John Middleton.
Appointed 29th May, 1732.
John Middleton obtained a commission in the army in the reign of King William III., and was promoted to the rank of captain in 1706; he served in Spain in the war of the Spanish succession, and also on board the fleet, where his company was employed as Marines. He was many years an officer in the twenty-fifth foot, in which corps he rose to the rank of lieut.-colonel, and he was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1711. He commanded the twenty-fifth regiment in Scotland, under the Duke of Argyle, during the rebellion of the Earl of Mar; and in 1721 he was rewarded with the colonelcy of that corps, which he commanded until 1732, when he was removed to the Thirteenth foot. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1735. His decease occurred on the 4th of May, 1739, at which period he was member of Parliament for Aberdeen.
Henry Pulteney.
Appointed 5th July, 1739.
Henry Pulteney was appointed ensign in a regiment of foot on the 10th of January, 1703, and he served in Queen Anne’s wars, under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough. He was several years in the first foot guards, and was promoted, in July, 1715, to the command of the grenadier company in the second foot guards, with the rank of lieut.-colonel. In 1733 he was promoted to the commission of second major, with the rank of colonel, and in 1734 to that of first major in the second foot guards, from which he was removed, in 1739, to the colonelcy of the Thirteenth regiment; at the same time he was appointed governor of Hull. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1742, and accompanied the army to Flanders under the Earl of Stair. In 1743 he was advanced to the rank of major-general; in 1747 to that of lieut.-general, and in 1765 to that of general. On the elevation of his brother to the dignity of Earl of Bath, he was distinguished by the style of Honorable; and upon his brother’s decease, without issue in 1764, he succeeded to his lordship’s immense estates. He afterwards resigned his commissions. He died 26th of October, 1767.
His Royal Highness
William Henry Duke of Gloucester,
K.G., &c. &c. &c.
Appointed 25th June, 1766.
William Henry, third son of Frederick Prince of Wales, (who died 20th of March, 1751) was elected a Knight of the most noble order of the Garter, in 1762; and a few days before he was of full age, viz., on the 17th November, 1764, his brother, King George III., conferred on him the dignity of Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, and Earl of Connaught; in December following he took his seat in the Privy Council. In 1766 His Royal Highness was appointed colonel of the Thirteenth regiment; and on the decease of his brother, Edward, Duke of York, in the autumn of 1767, he had a grant from the King of Cranburne-chase lodge, Windsor Forest. In December of the same year he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and appointed colonel of the third foot guards; and in April, 1770, he was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general, and nominated to the colonelcy of the first regiment of foot guards. He was promoted to the rank of general in 1772, and to that of field marshal in 1793. His Royal Highness was distinguished as a polite scholar and an accomplished gentleman, engaging in his manners, respectful to his sovereign, affable to his acquaintance, and generous and condescending to his inferiors; a liberal supporter of every institution calculated to promote the interests of society, accompanied by a modest serenity of conduct which kept many instances of his generosity out of public view; and a meekness of disposition pervaded every feature of his character, which insured for him the love of all ranks of society. He died on the 25th of August, 1805.