Sir John Moore (13 November 1761-16 January 1809) was a Scottish general of Great Britain who was involved in the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleonic Wars, and Peninsular War. A native of Glasgow, he was a Member of Parliament for Lanark Burghs as well as an army officer. He was killed in the Battle of Corunna.
Biography[]
Moore was born in Glasgow, Scotland to a Scottish family. In 1776 he joined the 51st Regiment of Foot in Minorca and became a Lieutenant in the 82nd Regiment of Foot in 1778, and saw his first action in the American Revolutionary War. In 1779 he fought at the Battle of Penobscot Bay, holding off 1,000+ American militia with 700 British regulars.
In 1783 Moore returned to Great Britain and was made a Member of Parliament, member for the Lanark Burghs of Scotland. In 1791 he was dispatched to Corsica during the French Revolutionay Wars and was wounded at Calvi, and although he was made a Colonel, friction between him and the Viceroy of Corsica led to his redeployment with Ralph Abercromby in the West Indies.
In 1798 Major-General John Moore fought against the United Irishmen Rebellion in Ireland and defeated the rebels on 20 July at Foulksmills. He refused to perpetrate atrocities, unlike Lord Gerard Lake and other brutal commanders. In 1799 he fought in a naval expedition to the Batavian Republic and was wounded in the fighting, and he led the 52nd Regiment of Foot to fight in the Egyptian Campaign in 1801.
In 1806 Moore took command of the British forces in Spain during the Peninsular War. At the Battle of Corunna a cannonball broke his ribs and arm and tore off his lungs, left side of his body, and shoulder. His last words were "I hope the people of England will be satisfied! I hope I have done my country justice!", and he was buried at the ramparts of the town.