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Henry George Hart

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British Army officer and author of Hart's Army List

Henry George Hart
Born(1808-09-07)7 September 1808
Glencree, Ireland
Died24 March 1878(1878-03-24) (aged 69)
Biarritz, France
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
Years of service1829–1878
RankLieutenant-General
Unit49th Foot
Battles / wars
Other workAuthor, editor and proprietor of Hart's Army List

Lieutenant-General Henry George Hart (1808–1878) was an Irish officer in the British Army, who was best known as the author, editor, and proprietor of Hart's Army List, an unofficial publication recording army service.

Early life

Born on 7 September 1808 in Glencree, Ireland, Henry was the third son of Lieutenant colonel William Hart who served in both the Royal Navy and British Army before emigrating to the Cape of Good Hope in 1819 where he died in 1848. Henry accompanied his father to the Cape, and on 1 April 1829 he was appointed ensign in the 49th Foot, then stationed there. Henry's mother Jane Matson (1779-1861) was the second daughter of Charles Matson (1750-1828) of Wingham, Kent.

Military career

The 49th foot's regimental history suggests that Henry would soon have joined the rest of his regiment in India until 6 April 1840 when they embarked upon transport ships bound for China. During the remainder of 1840 to the end of 1842, the regiment took part in the First Opium War where they were engaged in the battles of Canton, Amoy, Chusan, Chinhai, Chapu and the Heights of Chinkiang.

After China the regiment returned to England but was later deployed to Ireland in 1845. As a regimental officer, Hart was a poor law inspector in Ireland during the famine of 1845–6. In 1856, when in temporary command of the depot battalion at Templemore, he suppressed a mutiny of the North Tipperary militia, defending the town of Nenagh.

The dates of his commissions were:

Death

He died at Biarritz, in France on 24 March 1878. Buried at Boulogne-sur-Mer, in France, in a grave contiguous to that of his wife and under the same granite obelisk.

Hart's Army List

When Hart joined the army, the main reference work was John Philippart's Royal Military Calendar of 1820. Hart supplemented information in the official army lists, using interleaved copies. In February 1839, supported by his wife and with the approval of the military authorities, Hart published the first edition of his Quarterly Army List, which was well received.

Hart was allowed access to the official records of officers' services, and in 1840 published his first Annual Army List, containing supplementary information in addition to the contents of the Quarterly. The role of editor was later taken over by his son Fitzroy. The List was published until 1915.

Family

At the Reformed Church, Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa, 7 January 1833, Hart married Frances Alicia Okes (1809-1874), 4th daughter of the Reverend Holt Okes, D.D. Chaplain of Wynberg 1832–1852.

Their family of nine children included three surviving sons, who all served with distinction in the army:

  • Jane Margaret Hart (1834-1896) married 14 August 1862, at St. Mark's, Surbiton, in Surrey, James Curtis Leman (1834-1897) solicitor
  • Henry Travers Holt Hart (1836-1841)
  • Holt William Hart (1838-1850)
  • Frances Alicia Hart (1840-1923) married 23 April 1867, at Boulogne-sur-Mer, in France, Edward Coventry (1843-1914) corn factor
  • George Okes Hart (1842-1851)
  • Major General Arthur Fitzroy Hart Synnot (1844-1910), C.B., 1st battalion East Surrey Regiment, married 22 December 1868, at Boulogne-sur-Mer, in France, Mary Susannah (May) Synnot (1844-1913), eldest daughter of Mark Seton Synnot of Ballymoyer House, County Armagh
  • Isabel Clara Hart (1846-1929), married 22 July 1868, at Boulogne-sur-Mer, in France, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Mackenzie Salmond (1841-1900)
  • General Sir Reginald Clare Hart (1848-1931), V.C., Royal Engineers. Married 6 August 1872, at Omeath Church, in County Louth, Charlotte Augusta Synnot (1854-1936) 5th daughter of Mark Seton Synnot of Ballymoyer House, County Armagh
  • Colonel Horatio Holt Hart (1850-1915), Royal Engineers Married firstly 8 August 1872, at Paris, in France, Emily Aline Clements (1855-1902). Married secondly 2 April 1903, at Mussoorie, in Bengal, India, Alice Maud Goudall (1863-1950)

Notes

  1. "Henry George Hart". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  2. "No. 3748". The Edinburgh Gazette. 5 May 1828. p. 123.
  3. "21 Sep 1829". The Wardrobe. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  4. "6 Apr 1840". The Wardrobe. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  5. "The 49th (Hertfordshire) Regiment 1743–1881". The Wardrobe. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  6. "1 Sep 1845". The Wardrobe. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  7. ^ Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney, eds. (1891). "Hart, Henry George" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 25. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  8. "Mutiny of the Tipperary Militia". Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  9. "No. 19042". The London Gazette. 26 April 1833. p. 793.
  10. "No. 20215". The London Gazette. 21 April 1843. p. 1312.
  11. "No. 20926". The London Gazette. 15 December 1848. p. 4539.
  12. "No. 6610". The Edinburgh Gazette. 1 July 1856. p. 580.
  13. "No. 7083". The Edinburgh Gazette. 11 January 1861. p. 74.
  14. "No. 24062". The London Gazette. 3 February 1874. p. 492.
  15. "No. 24548". The London Gazette. 1 February 1878. p. 524.
  16. "No. 24574". The London Gazette. 19 April 1878. p. 2638.
  17. John Grenham (2006). Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-8063-1768-7.
  18. "No. 27129". The London Gazette. 24 October 1899. p. 6388.

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney, eds. (1891). "Hart, Henry George". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 25. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

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