Biography of British Officer Who Fought in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776
Professional historians long have noted the tendency of avocational local historians to magnify the importance of events such as local Revolutionary and Civil War battles. Yet, professional and avocational historians seem to agree that the Battle of Pelham fought on October 18, 1776 was an important delaying action that played a significant role in giving Washington's Continental Army time to withdraw from upper Manhattan to the heights of White Plains.
Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the biography of a British Officer, Charles Hastings, who fought in the Battle of Pelham. I previously have provided another brief biography of Sir Charles Hastings who fought in the Battle of Pelham. See Tue., Jan. 16, 2007: Brief Biography of British Officer Who Served During the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776. That article is among the nearly thirty articles I have written on the Battle of Pelham. I have provided a bibliography with links, where available, at the end of today's posting.
Seal of The Battle of Pelham.
Designed for the Bicentennial Celebration of the Battle
Conducted in Pelham in 1976.
Appointed 15th October, 1811.
CHARLES HASTINGS, natural son of Francis, tenth Earl of Huntingdon, was appointed Ensign in the TWELFTH foot in July 1770, and joined the regiment at Gibraltar. In 1776 he was promoted Lieutenant, and he was permitted to serve with the twenty-third regiment in America, where he was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Earl Percy, and afterwards to Sir Henry Clinton. He was at the actions at Pelham Manor and White Plains, and at the capture of Fort Washington; also in the successful expedition against the American magazines at Danbury. He accompanied Sir William Howe to Pennsylvania, was engaged at Brandywine and Germantown, and was twice wounded. In 1780 he was promoted Captain in the TWELFTH foot, and joined his regiment at Gibraltar, where he had several opportunities of distinguishing himself during the siege of that fortress, and he evinced great gallantry at the sortie in November, 1781. In 1782, he was appointed Major in the seventy-sixth; in 1783 he was promoted to Lieut.-Colonel in the seventy-second, which regiment was disbanded in the same year. He obtained the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the thirty-fourth regiment in 1786, and was afterwards removed to the sixty-first, and subsequently to the sixty-fifth. He was promoted to the rank of Major-General in 1796, and to that of Lieut.-General in 1803. In February, 1806, he was created a BARONET, of Willesley Hall, in the county of Derby; and in November following he was appointed Colonel of the fourth garrison battalion, from which he was removed to the seventy-seventh regiment in July, 1811; and in October following, to the TWELFTH foot. In 1813 he was promoted to the rank of General. He died in 1823."
Source: Historical Records of the 12th Foot in Cannon, Richard & Tupper, Arthur, Historical Records of the British Army: Comprising the History of Every Regiment in Her Majesty's Service, pp. 102-03 (1835).
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I have written extensively about the Battle of Pelham fought on October 18, 1776. See, for example, the following 29 articles:
Bell, Blake A., The Battle of Pelham: October 18, 1776, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 41, Oct. 15, 2004, p. 10, col. 1.
Bell, Blake, History of the Village of Pelham: Revolutionary War, HistoricPelham.com Archive (visited May 9, 2014).
Mon., Feb. 28, 2005: Glover's Rock on Orchard Beach Road Does Not Mark the Site of the Battle of Pelham.
Mon., Apr. 18, 2005: Restored Battle of Pelham Memorial Plaque Is Unveiled at Glover Field.
Fri., May 27, 2005: 1776, A New Book By Pulitzer Prize Winner David McCullough, Touches on the Battle of Pelham.
Thu., Jul. 14, 2005: Pelham's 1926 Pageant Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Pelham.
Wed., Oct. 26, 2005: Remnants of the Battlefield on Which the Battle of Pelham Was Fought on October 18, 1776. Fri., May 19, 2006: Possible Remains of a Soldier Killed in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 Found in 1921.
Fri., Aug. 11, 2006: Article by William Abbatt on the Battle of Pelham Published in 1910.
Thu., Sep. 21, 2006: A Paper Addressing the Battle of Pelham, Among Other Things, Presented in 1903.
Mon., Oct. 30, 2006: Brief Biographical Data About Sir Thomas Musgrave, British Lieutenant Colonel Wounded at the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.
Wed., Nov. 1, 2006: Two British Military Unit Histories that Note Participation in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.
Tue., Jan. 16, 2007: Brief Biography of British Officer Who Served During the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.
Fri., Feb. 09, 2007: Extract of October 23, 1776 Letter Describing British Troops in Eastchester After the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.
Mon., Feb. 12, 2007: Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site Opens New Exhibition: "Overlooked Hero: John Glover and the American Revolution."
Thu., Jan. 18, 2007: Three More British Military Unit Histories that Note Participation in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.
Mon., Jul. 16, 2007: Mention of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 in Revolutionary War Diary of David How.
Tue., Jul. 17, 2007: Mention of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 in Writings of Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Aide-de-Camp to British General Clinton. Wed., Jul. 18, 2007: Another British Military Unit History that Notes Participation in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776. Tue., Aug. 7, 2007: An Account of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 Contained in the McDonald Papers Published in 1926.
Wed., Aug. 8, 2007: A Description of an Eyewitness Account of the Interior of St. Paul's Church in Eastchester During the Revolutionary War.
Thu., Sep. 6, 2007: Information About St. Paul's Church, the Battle of Pelham and Other Revolutionary War Events Near Pelham Contained in an Account Published in 1940.
Mon., Oct. 8, 2007: American Troops Who Guarded Pelham's Shores in October 1776.
Fri., Oct. 12, 2007: Images of The Lord Howe Chestnut that Once Stood in the Manor of Pelham.
Fri., Oct. 27, 2006: Orders Issued by British Major General The Honourable William Howe While Encamped in Pelham After the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.
Thu., Jan. 22, 2009: Another Brief Biography of Sir Thomas Musgrave, a British Officer Wounded at the Battle of Pelham on October 18 1776.
Wed., Feb. 17, 2010: British Report on Killed, Wounded and Missing Soldiers During the Period the Battle of Pelham Was Fought on October 18, 1776.
Fri., Apr. 23, 2010: Charles Blaskowitz, Surveyor Who Created Important Map Reflecting the Battle of Pelham.
Thu., Feb. 06, 2014: A Description of the Revolutionary War Battle of Pelham Published in 1926 for the Sesquicentennial Celebration.
Labels: 12th Foot Regiment, 1776, Battle of Pelham, Revolutionary War, Sir Charles Hastings, Twelfth Foot Regiment
posted by Blake A. Bell @ 4:12 AM
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