Colquhoun Grant (British cavalry general)

For his contemporary and namesake, who was one of the intelligence officers employed by the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War, see Colquhoun Grant (British intelligence officer).

John Colquhoun Grant
Nickname	The Black Giant
Born	1764
Died	1835
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1793 to 1835
Rank	British Army lieutenant-general
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars • Napoleonic Wars • Seringapatam • Sahagun • Vittoria • Waterloo

Lieutenant General Sir John Colquhoun Grant KCB (1764-1835) was a British soldier.

Military career

Sir Colquhoun Grant^[1] in joined the 36th Regiment as an ensign in 1793, exchanging (some years later) to the cavalry (25th Light Dragoons), with which he served at Seringapatam, but returning to the infantry in 1802 to command the 72nd regiment, which he led for six years. He exchanged to the 15th Hussars in 1808, and took part in Sir John Moore's expedition, being wounded at Sahagun. He returned to Spain in January 1813, in command of a cavalry brigade; serving in this capacity, with one interruption, until the end of the campaign. Wellington was less than impressed with the performance of Grant's hussar brigade at the Battle of Vittoria and Grant was eventually replaced in command. However, Grant's political influence meant that he soon returned to the Peninsula to take over command of the light dragoon brigade of Robert Ballard Long. He was appointed KCB in 1814. At Waterloo Grant commanded the 5th Cavalry Brigade, consisting of the 7th and 15th Hussars with the 13th Light Dragoons attached, which was stationed in the centre of the allied position; during the battle he had five horses shot under him.^[2] Grant was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1830, and he served as a Tory Member of Parliament (MP) for the rotten borough of Queenborough from 1831 until the borough was disenfranchised under the Reform Act 1832.^[3]

Grant was a groom of the bedchamber to Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, later King of Hanover. He was reputed to have been the strongest man in the British Army, and was given the nickname "The Black Giant."^[4] He was appointed colonel of the 15th Hussars in 1827, succeeding the Duke of Cumberland, a post he held until his death.

Notes

1. ^ In common with a number of contemporaries, such as Sir Richard Hussey Vivian, he made use of a distinctive middle name in place of a common first name when knighted.
2. ^ Wood, p. 111
3. ^ Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S.. ed. The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 523. ISBN 0-900178-13-2. 
4. ^ The nickname became popular when he commanded the hussar brigade in 1813, his towering frame and swarthy looks contrasted with the appearance of his constant companion, a diminutive red-headed brigade major. The descriptive phrase "The Black Giant with his Red Dwarf" became commonplace within the brigade.

Reference

• Wood, Evelyn, Sir, (1895) Cavalry in the Waterloo Campaign, London, S. Low, Marston, and Company.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir Colquhoun Grant

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Thomas Gladstone John Capel	Member of Parliament for Queenborough 1831 – 1832 With: John Capel	Constituency abolished

Persondata
Name	Grant, Colquhoun
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1764
Place of birth
Date of death	1835
Place of death