Lord George Paget
George Paget | |
|---|---|
 George Paget (horsed) with Lieutenant Colonel John Douglas (standing) during the Crimean War | |
| Born | 16 March 1818 |
| Died | 30 June 1880 (aged 62) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  British Army |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | 4th (The Queen's Own) Light Dragoons |
| Battles/wars | Crimean War |
General Lord George Augustus Frederick Paget KCB (16 March 1818 – 30 June 1880), was a British soldier during the Crimean War who took part in the famous Charge of the Light Brigade. He later became a Whig politician.
Background
Paget was the youngest son of Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey by his second wife Lady Charlotte, daughter of Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan.
Military career
Paget served in the Crimean War and fought at Alma and Balaclava in command of the 4th (The Queen's Own) Light Dragoons. He is frequently quoted for his references to the Russian engagement in Balaklava on the Crimean Peninsula: "Every fool at the outposts, who fancies he hears something, has only to make a row, and there we all are, Generals and all... Well I suppose 500 false alarms are better than one surprise". This quote was supposedly written just before the Russians surprised the camp. He is famous for having charged with the Light Brigade while smoking a cheroot (a type of cigar favoured by soldiers who served in India).
Member of Parliament
Apart from his military career, Paget sat as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaumaris between 1847 and 1857. He was made a KCB in 1870.
Marriages
Paget married firstly his first cousin Agnes Charlotte, daughter of Sir Arthur Paget, in 1854. They had two sons. After her death in March 1858, just six days after the birth of her child, he married secondly Louisa Elizabeth, daughter of Charles Fieschi Heneage, in 1861. Paget died in June 1880, aged 62. Louisa Elizabeth married secondly Arthur Capell, 6th Earl of Essex, in 1881. She died in January 1914.
References
External links
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- British Army personnel of the Crimean War
- Younger sons of marquesses
- British Army generals
- Whig (British political party) MPs for Welsh constituencies
- 4th Queen's Own Hussars officers
- UK MPs 1847–1852
- UK MPs 1852–1857
- People educated at Westminster School, London
- Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
- 1818 births
- 1880 deaths
- Paget family
- British Army personnel stubs
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