Field Marshal Sir John Fox Burgoyne, 1st Baronet GCB (
July 24,
1782 –
October 7,
1871) was a senior
British Army officer.
Burgoyne was the illegitimate son of
General John Burgoyne and
opera singer Susan Caulfield. In 1798, he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers as a
Second Lieutenant. He fought against the army of
Napoleon I and campaigned in the
Pyrenees under the
Duke of Wellington. Wellington transferred him to
Burgos and later to
San Sebastián to participate in the
Siege of Rosetta. For his services during the Peninsular War, Burgoyne received the
Army Gold Cross, with one clasp, for Badajoz, Salamanca, Vitoria, San Sebastian, and the Nive, and the
Military General Service Medal with three clasps for Busaco, Ciudad Rodrigo, and Nivelle.
In the
War of 1812, he fought under
General Pakenham as a
Lieutenant Colonel and participated in the
Battle of New Orleans.
In 1826, Burgoyne accompanied
General Clinton to
Portugal. He was appointed as
Colonel in 1831. In 1838, he became a
Major General and in 1845 was named Inspector-General of Fortifications, the executive head of the Royal Engineers. His memoirs prompted the fortification of the English coast.
Burgoyne was heavily involved in civil administration in Ireland, serving as Chairman of the Board of Works (1831-45). During the
Irish Potato Famine, he led the efforts to provide relief from mass starvation. In 1851, he was promoted to
Lieutenant General. Before the outbreak of the
Crimean War, he went to
Constantinople to assist in its fortification and that of the
Dardanelles. During the
siege of Sevastopol, he arranged for the bombardment of
Malakoff. Upon his return to England in 1856, he received a
baronetcy. In 1865, he was made the Commander of the
Tower of London and retired in 1868 as a
Field Marshal.
John Fox Burgoyne died on
October 7,
1871 in
Kensington, and is buried in the nearby
Brompton Cemetery, London.
He was the father of
Hugh Talbot Burgoyne.
Funerary monument, Brompton Cemetery, London
Bibliography
- Treatise on the Blasting and Quarrying of Stone, London: 1852.
- Military Opinions of Sir John Fox Burgoyne, London: 1859.
