ROYAL COMMISSION.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Commission of George Hay, Marquess of Tweeddale, as brevet Lieutenant General of the Madras Army. Signed by Queen Victoria on the upper left, "Victoria Reg", in the sixth year of her reign. Hay was appointed governor of Madras in 1842 and given the role of commander-in-chief of the Madras army by the Duke of Wellington. The certificate is also signed by the Home Secretary Sir James Graham. George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale (1787-1876), joined the 1st Foot Guards in 1804 and enjoyed an esteemed military career. He fought in Sicily in 1806, joined Wellington's army in the Peninsula in 1807 as the duke's aide-de-camp, and was wounded at the battles of Busaco in 1810 and Vitoria in 1813. After recovery he took part in the War of 1812 and the Battle of Niagara. He then retired from active service but continued to advance in military rank, eventually being promoted to field marshal in 1875."In 1842 he was appointed Governor of Madras and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces - a union of offices unprecedented at that period, but carried out by the Duke of Wellington from a conviction that Lord Tweeddale possessed special qualifications for restoring the discipline of the army, which had been allowed to fall into a somewhat relaxed state. He did much to improve the condition not only of the soldiers, but of the people also, and to draw out the resources of the country" (The Great Historic Families of Scotland).A full transcription is available on request.

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