Henry George Hart

Born on 7 September 1808 in Glencree, Ireland,[1] Henry was the third son of Lieutenant colonel William Hart who served in both the Royal Navy and British Army before emigrating to the Cape of Good Hope in 1819 where he died in 1848. Henry accompanied his father to the Cape, and on 1 April 1829 he was appointed ensign in the 49th Foot,[2] then stationed there.

The 49th foot's regimental history suggests that Henry would soon have joined the rest of his regiment in India[3] until 6 April 1840 when they embarked upon transport ships bound for China.[4] During the remainder of 1840 to the end of 1842, the regiment took part in the First Opium War where they were engaged in the battles of Canton, Amoy, Chusan, Chinhai, Chapu and the Heights of Chinkiang.[5]

After China the regiment returned to England but was later deployed to Ireland in 1845.[6] As a regimental officer, Hart was a poor law inspector in Ireland during the famine of 1845–6. In 1856, when in temporary command of the depot battalion at Templemore, he suppressed a mutiny of the North Tipperary militia, defending the town of Nenagh.[7][8]

The dates of his commissions were:

• Lieutenant – 19 July 1832[9]
• Captain – 1 December 1842[10]
• Major – 15 December 1848[11]
• Lieutenant-colonel – 30 May 1856[12]
• Colonel – 27 December 1860[13]
• Major-general – 6 March 1868[14]
• Lieutenant-general – 4 December 1877.[15]

He died at Biarritz, in France on 24 March 1878.[7][16]

When Hart joined the army, the main reference work was John Philippart's Royal Military Calendar of 1820. Hart supplemented information in the official army lists, using interleaved copies. In February 1839, supported by his wife and with the approval of the military authorities, Hart published the first edition of his Quarterly Army List, which was well received.[7]

Hart was allowed access to the official records of officers' services, and in 1840 published his first Annual Army List, containing supplementary information in addition to the contents of the Quarterly. The role of editor was later taken over by his son Fitzroy.[7] The List was published until 1915.[17]

Hart married in 1833 Alicia, daughter of the Reverend Holt Okes, D.D. Their family included three sons, who all served in the army:

• Jane Margaret Hart
• Colonel Horatio Holt Hart, Royal Engineers[18]
• Major General Arthur Fitzroy Hart, C.B., 1st battalion East Surrey Regiment
• General Reginald Clare Hart, V.C., Royal Engineers.[7]

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney, eds. (1891). "Hart, Henry George". Dictionary of National Biography. 25. London: Smith, Elder & Co.