LIST 28 - THE BRITISH ARMY & THE FIRST GENERATION
Apart from the New South Wales Corps there were several other known enlistments
into regiments of the British Army.
Young Alexander Ross and Duncan Campbell are known to have joined the Marines
during their brief sojourns in the colony. The death of Captain Shea in 1789
led to a raft of promotions up the chain, at the bottom of which was young
Alexander Ross as a second lieutenant. He distinguished himself in 1798 at
the attack upon Corrijou and in 1799 at the siege of Castel St Elmo. When
Duncan Campbell left the colony with his uncle in 1791 he joined the Marines as a 'volunteer' which was the first rung on the way to becoming an officer. Edward Mararthur
The outstanding military officer of this generation was of course Edward Macarthur. Born in Bath in 1789, he accompanied his officer father to the
colony with the Second Fleet in 1790. Sent back to England to be educated in
1799, his father obtained an ensigncy for him in 1809.
Edward probably saw more active service than any other soldier of his generation
of colonials. He saw active service in Corunna and Sicily and took part in
Wellington's Peninsula Campaign of 1812-1814, where he was present at the
battles at Vittoria, the Pyrenees and in Southern France. After Wellington's
victory over Napoleon he was part of the army of occupation in France.In 1851 he was made Adjutant-General in Sydney and from 1855 to 1856 was
Administrator of the Colony of Victoria after the death of Governor Hotham. He was knighted KCB for his military services in 1862. Edward was probably the
first 'colonial' to be knighted.
D'Arcy Dorset Wentworth
D'Arcy Wentworth sent his second son, also called D'Arcy, together with
his eldest son William, to be educated in England in 1802. His father obtained
an ensigncy for him in the 73rd Regiment, Governor Macquarie's regiment and
he found himself back in the colony with the regiment in 1811. He was
promoted lieutenant in 1814 just before the regiment left for Ceylon where he took part in the Battle of Kandy. In 1825 he obtained his captaincy, without
purchase, in the 63rd Regiment.
Andrew Douglas White
Andrew Douglas White is reputed to have joined the Corps of Royal Engineers and to have served at the Battle of Waterloo. However since he was returning to the colony aboard 'Northampton' in June 1815 this would appear to be most
unlikely.
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