Henry Fane (general)

General Sir Henry Fane (26 November 1778 – 24 March 1840) commanded brigades under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington during several battles during the Peninsular War, and served both as a member of Parliament and commander-in-chief in India.

Peninsular War

As a brigadier general, Fane commanded a brigade in Wellesley's army at the Battle of Vimeiro in August 1808. His brigade, which included the 1/50th "West Kent," 5/60th "Royal Americans," and four companies of the 2/95th "Rifles" Foot, took a key part in repelling the French frontal attacks on Vimeiro village. [Zimmermann, p 33]

During Sir John Moore's expedition in Spain, Fane commanded the 2nd Brigade (1/38th "1st Staffordshire," 1/79th "Cameron Highlanders," 1/82nd "Prince of Wales Volunteers" Foot) in Alexander Mackenzie Fraser's 3rd Division. The 3rd Division was present but not engaged at the Battle of Corunna in January 1809. [Smith, p 278]

Fane missed the Second Battle of Porto, since his heavy cavalry brigade (3rd "Prince of Wales" Dragoon Guards, 4th "Queen's Own" Dragoons) was guarding the Portuguese frontier at Abrantes. While commanding the same brigade, he fought at the Battle of Talavera in July 1809. [Glover, p 373-4]

On 13 May 1810, Fane transferred to command a brigade that included the 13th Light Dragoons and four Portuguese mounted regiments. He was present at the Battle of Bussaco, while attached to Rowland Hill's 2nd Division. He went home ill before the end of 1810. [Oman, p 346]

On 24 April, 1813, Fane was promoted to major general on the staff. Posted to command a brigade consisting of the 3rd Dragoon Guards and the 1st "Royal" Dragoons on May 20, [Oman, p 367] he fought at the Battle of Vitoria in June. In that battle, his cavalry fought with Hill's Right Column, being lightly engaged. [Smith, p 430]

During late 1813, Wellington sent most of his cavalry to the rear since they were almost useless in the rough terrain of the Pyrenees. In January 1814, Fane transferred to lead a brigade that included the 13th and 14th Light Dragoons. There is evidence that Fane effectively commanded both his old and new brigades in the final battles in southern France. [Oman, p 372] Wellington called his cavalry forward in February, his light cavalry arriving first. [Glover, p 313] Fane's brigade fought at the Battle of Orthez and was present at the Battle of Toulouse in April. [Smith, p 518]

Later career

Fane served as MP for Lyme Regis in 1802-1816, MP for Sandwich in 1829-1830 and MP for Hastings in 1830-1831. He was named Commander-in-Chief of India in 1835. He died on 24 March 1840.

References

* Glover, Michael. "The Peninsular War 1807-1814." London: Penguin, 2001. ISBN 0-141-39041-7
* Oman, Charles. "Wellington's Army, 1809-1814." London: Greenhill, (1913) 1993. ISBN 0-947898-41-7
* Smith, Digby. "The Napoleonic Wars Data Book." London: Greenhill, 1993. ISBN 1-85367-276-9
* Zimmermann, Dick. "Battle of Vimeiro," Wargamer's Digest magazine, vol 10, no 12, October 1983.

Footnotes