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{{short description|British Army and Bengal Army general (1793-1856)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = Sir
| name = John Hunter Littler
| honorific_suffix = KCB
| image = Stephen-pearce-portrait-of-lt.-general-sir-john-hunter-littler-g.c.b.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = A [[Stephen Pearce]] portrait of Littler as a lieutenant-general
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_name =
| other_name =
| nickname =
| birth_date = 6 January 1783
| birth_place = [[Tarvin]], Cheshire
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1856|2|18|1783|01|06}}
| death_place = [[Buckfastleigh]], Devon
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial = [[Tarvin]], Cheshire
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| allegiance = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]<br />[[Image:Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg|22x25px]] [[East India Company]]
| branch = *[[British Army]]
*[[Bengal Army]]
| serviceyears = *1800-1856
| serviceyears_label =
| rank = Lieutenant-general
| rank_label =
| servicenumber = 
| unit = [[Bengal Army]]
| commands =
| battles_label =
| battles = *[[Second Anglo-Maratha War]] (1804-05)
*[[Invasion of Java (1811)|Invasion of Java]] (1811)
*[[Gwalior Campaign]] (1843)
*[[First Anglo-Sikh War]] (1845-46)
| awards =
| memorials =
| spouse = Helen Olympia Stewart
| relations =
| children = Four daughters
| laterwork =
| signature =
| signature_size =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| module =
}}
[[Lieutenant general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-General]] '''Sir John Hunter Littler''', [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath|KCB]] (6 January 1783{{spnd}}18 February 1856) was an officer of the East India Company's [[Bengal Army]]. He was commissioned as an ensign of the [[Bengal Native Infantry]] at the age of 17 and sailed for India. He travelled aboard the [[East Indiaman]] [[Kent (1799 ship)|''Kent'']], which was captured by the French en route, and he had to make the final part of the voyage by [[Pinnace (ship's boat)|pinnace]]. He served as a junior officer in the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War]] and the 1811 [[Invasion of Java (1811)|Invasion of Java]].

In 1841 Littler was promoted to major-general and given command of a division. He served in the 1843 [[Gwalior Campaign]], for which he received the thanks of the British parliament and appointment as [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]. During the 1845–46 [[First Anglo-Sikh War]] he led a division at the [[Battle of Ferozeshah]], once more receiving the thanks of parliament. Littler commanded the British occupation forces in the Sikh capital, Lahore, after the war. In 1848 he joined the [[Council of India|Supreme Council of India]] and was appointed deputy governor of Bengal and a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]]. He returned to England in 1851 and spent his final years in retirement in [[Buckfastleigh]].

== Early life ==
John Hunter Littler was born in [[Tarvin]], Cheshire, on 6 January 1783. He was the son of Thomas Littler, whose family had lived in the village for generations, and Diana, daughter of [[John Hunter (British politician)|John Hunter]], a director of the [[East India Company]] (EIC). John Littler was educated at the grammar school in [[Acton, Cheshire|Acton]].<ref name=odnb>{{Cite ODNB|id=16779|title=Littler, Sir John Hunter}}</ref>

== East India Company junior and field officer ==
[[File:Combat naval - l'abordage du Kent de Garneray (1836) musée de La Roche-sur-Yon.jpg|thumb|The capture of ''Kent'']]
Littler was appointed as an ensign in the EIC's [[Bengal Army]] on 19 August 1800, being posted to the 10th Regiment of [[Bengal Native Infantry]].<ref name=odnb/> Littler travelled to India aboard the 38-gun [[East Indiaman]] [[Kent (1799 ship)|''Kent'']], in company with 400 other soldiers. On 7 October the ''Kent'' was intercepted in the [[Bay of Bengal]] by the 24-gun French privateer [[Confiance (1797 ship)|''Confiance'']] under [[Robert Surcouf]]. After a brief combat, in which her captain was killed, ''Kent'' surrendered.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Piat |first1=Denis |title=Pirates & Privateers of Mauritius |date=2014 |publisher=Editions Didier Millet |location=Singapore |isbn=978-981-4385-66-4 |page=93 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Pirates_Privateers_of_Mauritius/gp9eAgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref name=odnb/> The ''Kent'' was taken as a prize by Surcouf but the passengers were released and put aboard a [[Pinnace (ship's boat)|pinnace]], which made it safely to British India.<ref name=odnb/>

