View source for William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart

{{Short description|British soldier and diplomat (1755–1843)}}
{{About|the 1st Earl Cathcart|his son in the Royal Navy|William Cathcart (Royal Navy officer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = The Earl Cathcart
| image         = 1stEarlCathcart.jpg
| caption       = The 1st Earl Cathcart by Gainsborough
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1755|09|17|df=yes}}
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1843|06|16|1755|09|17|df=yes}}
| birth_place   = [[Petersham, London|Petersham]], [[England]], [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]
| death_place   = [[Glasgow]], [[Scotland]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]
| placeofburial =
| nickname      = Cath
| allegiance    = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| branch        = {{army|United Kingdom}}
| serviceyears  =
| rank          = [[General (United Kingdom)|General]]
| unit          =
| commands      = [[Scottish Command|Commander-in-Chief, Scotland]]<br/>[[Commander-in-Chief, Ireland]]
| battles       = {{tree list}}
* [[American Revolutionary War]]
** [[Battle of Monmouth]]
* [[Napoleonic Wars]]
** [[Battle of Copenhagen (1807)|Second Battle of Copenhagen]]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards        = [[Knight of the Order of the Thistle]]<br/>[[Order of St. Andrew]] (Russia)<br/>[[Order of St. George|Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree]] (Russia)
| relations     =
| laterwork     =
}}
[[General (United Kingdom)|General]] '''William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KT|PC|PCi}} (17 September 1755{{snd}}16 June 1843) was a [[British people|British]] soldier and [[diplomat]].
==Early life==
He was the son of [[Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart]] and his wife Ann Hamilton.
Cathcart born at [[Petersham, London|Petersham]], London, on 17 September 1755, and educated at [[Eton College]].
==Military career==
In 1771 he went to [[St. Petersburg]], where his father, [[Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart]], a general in the army, was ambassador. He became an excellent horseman in Russia then from 1773 to 1777 he studied [[law]] at the [[University of Glasgow]] and was afterwards called to the [[Faculty of Advocates|Scottish Bar]].{{sfn|Barrington|1814|page=3}} He succeeded to the lordship upon his father's death in 1776, and inherited several properties including Schawpark an estate near [[Sauchie]] where his father had commissioned [[Robert Adam]] to remodel the mansion house but the works were incomplete when his father died.<ref name="ReferenceA">Clackmannan and the Ochils by Adam Swan ISBN 07073 0513 6</ref>
In 1777 he obtained a commission in the [[7th Dragoons]].<ref name="EB1911"/>
Proceeding to [[United States|America]] in 1777, he had before the close of his first campaign twice won promotion on the field of battle. He transferred to the [[17th Lancers|17th Light Dragoons]]. In 1778 he further distinguished himself in outpost work, and at the [[Battle of Monmouth]] he commanded the [[British Legion (American Revolution)|British Legion]], with conspicuous success; for a time also he acted as quartermaster-general to the forces in America. He returned home in 1780, and in February 1781 was made captain and lieutenant colonel in the [[Coldstream Guards]].<ref name="EB1911"/>
In September 1784 Cathcart organised the first formal cricket match in Scotland, in the grounds of Schawpark and commissioned a family portrait by [[David Allan (painter)|David Allan]] to commemorate the event.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cricketscotland.com/|title=Cricket Scotland}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA"/>
He was elected a [[List of Scottish representative peers|Scottish representative peer]] in 1788, and in 1792 he became colonel of the [[29th Regiment of Foot|29th Foot]]. He served with distinction in the campaigns in the [[Low Countries]], 1793–1795, in the course of which he was promoted major general; and in 1801 he was made a lieutenant general, having in the meanwhile received the appointments of [[Lord High Admiral of Scotland#List of Vice Admirals|Vice Admiral of Scotland]] (1795), [[Historic list of members of the Privy Council|privy councillor]] (1798), and colonel of the 2nd Life Guards (1797).<ref name="EB1911"/>
From 1803 to 1805 Lord Cathcart was Commander-in-Chief in Ireland, and in the latter year he was sent by [[William Pitt the Younger|Pitt]] to supersede [[Sir George Don]] in command of the 14,000 strong British [[Hanover Expedition]].<ref name="EB1911"/> He occupied Hanover on 14 December and joined with Werdereffsky's Russian column of [[Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy|Tolstoi]]'s corps. After skirmishes with the French forces of {{Interlanguage link|Gabriel Barbou des Courières|fr}}  at [[Springe]], Cathcart was forced to withdraw after the Franco-Prussian agreement of 27 January 1806 handing over Hanover to Prussia, and re-embarked for the United Kingdom on 7 February 1806.
After the recall of this expedition Cathcart [[Commander-in-Chief, Scotland|commanded the forces in Scotland]] until 1807, when he was placed in charge of the [[Battle of Copenhagen (1807)|expedition to Copenhagen]], which surrendered to him on 6 September. Four weeks later he was created Viscount Cathcart of Cathcart and Baron Greenock of Greenock in the [[peerage of the United Kingdom]], resuming the Scottish command on his return from the front.<ref name="EB1911"/>
On 1 January 1812 he was promoted to the full rank of general, and a few months later he proceeded to [[Russia]] as ambassador and military commissioner. In the latter capacity he served with the headquarters of the allies throughout the [[War of the Sixth Coalition|War of Liberation]] (1812–1814); his success in the delicate and difficult task of maintaining harmony and devotion to the common cause amongst the generals of many nationalities was recognized after the war by his elevation to an earldom (July 1814). He then went to [[St. Petersburg]], and continued to hold the post of ambassador until 1820, when he returned to the United Kingdom.
