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Search for a Stuart
A visitor from the U.K. was here recently searching for, among other things, a James Stuart who had been a Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army. And what he found was not one but two answering to that description.
Col. James Stuart arrived in Madras in 1776 after 29 years in the British Army. Shortly after his arrival, he was appointed second-in-command and then offered the command when Governor Lord Pigot discovered that the commander at the time, Robert Fletcher, was plotting with other members of the Council to overthrow him. To Pigot’s dismay, not only did Stuart join the plotters but was instrumental in arresting and imprisoning him. Eventually Stuart was tried by court martial and acquitted (after the usual “I was following orders” plea). He later lost a leg in battle, but was nevertheless made Army Commander in 1782. A year later, when he refused to carry out the orders of the Council, he was, on Governor Lord Macartney’s advice, dismissed by the Court of Directors. As Amir ul Umara of the house of Wallajah stated, “Sometime General Stuart catch one Lord; now one Lord catch General Stuart.”
A special ship was hired to take the General back to England and it was handsomely provisioned with Claret, Madeira, Arrack, Brandy, Hock and Porter, not to mention bullocks, sheep, ‘fowels’, capon, ducks, ‘turkies’, geese, hogs, pigs, sows with young, ‘milsh’ goats, hams, tongues etc. I’ll spare you the quantities.
The second Col. James Stuart arrived in Madras in 1782 and like his senior had served in America and under Eyre Coote against Hyder Ali. He later fought at Seringapatam. In 1801, he was appointed, like his namesake, Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army but had an uneventful career.
My visitor tracing his family tree will no doubt be able to make the right choice.
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