He was the fifth son of
the 1st Earl of Beverley and Isabella Susanna, and a grandson of
the 1st Duke of Northumberland. Educated at
Eton, Percy purchased a
Lieutenant's commission in the
7th Regiment of Foot in 1804. He took part in the
Peninsular War as aide-de-camp (ADC) to
Lieutenant General Sir John Moore from 1808 to 1809. He transferred to the
14th Dragoons as a
captain and was brevetted
major in 1810. He was captured in 1812 during the
retreat from Burgos, and spent two years as a prisoner in France. Following Napoleon's exile to
Elba in 1815, he was released. When Napoleon returned in 1815, Major Percy served as ADC to
the Duke of Wellington and was present at the battles of
Quatre Bras and
Waterloo. Having been the only one of Wellington's ADCs to survive Waterloo unscathed, he was assigned the task of carrying to London
the dispatch announcing victory and the two
French Imperial Eagles captured in the battle. Leaving immediately after the battle, he crossed the Channel on board the sloop
HMS Peruvian, having rowed some of the way. Arriving at
Downing Street on 21 June at 10 pm he informed foreign secretary
Earl Bathurst of the victory; then he delivered the dispatch and captured eagles to the
Prince Regent at St James's Square. He was promoted to brevet
lieutenant colonel as a reward for his service. He retired in 1821 and died in 1825. ==Family==