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Lieutenant-General '''Charles Griffiths''' (3 August 1763 – 31 May 1829) was a [[British Army|British soldier]], foster brother to [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany]], [[Lieutenant-General]] and [[Captain of Yarmouth Castle]], [[Isle of Wight]].

==Parents and marriage==
Griffiths was the son of the Reverend John Griffiths and his wife Mary, the daughter of John Denham. Mary has been described as the foster-mother to the Duke of York, second son of [[George III]]. Griffiths was thirteen days older than the Duke of York and has been described in turn as the latter's foster-brother. He married on 7 June 1796 Caroline Francis, the daughter of Sir [[William Neville Hart]] and Elizabeth, the daughter of [[Stanhope Aspinwall]]. His elder brother, [[John Griffiths (surgeon)|John Griffiths]] of Erryd, was a medical practitioner and surgeon to [[Queen Charlotte]]'s Household 1792–1818.<ref>[http://www.history.ac.uk/publications/office/queencharlotte#t Griffiths, John, surgeon to Queen Charlotte's Household]</ref> His elder brother's wife, Elizabeth, was the sister of his own wife.<ref>''Burke’s Landed Gentry''; 17th Edition 1952; under ''Copland-Griffiths of Potterne''; NOTE at bottom of 2nd column p.1082, and page 1083, right hand column - ''4. Charles, Lt.-Gen''.</ref>

==Military career==
In 1779, Griffiths was appointed [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] in the [[15th Regiment of Foot]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=FavPAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA180 ''The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle'' : Volume 99, 1829, the 22nd of a new series, 2nd Part, Aug. p.180, ''Obituary.-Lt.-Gen. Charles Griffiths'', out of copyright and now in the public domain. Slightly edited, but otherwise taken directly from it.]</ref> He was placed on [[half-pay]] in 1783, restored to full-pay in the [[40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot|40th Regiment]] in 1786 and appointed [[lieutenant]] in the [[76th Regiment of Foot]] in 1787.

===Service in India===
During the [[Third Anglo-Mysore War]], Griffiths served in the [[East Indies]] (i.e. [[India]]). He was present at the siege, assault, and capture of the town and fortress of [[Bangalore]], also at the siege and storming of the hill fort of Savendroog in the general action near [[Seringapatam]] with [[Tippu Sultan]] on 15 May 1791. He was wounded in the general action on 6 February 1792, when the enemy's lines were stormed under the walls of [[Seringapatam]] and at the siege of that capital. It terminated in the peace of 19 March of that same year.

===French Revolutionary Wars===
Later, in 1794, Griffiths was promoted to a [[Company (military unit)|company]] in the [[14th Foot]] and with them he participated in the [[French Revolutionary Wars]]. He served in [[Flanders]] with the army under the Duke of York, and was in the actions of 17/18 May, and at the storming of the village of Pontechin on 22 May, with the brigade under Major-General [[Henry Edward Fox]], consisting of the 14th, 37th, and 53rd Regiments. He was in the action of Geldermansel or [[Geldermalsen]], on the [[Waal (river)|Waal]], under [[Lord Cathcart]]. He was appointed [[major]] in the [[82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers)|82nd Regiment]] in 1796, and served in [[Ireland]] and [[Menorca]] with that Corps. Griffiths was promoted to [[lieutenant-colonel]] in ancient Irish [[Fencibles]] on 11 December 1800. He served with that corps in [[Egypt]], and was present at the [[Siege of Alexandria (1801)|Siege of Alexandria]].

===Later career and the Napoleonic Wars===
During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Griffiths was subsequently placed on the staff in Ireland and England, and received the [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] of [[colonel]] in 1810. In the following year he was appointed [[lieutenant-colonel]] of the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Regiment of Foot, which corps he joined at [[Gibraltar]]. He received the rank of [[major-general]] on 4 June 1813, and was placed on the staff of the garrison at Gibraltar. In the neighbouring Straits he commanded for nearly two years the British auxiliary troops in the fortress of [[Ceuta]]. He attained the rank of [[lieutenant-general]] in 1825.

In 1820 he was appointed [[Captain of Yarmouth Castle]] on the Isle of Wight, a position he held until his death in 1829.<ref> {{cite book|title=Bulletins of State Intelligence|page=228}} </ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* ''Burke’s Landed Gentry''; 17th Edition 1952; under ''Copland-Griffiths of Potterne''; NOTE at bottom of 2nd column p. 1082, and page 1083, right hand column - ''4. Charles, Lt.-Gen''.
* ''Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal: The Isabel of Essex Volume, Containing the Descendants of Isabel (Plantagenet), Countess of Essex & Eu'' by Ruvigny and Raineval Staff published by Genealogical Publishing Com, 1994; pp. 515 and 516.
* ''The [[Gentleman's Magazine]] and Historical Chronicle'' : Volume 99, 1829, the 22nd of a new series, 2nd Part, Aug. p. 180, ''Obituary.-Lt.-Gen. Charles Griffiths'', out of copyright and now in the public domain, edited.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Charles, Lt.-Gen.}}
[[Category:1763 births]]
[[Category:1829 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army generals]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Mysore War]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:East Yorkshire Regiment officers]]
[[Category:40th Regiment of Foot officers]]
[[Category:76th Regiment of Foot officers]]
[[Category:West Yorkshire Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Devonshire Regiment officers]]

Charles Griffiths (British Army officer) - Revision history

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