , succeeding his father,[ 2] Fife from 1787 to 1796 and again from 1807 to 1820.[ 3]
Military career
Captain in the Army by brevet, 1 July 1783[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] [ 7]
He attained the rank of Major-General on 23 June 1798.[ 8] [ 9]
Major-General William Wemyss raised the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders in 1799 for his cousin the 16-year-old Countess of Sutherland , Elizabeth Sutherland Leveson-Gower. Men were recruited to the Regiment through a highly original form of conscription. General Wemyss lined up the young men of each parish and invited them to drink from a large silver bound horn, having drunk his dram it was understood he consented to join the Regiment.[ 10]
On 16 September 1800 he was Colonel of a new Regiment of Infantry,[ 11] [ 12] 93rd Regiment of Foot . On 30 October 1805 he was promoted to lieutenant-general. He was aide-de-camp Sir William Erskine in the 1809 Walcheren Campaign and during the Peninsular War .[ 13] Hew Dalrymple as Colonel of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot , with General Needham becoming Colonel of the 93rd,[ 14] [ 15] Sir Thomas Hislop .[ 16]
He was promoted to full general on 4 June 1814.[ 17]
Personal life
On 16 September 1788[ 18] Sir William Erskine, 1st Baronet . Their children included
Frances Wemyss (1794–1858), who married James St Clair-Erskine, 3rd Earl of Rosslyn .[ 19]
James Erskine Wemyss (1789–1854), a Rear-Admiral who married Lady Emma Hay, daughter of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll .[ 20] William Wemyss (1790–1852), a Lieutenant-General and also colonel of the 93rd Foot who married Lady Isabella Hay, another daughter of the 17th Earl of Erroll.[ 20]
Clementina Wemyss (1805–1834), who married James Dewar , Chief Justice of The Supreme Court, Bombay.[ 21] [ 22] Wemyss died on 4 February 1822.
References
^ "Earl of Sutherland" . Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011 .^ "House of Commons: Constituencies beginning with "S" . Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2017 .^ "House of Commons: Constituencies beginning with "F" . Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2017 .^ "No. 12453" . The London Gazette ^ "No. 12804" . The London Gazette ^ "No. 13347" . The London Gazette ^ "No. 13806" . The London Gazette ^ "No. 15032" . The London Gazette ^ "No. 15042" . The London Gazette ^ "Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders - Regiment History, War & Military Records & Archives" . www.forces-war-records.co.uk . Retrieved 3 December 2018 .^ "No. 15293" . The London Gazette ^ "No. 15297" . The London Gazette ^ 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 ISBN 978-1-4738-5768-1 ^ "No. 16381" . The London Gazette ^ "No. 16383" . The London Gazette ^ "No. 17791" . The London Gazette ^ "The Royal military calendar, or Army service and commission book. Containing the services and progress of promotion of the generals, lieutenant-generals, major-generals, colonels, lieutenant-colonels, and majors of the army, according to seniority: with details of the principal military events of the last century" . 21 July 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2017 .^ "Person Page" . Thepeerage.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017 .^ "Earl of Rosslyn" . Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2011 .^ a b "Earl of Erroll" . Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010 .^ "Clementina Wemyss" . 5 August 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018 .^ E. Walford (1882). The county families of the United Kingdom ISBN 9785871943618
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