He died at his estate near [[Glasgow]] on 16 June 1843.<ref name="EB1911"/> He is buried in [[Paisley Abbey]] with a monument by [[William Mossman]] erected in 1848.{{sfn|Gunnis|1954|pages=266}}
==Family==
Cathcart married Elizabeth Elliot, the daughter of the [[List of colonial governors of New York|lieutenant-governor]] of [[Province of New York|New York]] [[Andrew Elliot]], on 10 April 1779. The couple had ten children, the first five being born in the 1780s. Their first child, Louisa, was born in New York on 25 January 1780, but died soon after her birth. Other children included the army officers [[George Cathcart|Sir George Cathcart]] and [[Charles Cathcart, 2nd Earl Cathcart|Sir Charles Cathcart]], both of whom became generals, the latter inheriting the peerage on his father's death.<ref name="EB1911"/>
William's first-born son, [[William Cathcart (Royal Navy officer)|William Cathcart]], entered the [[Royal Navy]] but died of yellow fever in 1804 while in command of his ship [[French frigate Clorinde (1801)|HMS ''Clorinde'']].{{sfn|Laughton|1912|page=385}}
Cathcart took two of his sons with him during his appointment as ambassador to Russia, Captain Frederick Macadam Cathcart served as his private secretary and Lieutenant George Cathcart functioned as his aide-de-camp. Cathcart's last son, Adolphus Frederick Cathcart, was born on 28 June 1803.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/William-Cathcart-1st-Earl-Cathcart/6000000011600082445|website=geni.com|title=William Schaw, 1st Earl of Cathcart|date=17 September 1755 }}</ref>
==See also==
*[[List of ships named Lord Cathcart|List of ships named ''Lord Cathcart'']]
==References==
{{reflist|refs=<ref name="EB1911">{{harv|Chisholm|1911|page=518}}</ref>}}
===Books cited===
*{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Cathcart, William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl |volume=5 |page=518}}
*{{cite book|first=C. J. |last=Barrington |title=The Military Panorama, or Officer's Companion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=py45AQAAMAAJ|year=1814}}
*{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.3672/page/n3/mode/2up|title=Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851| publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, MA | first=Rupert|last=Gunnis |author-link=Rupert Gunnis|year=1954|page=266}}
*{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/navalmiscellany02laug/page/n11/mode/2up?ref=ol&q=cathcart|publisher = Naval Record Society| title =The Naval Miscellany |volume=2| year = 1912|location=London| first=  John Knox|last=Laughton|pages=385, 389, 394, 395, 450}}
==External links==
{{DNB poster|Cathcart, William Schaw}}
*{{Hansard-contribs | mr-william-cathcart | the Earl Cathcart }}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw138154/William-Schaw-Cathcart-1st-Earl-Cathcart|website=npg.org.uk|title= William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl of Cathcart|access-date=14 November 2021}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-new| office}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire]]
| years  = 1794–1798}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Ralph Abercromby|Sir Ralph Abercromby]]}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Ralph Abercromby|Sir Ralph Abercromby]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire]]
| years  = 1801–1803}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[David Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield|The Earl of Mansfield]]}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Lord William Gordon|The Lord William Gordon]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Lord High Admiral of Scotland|Vice-Admiral of Scotland]]
| years  = 1795–1843}}
{{s-vac}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst|The Lord Amherst]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = Colonel of the [[2nd Regiment of Life Guards]]
| years  = 1797–1843}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry|The Marquess of Londonderry]]}}
|-
{{succession box | before=[[Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington|Charles Stanhope]] | title=Colonel of the [[29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot]] | years=1792–1797 | after=[[Gordon Forbes (British Army officer)|Gordon Forbes]]}}
|-
{{s-bef| before = [[Henry Edward Fox|Henry Fox]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Commander-in-Chief, Ireland]]
| years  = 1803–1806}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington|The Earl of Harrington]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings|The Earl of Moira]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Commander-in-Chief, Scotland]]|years=1806–1812}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Henry Wynyard]]}}
|-
{{s-bef| before = [[Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill|The Lord Hill]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull]]
| years  = 1830–1843}}
{{s-non| reason = Office abolished}}
{{s-reg|uk}}
{{s-new| rows   = 2 | creation}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Earl Cathcart]]
| years  = 1814–1843}}
{{s-aft| rows   = 2 | after  = [[Charles Cathcart, 2nd Earl Cathcart|Charles Cathcart]] }}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Earl Cathcart|Viscount Cathcart]]
| years  = 1807–1843}}
{{s-reg|sct}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart|Charles Cathcart]]}}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Earl Cathcart|Lord Cathcart]]
| years  = 1776–1843}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Charles Cathcart, 2nd Earl Cathcart|Charles Cathcart]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathcart, William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl}}
[[Category:1755 births]]
[[Category:1843 deaths]]
[[Category:Nobility from Glasgow]]
[[Category:7th Queen's Own Hussars officers]]
[[Category:17th Lancers officers]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:British Army generals]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars]]
[[Category:British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:British Life Guards officers]]
[[Category:Coldstream Guards officers]]
[[Category:Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland]]
[[Category:Diplomatic peers]]
[[Category:Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Knights of the Thistle]]
[[Category:Lord-lieutenants of Clackmannanshire]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of Ireland]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:Scottish representative peers]]
[[Category:Worcestershire Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Peers of the United Kingdom created by George III]]
[[Category:Participants to the Congress of Vienna|C]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames]]
[[Category:Clan Cathcart|Earl 01]]