Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge

The son of the Rev, Henry Hardinge, Rector of Stanhope, and his wife Frances Best, he was educated at Durham School and Sevenoaks School. Hardinge entered the British Army on 23 July 1799 as an ensign in the Queen's Rangers, a corps then stationed in Upper Canada. He was promoted to lieutenant by purchase in the 4th Regiment of Foot on 27 March 1802 and transferred to the 1st Regiment of Foot on 11 July 1803 before becoming a captain of a company by purchase in the 57th Regiment of Foot on 21 April 1804. In February 1806 he was sent to the newly formed Staff College at High Wycombe. == Military career ==

Peninsular War He saw action at the Battle of Roliça on 17 August 1808, at the Battle of Vimeiro on 21 August 1808, where he was wounded, and at Corunna on 16 January 1809 where he was by the side of Sir John Moore when the latter was killed. where he was wounded again, and the Battle of Nivelle on 10 November 1813. He commanded the Portuguese brigade at the Battle of Orthez on 27 February 1814 and the Battle of Toulouse on 10 April 1814. Wellington presented him with a sword that had belonged to Napoleon. and to major-general on 22 July 1830. ==Political service==

Member of Parliament At the 1820 general election, Hardinge was returned to parliament as member for Durham. a post he held until May 1827, and then again from January to May 1828. On 9 June 1828 he accepted the office of Secretary at War in Wellington's ministry, and was appointed a privy councillor. On 21 March 1829 he acted as the Duke of Wellington's second for the Wellington–Winchilsea duel at Battersea Fields. At the 1830 general election he transferred to the pocket borough of St Germans. He was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1841. Governor-General of India In May 1844 he succeeded Lord Ellenborough as Governor-General of India. He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 1 July 1844. Following the death of Maharajah Ranjit Singh tribal war broke out and the first Sikh War ensued in 1845. After further British successes at the Battle of Sobraon on 10 February 1846, the Battle of Ferozeshah on 21 December 1845 and the Battle of Aliwal on 28 January 1846, Hardinge concluded the campaign with the Treaty of Lahore with Maharajah Duleep Singh on 9 March 1846 and the Treaty of Amritsar with Maharajah Gulab Singh on 16 March 1846. He was created Viscount Hardinge of Lahore and of King's Newton in Derbyshire on 7 April 1846. Recognising an annuity of £5,000 being paid by the East India Company, Parliament provided that Viscount Hardinge should continue to receive his full salary as Governor General. Under a subsequent Act, in recognition of his "great and brilliant services", Parliament settled an annuity of £3,000 on Lord Hardinge and the next two heirs male of his body, although this was not to be paid if the East India Company paid an annuity. ==Commander-in-Chief==

Hardinge returned to England in 1848, and became Master-General of the Ordnance on 5 March 1852; he succeeded the Duke of Wellington as commander-in-chief of the British Army on 28 September 1852. While in this position he had responsibility for the direction of the Crimean War, which he endeavoured to conduct on Wellington's principles — a system not altogether suited to the changed mode of warfare. and field marshal on 2 October 1855. A commission was set up to investigate the failings of the British military during the Crimean campaign. He was also colonel of the 97th Regiment of Foot from 4 March 1833 and of the 57th Regiment of Foot from 31 May 1843. Hardinge resigned his office of commander-in-chief in July 1856, owing to failing health, and died on 24 September 1856 at South Park near Tunbridge Wells. He is buried in the churchyard at St. Peter, Fordcombe. ==Family==

In 1821 he married Lady Emily Jane, seventh daughter of Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry. His elder son, Charles Stewart, who had been his private secretary in India, was the 2nd Viscount Hardinge. The younger son of the 2nd Viscount, Charles Hardinge (b. 1858), became a prominent diplomat, and was appointed Viceroy of India in 1910, being created Baron Hardinge of Penshurst. His stepson was Walter James, 1st Baron Northbourne, (1816–1893). ==References==