- Sir William Houston, 1st Baronet
General Sir William Houston, 1st Baronet, GCB, GCH (10 August 1766 –8 April 1842 ) was aBritish Army officer.Houston entered the army as an ensign in the
31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot on18 July 1781 . He became alieutenant of an independent company in 1782, andcaptain of the 19th (The 1st Yorkshire North Riding) Regiment of Foot in 1785. After serving in theWest Indies , atGibraltar , and at home, he became amajor in 1794, and commanded the 19th inFlanders under the Duke of York.Houston was appointed a
lieutenant colonel in the 84th Regiment of Foot in 1795, and after transferring to the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot, he commanded that regiment at the capture ofMinorca in 1798, in theMediterranean in 1800, and in the expedition toEgypt in 1801. The 58th was heavily involved on the British left at theBattle of Abu Qir on20 March . Houston subsequently commanded abrigade at the capture ofRosetta andCairo and during theSiege of Alexandria . He received the second-class decoration of theOrder of the Crescent . He next held brigade commands inMalta , atBrighton , and in theWalcheren expedition of 1809. On his return to Brighton, he was made amajor general . On5 November 1808 , he married Lady Jane (died1 June 1833 ), daughter ofJames Maitland, 7th Earl of Lauderdale , and the widow ofSamuel Long ; they had two sons.Houston commanded the 7th division in the
Peninsular War from10 January 1811 , and was present with it at theBattle of Fuentes de Oñoro and the attack onSan Christobal ,Badajoz , before being invalided home in the autumn of 1811. He subsequently commanded the south-western district, and though he applied for re-employment inSpain , Wellington was unable to provide a vacancy. Houston was appointed a KCB in January 1815, and served as Lieutenant-Governor ofGibraltar from8 April 1831 to28 February 1835 .Houston was promoted to a GCB in 1831 and appointed a GCH in 1827. He was created a
baronet by William IV in 1836 and became a fullgeneral in 1837. He was colonel of the 4th garrison battalion and the 20th (the East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot respectively. Houston died atBromley Hill ,Kent , on8 April 1842 , and was buried atCarshalton ,Surrey .ource
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