COMMANDER // 1773–1865
Stapleton Cotton
Lifespan
1773 – 1865
Active service 1809–1812 — 3 battles across 1 war; first command at age 36.
Profile
Field Marshal Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere, was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Barbados from 1817 to 1820. As a junior officer, he took part in the Flanders campaign, the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and in the Irish rebellion of 1803. Cotton commanded a cavalry brigade in Sir Arthur Wellesley's Army before being given overall command of the cavalry in the latter stages of the Peninsular War. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Ireland and then Commander-in-Chief, India. In the latter role he stormed Bharatpur—a fort which previously had been deemed impregnable.
Battles (3)
1809
Battle of GrijóPeninsular War · British Empire
1812
Battle of Venta del PozoPeninsular War · United Kingdom
1812
Battle of VillagarciaPeninsular War · Great Britain