Born the son of Lieutenant General
Sir Neil Douglas, Douglas was commissioned in 1833. He commanded the
79th Regiment of Foot at the
Battle of Alma in September 1854, at the
Battle of Balaclava in October 1854 and at the
Siege of Sebastopol in Winter 1854 during the
Crimean War. He was given the colonelcy of
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders from 1879 to 1887 and promoted full general on 30 January 1880. He married Lady Elizabeth Cathcart, eldest daughter of the
2nd Earl of Cathcart. They had two surviving sons, born 13 years apart: Neil Douglas Cecil Frederick Douglas (born 1844) and Charles John Cathcart Douglas (born 1857). A memorial also exists on the central vault in Dalry Cemetery in west Edinburgh. He was the cousin of
Sir James Douglas, 1st Governor of British Columbia. ==References==