Littler was promoted to lieutenant on 29 November 1800 and served during 1804–05 in [[Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake|Lord Lake]]'s army during the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War]]. Littler participated in the [[Invasion of Java (1811)|1811 expedition that captured Java]] from the French and was promoted to captain on 16 December 1812. He returned to India in 1816 and served in [[Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings|Lord Hastings]]' army as a sub-assistant commissary-general until 1824. He was promoted to major on 22 September 1824.<ref name=odnb/>

Littler married Helen Olympia Stewart, the daughter of a lieutenant-colonel who claimed a peerage on [[Orkney]], on 25 June 1827. He had previously been married and his wife had presumably died. Littler had four daughters with Helen.<ref name=odnb/> He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the 14th Bengal Native Infantry in 1828 and became colonel of the 36th Bengal Native Infantry in 1839.<ref name=odnb/>

== General officer ==
Littler was promoted to major-general in the East India Company in 1841, receiving the equivalent [[brevet rank]] in the British Army on 23 November.<ref name=odnb/><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=20046 |date= 26 November 1841|page= 3059}}</ref> From 1843 Littler commanded the Bengal Army's [[Agra]] division. He commanded part of Sir [[Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough|Hugh Gough]]'s army during the 1843 [[Gwalior Campaign]] against the Marathas. At the 29 December [[Gwalior campaign#Battle of Maharajpore|Battle of Maharajpore]], Littler had two horses shot from under him and was slightly wounded.<ref name=odnb/> For his services he received the thanks of parliament, the [[Gwalior Star]] and was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] on 2 May 1844.<ref name=odnb/><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=20340|date= 3 May 1844|page= 1517}}</ref>

The 1845 outbreak of the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]] found him in command of a division of East India Company troops at [[Ferozepore]]. He left half his men to defend the post and marched with the rest to confront the Sikh Army as they crossed the [[Sutlej]] river on 11 December. The Sikhs refused to engage and moved to [[Battle of Ferozeshah|Ferozeshah]]. Littler joined his force with that of Gough and commanded a division of the army during the 21–22 December [[Battle of Ferozeshah]]. Littler had another horse shot from beneath him and, after victory, once more received a vote of thanks from the British parliament.<ref name=odnb/>

After the war, Littler was appointed to command British troops occupying the Sikh capital, [[Lahore]]. In 1848 Littler was appointed to the [[Council of India|Supreme Council of India]] and made deputy governor of Bengal.<ref name=odnb/> On 31 January of the same year he was appointed a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]].<ref>{{London Gazette |city=Edinburgh |issue=5720|date= 4 February 1848|page= 59}}</ref>

== Later life and death ==
Littler returned to England in 1851. He spent the remainder of his life in retirement at his house, Bigaden, in [[Buckfastleigh]], Devon.<ref name=odnb/> On 11 November 1851 he was appointed brevet lieutenant-general in the British Army.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=21265|date= 21 November 1851|page= 3075}}</ref> Littler died at Bigaden on 18 February 1856 and was buried at Tarvin.<ref name=odnb/>

Helen remarried, in 1858, to [[Thomas Aston Cokayne]]. She died on 12 January 1885.<ref name=odnb/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{DNB|prescript=|wstitle=Littler, John Hunter}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Littler, John Hunter}}
[[Category:1783 births]]
[[Category:1856 deaths]]
[[Category:British East India Company Army officers]]
[[Category:British Army lieutenant generals]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Maratha War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Gwalior Campaign]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the First Anglo-Sikh War]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Members of the Council of India]]
[[Category:People from Cheshire West and Chester]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Cheshire]]
[[Category:Burials in Cheshire]]

John Hunter Littler - Revision history

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