John Knox (1758–1800)

The Honourable

John Knox
Born1758 (1758)
Died1800 (aged 41–42)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
RankMajor General
Battles/warsFrench Revolutionary Wars

John Knox (1758–1800) was a British Army officer. He was the son of Thomas Knox, 1st Viscount Northland and Anne Vesey, daughter of John Vesey, 1st Baron Knapton.[1]

He served as Member of the Parliament of Ireland for Killybegs from 1777 to 1783 and for Dungannon from 1790 to 1794.

He commanded the Dungannon District in 1797 and 1798 and raised a unit of Yeomanry there.[2]

He was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 36th Regiment of Foot on 1 August 1795 and received the army rank of full colonel on the 21st of that month. On 6 September 1795 he received the local rank of brigadier general (West Indies).[3] He was made major general on 18 June 1798. On 7 November 1799, he was made colonel commandant of the 9th Regiment of Foot.[4]

In 1799 he took part in the Duke of York's expedition to the Netherlands. He served as commander of the Advance Guard, an elite brigade composed of grenadiers and light infantry. He negotiated and signed, as British representative, the Convention of Alkmaar that ended that campaign.[5]

He was then appointed Governor of Jamaica, but drowned while travelling to the island in 1800.[6] He was a passenger on HMS Babet, which disappeared in the Caribbean after having been last seen on 24 October 1800 at Martinique.
"...the loss of the Babet, the ship in which our dear John (General Knox) was gone out as Governor and Commander in Chief to Jamaica. Many, many tears did I shed for him, I loved him as a brother, and never, I believe, was there a man so deserving of the regard and regret everyone expressed for him. We long had hopes that the ship was not lost, as it was not seen to go down, but years have elapsed since, therefore no hope can be indulged, though I am sometimes fool enough to feel some, in spite of my almost conviction that it is impossible they ever should be realised."[7]

References

  1. Introduction, Ranfurly Papers (D235, D1932, D4183) Public Record Office, Northern Ireland, November 2007. http://www.proni.gov.uk/introduction_-_ranfurly_papers_d235__d1932__d4183.pdf
  2. Introduction, Ranfurly Papers (D235, D1932, D4183) Public Record Office, Northern Ireland, November 2007. http://www.proni.gov.uk/introduction_-_ranfurly_papers_d235__d1932__d4183.pdf
  3. A List of the Officers of the Army and Marines. War Office, 1 January 1798
  4. A List of the Officers of the Army and Marines. War Office, February 1800
  5. British Minor Expeditions, 1746 to 1814. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1884.
  6. Introduction, Ranfurly Papers (D235, D1932, D4183) Public Record Office, Northern Ireland, November 2007. http://www.proni.gov.uk/introduction_-_ranfurly_papers_d235__d1932__d4183.pdf
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