British Lieutenant-General Henry William Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge
Henry William Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, born 17 May 1768 as the eldest son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, British field marshal and politician, best known for leading the British heavy cavalry charge against d’Erlon’s infantry at the Battle of Waterloo, died 29 April 1854. Following his education at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, Paget becomes a member of parliament for Caernarvon in 1790. Upon the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, Lord Paget raises the Staffordshire Volunteers and is given the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1793, to command his unit, now designated the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers), during the 1794 campaign in Flanders. In 1795, he is promoted lieutenant-colonel of the 16th Light Dragoons, made colonel of the regiment in 1796, and becomes colonel of the 7th Light Dragoons in 1801. Promoted to major-general in 1802, and lieutenant-general in 1808, Paget commands the cavalry of Sir John Moore’s army during the Corunna campaign with great distinction. Following General Moore’s death at the Battle of Corunna, Arthur Wellesley is re-appointed as the general officer commanding British and Portuguese forces in the Peninsular. Lord Paget’s liaison with Lady Charlotte Wellesley, sister-in-law of General Arthur Wellesley, precludes his continued service under Wellington. Paget briefly serves as a division commander in the disastrous Walcheren expedition of 1809, but he is then sidelined until 1815, when he is appointed cavalry commander in the Duke of Wellington’s army in Belgium.
Miniatures
- Henry Paget, Lord Uxbridge, Waterloo 1815, 1:32 First Legion FL54005
- Lieutenant-General Henry William Paget, Earl of Uxbridge, 54 mm Tradition M54.49
- Lieutenant-General Henry William Paget, Earl of Uxbridge, 1:72 Strelets 011
- Lieutenant-General Henry William Paget, Earl of Uxbridge, 20 mm Kennington NP7
On the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, Lord Paget is placed in command of the entire allied cavalry and horse artillery. Following the Battle of Quatre Bras, 16 June 1815, Uxbridge successfully covers the withdrawal of Anglo-Allied forces toward Waterloo, and on 18 June he leads the spectacular British cavalry charge which checks and partially routs d’Erlon’s French army corps advancing in the centre of the battlefield. Later in the day, Paget is hit by a French cannonball, necessitating the amputation of his right leg above the knee. Uxbridge survives the injury, and is created Marquess of Anglesey five days after the battle. In 1818, the marquess is made a Knight of the Garter, he is promoted to full general in 1819, and takes the post of Master-General of the Ordnance in 1827. Appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in March 1828, the marquess is soon recalled by the government for encouraging Catholic emancipation. During Earl Grey’s administration, the Marquess of Anglesey again serves as lord-lieutenant of Ireland from November 1830 to July 1833, following which he spends thirteen years out of office, then joins Lord John Russell’s administration as Master-General of the Ordnance. Paget retires at the rank of Field-Marshal and Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards in March 1852.