Historical Record of the Thirty-first, or, the Huntingdonshire Regiment of Foot; / containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1702, and of its subsequent services to 1850

by Richard Cannon

James Stuart,

Appointed 8th February 1792.

Major-General James Stuart was appointed from the half-pay ninetieth regiment, which corps was disbanded at the Peace of 1763, to the colonelcy of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, on the 8th of February 1792, in succession to Lieut.-General Thomas Clarke, removed to the thirtieth foot. Major-General Stuart’s decease occurred in the following year.

Henry Earl of Mulgrave, G.C.B.

Appointed 8th February 1793.

Lord Mulgrave entered the army on the 8th of June 1775, as an ensign in the first foot guards, in which regiment he was promoted lieutenant and captain on the 2nd of April 1778; on the 30th of August 1779 he was promoted to the rank of major in the eighty-fifth regiment, and to that of lieut.-colonel of the eighty-eighth regiment on the 4th of October 1780. He was removed to the forty-fifth regiment on the 9th of January 1782, and was appointed captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards on the 6th of June 1783. He was advanced to the rank of colonel in the army on the 18th of November 1790. His Majesty King George III. conferred the colonelcy of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment upon Colonel Lord Mulgrave on the 8th of February, 1793. Lord Mulgrave was advanced to the rank of major-general on the 3rd October 1794; to that of lieut.-general on the 1st of January 1801; and to that of general on the 25th of October 1809.

Lord Mulgrave served in America from 1776 to the end of 1778; in the West Indies in 1780:—he commanded at Toulon in 1793; in Zealand in 1794; and in 1799 his Lordship was employed on a military mission to the Archduke Charles and Marshal Suvaroff. During the course of his military career, Lord Mulgrave received the thanks, in public orders, of the officers under whom he served. His Lordship was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance on the 5th of May 1810, and held that appointment until the 31st of December, 1818. On the 15th of August 1812, he was created Earl of Mulgrave and Viscount Normanby. His Lordship was also appointed Governor of Scarborough Castle. On the 20th of May 1820, his Lordship was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. General the Earl of Mulgrave died on the 12th of April 1831.

Sir Henry Warde, G.C.B.

Appointed 13th April 1831.

In March 1783, this officer was appointed ensign in the first regiment of foot guards, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and captain in 1792; in the following year he landed in Holland with the first troops sent to that country, and was wounded in storming the outworks at the siege of Valenciennes. He came home, and when recovered, returned early in July 1794, and acted as adjutant to the third battalion of foot guards; he returned in November, on being promoted to a company, with the rank of lieut.-colonel. He served in the expedition to Ostend, as lieut.-colonel, with Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Helder, and was present in all the actions. On the 1st of January 1801, His Majesty King George III. conferred on him the brevet of colonel, and in 1804 he was appointed brigadier-general; he served under Lord Cathcart at Copenhagen in 1807, and his name was included in the vote of thanks from Parliament for his services on that expedition. He was appointed major-general on the 25th of April 1808, and he commanded the first brigade of guards, in the force under Lieut.-General Sir David Baird sent to Corunna in 1808, and returned after that battle. For his services at the battle of Corunna, he again received the thanks of Parliament, and a medal. He proceeded to India in 1809, and as second in command under Lieut.-General Abercromby, to the Mauritius in 1810, where he remained in command of the troops after the capture. For the conquest of the Island of the Mauritius his name was included in the vote of thanks from Parliament. He was afterwards acting governor for three months, and was subsequently appointed to the command of the forces at the Mauritius. On the 1st of January 1813, Major-General Sir Henry Warde was appointed colonel of the sixty-eighth foot, and was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general on the 4th of June, 1813. In January 1815, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, and was advanced to the dignity of a Knight Grand Cross on the 13th of September, 1831. On the 22nd of July 1830, he was promoted to the rank of general.