British Army General Officers
From Project Seven Years War
Hierarchical Path: Seven Years War (Main Page) >> Armies >> British Army >> British Army General Officers
Origin and History
On the eve of the Seven Years' War, in 1755, the British Army General Officers were organised as follows:
- Captain-General: [[Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (also colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards)
- Generals (Full)
- Sir Robert Rich (also colonel of the 4th Regiment of Dragoons)
- Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth (also colonel of the 5th Regiment of Dragoons in the Irish Establishment)
- William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington and Viscount Petersham (also colonel of the2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards)
- Sir John Ligonier (also colonel of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards and colonel-en-second of the Royal Regiment of Artillery)
- Lieutenant Generals: about 31 individuals
- Major Generals: about 35 individuals
- Brigadier Generals: not a permanent rank; temporary rank only used in wartime; typically a colonel appointed to lead a corps of several regiments.
Note: General Officers would not include standard colonels and below. For these ranks, please refer to our article British Line Infantry Organisation.
References
Steward, Nicholas: A List of the Officers of the British Army to August 1755, Steward Archives, Salem, Massachusetts, 2015
Acknowledgement
Kenneth P. Dunne for the initial version of this article