John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham

John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham (* October 9, 1756; † September 24, 1835 ) was a British army officer and politician. He was First Lord of the Admiralty, among others. In 1809 he was commander of the unsuccessful Walcheren expedition. Most recently, he was Governor of Gibraltar.

Family

He was the eldest son of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham and Hester (nee Grenville ). His brother was William Pitt the Younger. He married Mary Elizabeth Townhead in 1783. These died in 1821. The couple had no children.

Life

Pitt appeared in 1774 in the British Army. He served in the infantry. In 1778 he was promoted to lieutenant. At times, he served in the American War of Independence. In the rank of captain, he took part in the long siege of Gibraltar, 1779-1783.

Also, through the influence of his brother William, he was first in the same year Lord of the Admiralty. He had good relations with King George III. Since 1789 he was a member of the Privy Council. At times he was Lord Privy Seal. In 1790 he became a Knight of the Garter. He gave the job to the Admiralty in 1794. Shortly before he was to have without having an actual command, was promoted to colonel.

After the end of his time as Lord of the Admiralty he was on to the government. In 1795 he was Major-General. A year later he became Lord President of the Council. This office he held until 1801. Occasionally he commanded a brigade in the Netherlands in 1799 and was wounded there. Between 1801 and 1806 he was Master General of the Ordnance. This roughly corresponds to a general Feldzeugmeister with cabinet rank. He was responsible for the artillery and military engineering. After the death of his brother he lost the post and took it again from 1807 to 1810 a. In 1802 he was promoted to Lieutenant General.

But his real goal was military glory to harvest. In 1808 he put out feelers to get the high command on the Spanish peninsula. But this went to Arthur Wellesley. Instead, he got in 1809 in command of the Walcheren expedition. This was the biggest British landing operations and aimed at the recovery of Antwerp. The company proved to be a complete failure with high losses. Here, the limited military talent Chatham played a role. Other factors, such as the disagreement between the Army and Navy and the dispute in the government, were added.

The defeat has sustained its reputation severely damaged. Nevertheless, he was promoted to general in 1812. He served as governor of Plymouth 1805-1807. Between 1807 and 1820 he was Governor of Jersey from 1820 to 1835 of Gibraltar.

The title Earl of Chatham was extinguished with his death and has not been awarded again.

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