Background
Hugh Gough was born on the 3rd of November 1779 at Woodstown, Limerick, Ireland.
military commander Soldier Field Marshal
Hugh Gough was born on the 3rd of November 1779 at Woodstown, Limerick, Ireland.
Having obtained a commission in the army in August 1794, he served with the 78th Highlanders at the Cape of Good Hope, taking part in the capture of Cape Town and of the Dutch fleet in Saldanha Bay in 1796. His next service was in the West Indies, where, with the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers), he shared in the attack on Porto Rico, the capture of Surinam, and the brigand war in St Lucia. In 1809 he was called to take part in the Peninsular War, and, joining the army under Wellington, commanded his regiment as major in the operations before Oporto, by which the town was taken from the French. At Talavera he was severely wounded, and had his horse shot under him. For his conduct on this occasion he was afterwards promoted lieutenant-colonel, his commission, on the recommendation of Wellington, being antedated from the day of the duke's despatch. He was next engaged at the battle of Barrosa, at which his regiment captured a French eagle. At the defence of Tarifa the post of danger was assigned to him, and he compelled the enemy to raise the siege. At Vitoria, where Gough again distinguished himself, his regiment captured the baton of Marshal Jourdan. He was again severely wounded at Nivelle. At the close of the war he returned home and enjoyed a respite of some years from active service. He next took command of a regiment stationed in the south of Ireland, discharging at the same time the duties of a magistrate during a period of agitation. Gough was promoted major-general in 1830. Seven years later he was sent to India to take command of the Mysore division of the army. But not long after his arrival in India the difficulties which led to the first Chinese war made the presence of an energetic general on the scene indispensable, and Gough was appointed commander- in-chief of the British forces in China. This post he held during all the operations of the war. After the conclusion of the treaty of Nanking in August 1842 the British forces were withdrawn. In August 1843 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in India, and in December he took the command in person against the Mahrattas, and defeated them at Maharajpur, capturing more than fifty guns. In 1845 occurred the rupture with the Sikhs, who crossed the Sutlej in large numbers, and Sir Hugh Gough conducted the operations against them, being well supported by Lord Hardinge, the governor-general, who volunteered to serve under him. The Sikhs were defeated in three great battles in rapid succession at Moodkee, Ferozeshah, and Sobraon, and submitted to make peace soon after at Lahore. The services of Sir Hugh Gough on these occasions were rewarded by a vote of thanks from both Houses of Parliament, and by his elevation to the peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron Gough (April 1846). The war broke out again in 1848, and again Lord Gough took the field. With unabated energy he defeated the Sikhs at Ramnuggar, and at Chillianwallah, and finally broke their power by his decisive victory at Gujrat (February 1849). He was now succeeded as commander-in-chief by Sir Charles Napier, and, returning to England, was raised to a viscountcy, and for the third time received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. A pension of 2000 per annum was granted to him by parliament, and an equal pension by the East India Company. He did not again see active service. In 1854 he was appointed colonel of the Royal Horse Guards, and two years later he was sent to the Crimea to invest Marshal Pelissier and other officers with the insignia of the Bath.
Gough was chosen a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1767, and from 1771 to 1791 he was its director.
He was twice married, and left children by both his wives.