John Barrington

Who was John Barrington?

Major-General John Barrington was an officer of the British Army, the third son of John Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington.

He served in the 3rd Foot Guards, and in 1746 he obtained the commission of captain-lieutenant in the 2nd Foot Guards, in which corps he was promoted to the rank of captain and lieutenant-colonel in 1748. In 1756 he was promoted to the rank of colonel, and appointed aide-de-camp to King George II. In 1758 the King gave him the colonelcy of the 64th Regiment of Foot, then formed from the second battalion of the 11th, promoted him to the local rank of major-general in the West Indies, and sent him second-in-command of an expedition against the French West India Islands. Major-General Hopson dying in the West Indies, the command of the troops devolved on Major-General Barrington, who succeeded in reducing the valuable island of Guadeloupe. In June 1759 he was removed to the 40th Regiment, and on 24 October the same year to the 8th, or the King's; he was also appointed Governor of Berwick. He died at Paris.