Sir John Stuart, Count of Maida

Not the same as Joseph M Stewart

John Stuart, Count of Maida Stuart was born in Georgia, the son of Colonel John Stuart,[1][2] superintendent of Indian affairs in the southern district, and a prominent loyalist in the War of Independence. Educated at Westminster School, young Stuart entered the 3rd Foot Guards in 1778, and almost immediately returned to America with his regiment. He was present at the siege of Charleston, the battles of Camden and Guilford court-house, and the surrender of Yorktown, returning a regimental lieutenant and an army captain, as was then usual in the Guards.[3]

Ten years later, as captain and lieutenant-colonel, he was present with the Duke of York's army in the Netherlands and in northern France. He took part in the sieges and battles of the 1793 campaign, Valenciennes, Lincelles, Dunkirk and Lannoy. The following year, now at the head of his battalion, he was present at Landrecies and at Pont-a-Chin or Tournay, and when the tide turned against the allies, he shared with his guards in the discomforts of the retreat. As a brigadier-general he served in Portugal in 1796, and in Minorca in 1799. At Alexandria, in 1801, his handling of his brigade called forth special commendation in general orders, and a year later he became substantive major-general.[4] He then went on to take part in the siege of Cairo and following this the final action in Egypt with the surrender of Alexandria.

After two years in command of a brigade in Kent, Stuart went with Sir James Craig to the Mediterranean. The British were employed, along with Lacy's Russians, in the defence of the kingdom of Naples but Austerlitz led to the recall of the Russian contingent, and the British soon afterwards evacuated Italy. Thus exposed, Naples fell to the advancing troops of Masséna but Gaeta still held out for King Ferdinand and Masséna's main force became locked up in the siege of this fortress. Stuart, who was in temporary command, realized the weakness of the French position in Calabria and on 1 July 1806 swiftly disembarked all his available forces in the Gulf of Saint Euphemia. On the 4th the British force, 4,800 strong, won the celebrated victory of Maida over Reynier's army. After this success, Stuart marched south and after a series of minor skirmishes, returned to Sicily as he felt his force was too weak to go onto a full offensive against Masséna's foothold in Naples. After besieging and taking the castle of Scylla, the force returned to Messina. Besides the dignity of Count of Maida from the court of Palermo, Stuart received the thanks of parliament and an annuity of £1,000, as well as the KCB. Superseded by two other generals, Henry Fox and John Moore, the latter of whom was his junior, Stuart came home in 1806.[4]

A year later, now a lieutenant-general, he received the Mediterranean command which he held until 1810. His operations were confined to south Italy where Murat, king of Naples, held the mainland whereas the British and Sicilian troops (along with some Neapolitan exiles) held Sicily for the Bourbon king. Of the events of this time may be mentioned the failure to relieve Colonel Hudson Lowe at Capri, the expedition against Murat's gunboats in the bay of Naples and the second siege of Scylla. The various attempts made by Murat to cross the straits uniformly failed, though on one occasion the French actually obtained a footing in the island.[4] A. G. Macdonell in his 1934 book Napoleon and His Marshals describes Stuart as "a dawdling, incompetent and evil-minded man", but it is unclear why Macdonell issues such a disparaging description.[5] In 1810 Stuart returned to England. He died at Clifton in 1815. Two months previously he had received the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB).[4]

foot notes

1. ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 1047.
2. ^ Nichols 1993.
3. ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 1047–1048.
4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Chisholm 1911, p. 1048.
5. ^ Macdonell 1934, p. 209.

Will

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146665027

The will of Sir John Stuart Colonel of HM's Regiment of Minorca was proved 30/05/1815. In the will he left property to his niece Mary Fenwick, with remainder to Frances Anderson, failing whom he instructed that his his 'negroes' and other property in the Bahamas revert to his cousin James Stuart. Mary Fenwick's inheritance and subsequent sale of the enslaved people was the subject of litigation after her marriage to Henry Grant Derbishire in 1817.

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References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart,_Count_of_Maida Cites
   1. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Stuart, Sir John". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 1047–1048. < link >
   2. Nichols, John L. (September–October 1993). "John Stuart, Beloved Father of the Cherokees". Highlander Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 February 2008. < link >
   3. Macdonell, Archibald Gordon (1934). Napoleon and His Marshals. London, UK: Macmillan and Co.
2. Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-22 for “John Stuart”. Stow - Tytler (Vol 19). Page 98. < AncestryImage >
3. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146665027
4. There is this source summarizing his will -- in which he leaves his Bahamian slaves to his niece, Mary Fenwick: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146665027. This suggests at the very least that he had no children of his own. Here's a dense summary of litigation arising out of that grant to Mary: https://vlex.co.uk/vid/derbishire-v-home-806335009.