Sir Harry Burrard, 1st Baronet, of Lymington

Who was Sir Harry Burrard, 1st Baronet, of Lymington?

Sir Harry Burrard, 1st Baronet was a British General during the Peninsular War.

After Woolwich Burrard joined the Royal Artillery, the 60th Foot and the 1st Foot Guards, seeing combat in the American Revolution and the Revolutionary Wars. He was captured during a raid on the Bruges canal in 1798. He led the 2nd Brigade during the 1799 Anglo-Russian campaign in Holland, fighting at the battles of Bergen, Egmont and Castricum. In 1807, he commanded the 1st Division at the siege of Copenhagen.

Sir Harry Burrard had long since passed his prime when he took over the British army in Portugal from Sir Arthur Wellesley in 1808. Wellesley was one of the most junior Lieutenant-Generals in the British army, so for reasons of protocol, a more senior officer had to be placed above him.

Burrard stopped Wellesley's pursuit of General Jean-Andoche Junot after Vimeiro. It was his only real order during his one day in command of the army. He was replaced the next day by an equally cautious Sir Hew Dalrymple who began negotiations with Junot which led to the infamous Convention of Cintra. Recalled to London for an inquiry into the treaty, Burrard was placed in retirement from active duty.