WILSON, General Sir ROBERT THOMAS, was born in the year 1777 in London, where his father was a painter. He was educated at Westminster,' and afterward at Win chester, and when scarcely 17 he joined the 15th light dragoons, then serving under the duke of York in Belgium, and took part in some sharp service, in which the regiment greatly distinguished itself. Shortly after his return to England, lie was married to a lady of great beauty and some fortune, to whom, through life, he seems to have been ardently attached. In 1798, he was engaged in Ireland in the suppression of the rebellion; and the year after, he served in the unfortunate campaign of the Helder, and was present with his old regiment at the battle of Egmont-op-Zee. That in everything he proved himself a capable officer, may be inferred from his appointment soon after to • command the small force of cavalry which served under sir Ralph Abereromby in Egypt. Here he formed a warm friendship with gen., afterward lord Hutchinson, who succeeded to the command of the army after the death of Abercromby. His next service was at the conquest of the cape of Good Hope in Jan., 1806, where again lie commanded a small cavalry force. In the latter part of that year he went abroad on the staff of his friend, lord Hutchinson, who was sent on a mission to the king of Prussia, then a fugitive from his capital, and awaiting the result of the conflict pending between Napoleon and his allies, the Russians. Wilson had now for the first time, an opportu nity of seeing war on a really gigantic scale, being present at the desperate battle of Eylau (q.v.). . The peace of Tilsit ensued, and Wilson thereupon returned to England. The struggle in the peninsula had now commenced, and Wilson was sent to take part in it; he was active in the embodiment and training of the Portuguese army, and subse quently, under Wellington, he commanded a Spanish brigade at the battle of Talavera. rom this field of action he was, however, withdrawn; and in 1812, he was attached to the Russian army as English military commissioner. During the tremendous struggle' which resulted in the capture of Moscow, and the operations which followed in pursuit of the doomed French army, he rendered important service both in council and in the battle-field; and he seems to have won the especial regard and confidence of the emperor Alexander. Throughout the subsequent campaigns in Germany, and those which fol
lowed in France. ending with the capture of Paris in 1814, he was present in a similar capacity in the camp of the allies:. At Lutzen, he took command of the Prussian reserve, and at a ilarticular crisis of the battle, succeeded in severely checking the enemy. At Bautzen, he also distinguished himself; and a day it two after, the emperor of Russia presented to him publicly the cross of the order of St. George, saying that he gave it "as a memorial of his esteem for his courage, zeal, talent, and fidelity to my service." His services during this period will be found noted in every military history of the time; and they amply prove him to have been a most gallant and accomplished soldier. • After the peace, he became involved in the unfortunate matter of queen Caroline; and for his censure of the course pursued by government he was dismissed the army. He was afterward, however, re-instated. In 1841, he attained the rank of gen.; and train 1842 to 1849, be held the post of governor of Gibraltar. In 1818, he had been returned to parliament in the liberal interest for Southwark, and he retained his seat till 1831. On May 9, 1849, having just returned from Gibraltar, he died suddenly in Lon don. During his life lie published several works; in 1804, An Inquiry into the Military Force of the British Empire; in 1811, Campaigns in Poland, with Remarks on the Russian Army ; and in 1817, a Sketch of the Military Power of Russia. , During his foreign cam paigns, lie kept copious private diaries; and of these, two most interesting volumes, edited by his nephew and son-in-law, the rev. Herbert Randolph, 5I.A.," were some years since published by Murray of London. A Life of him has likewise been published by Murray under the same superintendence.