Cathcart was born in
Renfrewshire, a younger son of
William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart. After receiving his education at
Eton and in
Edinburgh, in 1810 he purchased a
commission in the
Life Guards regiment. In 1813 he went to Russia to serve as
aide-de-camp to his father, who was ambassador and military commissioner. George Cathcart was present at the battles between the Russian and the French armies in 1813 and he followed the Russian Army through Europe and entered Paris in March 1814. he granted the first constitution to the colony that ended the
8th Cape Frontier War, and defeated the
Basutos at the
Battle of Berea. In July 1853 Cathcart was invested as a
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB). and he left the Cape in April 1854. At the start of the
Crimean War, he was appointed to command the 4th Infantry Division. The
British government gave him a "dormant commission" that was to be activated only if
Lord Raglan were to be incapacitated. At the
Battle of the Alma in September 1854, Cathcart's division saw no action and after the
Battle of Balaclava, where his division was called into action, his dormant commission was revoked. He advised an infantry assault on
Sevastopol, but was turned down by Lord Raglan. He took command of the 1st Brigade during the
Battle of Inkerman, where, after he was told to "Support the Guards", he led his men too far until he was shot through the heart while charging up a hill with a company of 50 men from the
20th Regiment of Foot on 5 November 1854. ==Personal life==