View source for Francis Rawdon-Hastings 1st Marquess of Hastings

{{short description|Governor-General of India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Most Honourable]]
| name                = The Marquess of Hastings
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|commas=yes|KG|PC}}
| image               = Portrait of Francis Rawdon .PNG
| caption             = Portrait by [[Martin Archer Shee]]
| imagesize           = 
| order1              = [[Governor-General of India]]
| term_start1         = 4 October 1813
| term_end1           = 9 January 1823
| monarch1            = [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]] <br/> [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]]
| primeminister1      = 
| predecessor1        = [[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto|The Lord Minto]]
| successor1          = [[John Adam (administrator)|John Adam]]<br/><small>As Acting Governor-General</small>
| order2              = [[Governor-General of Malta|Governor of Malta]]
| term_start2         = 22 March 1824
| term_end2           = 28 November 1826
| monarch2            = [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]]
| primeminister2      = 
| predecessor2        = [[Thomas Maitland (British Army officer)|Hon. Thomas Maitland]]
| successor2          = [[Alexander George Woodford]]<br/><small>As Acting Governor</small>
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1754|12|9}}
| birth_place         = [[County Down]], [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=y|1826|11|28|1754|12|9}}
| death_place         = At sea off [[Naples]]
| nationality         = [[British people|British]]
| party               = 
| alma_mater          = 
| spouse              = [[Flora Campbell, 6th Countess of Loudoun]] <br/>(1780–1840)
| children            = 6
| parents             = [[John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira]]<br/>[[Elizabeth Rawdon, 13th Baroness Hastings|Elizabeth Hastings, 13th Baroness Hastings]]
<!--Military service-->| nickname            = 
| allegiance          = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}}
| branch              = [[British Army]]
| serviceyears        = 
| rank                = General
| unit                = 
| commands            = [[Commander-in-Chief, India|Commander-in-Chief of India]]
| battles             = [[American Revolutionary War|American War of Independence]]<br/>[[War of the First Coalition]]<br/>[[Anglo-Nepalese War]]<br>[[Third Anglo-Maratha War]]
| awards              = 
| military_blank1     = 
| military_data1      = 
| military_blank2     = 
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| military_blank3     = 
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}}
'''Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|commas=yes|KG|PC}} (9 December 1754{{snd}}28 November 1826), styled '''The Honourable Francis Rawdon''' from birth until 1762, '''Lord Rawdon''' between 1762 and 1783, '''The Lord Rawdon''' from 1783 to 1793 and '''The Earl of Moira''' between 1793 and 1816, was an [[Anglo-Irish]] politician and military officer who served as [[Governor-General of India]] from 1813 to 1823. He had also served with British forces for years during the [[American Revolutionary War]] and in 1794 during the [[War of the First Coalition]]. He took the additional surname "Hastings" in 1790 in compliance with the will of his maternal uncle, [[Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon]].<ref name="B58">Beevor, p. 58.</ref>

==Background, education and early military career==
Hastings was born at [[Moira, County Down]], the son of [[John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira]] and [[Elizabeth Rawdon, 13th Baroness Hastings|Elizabeth Hastings, 13th Baroness Hastings]], who was a daughter of the [[Theophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdon|9th Earl of Huntingdon]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=53}} He was baptised at [[St. Audoen's Church, Dublin (Church of Ireland)|St. Audoen's Church, Dublin]], on 2 January 1755.<ref>{{cite web |title=Registers of St Audoen's Church |url=https://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/display-pdf.jsp?pdfName=d-116-1-1-207 |website=Irish Genealogy |access-date=19 October 2019}}</ref> He grew up in Moira and in [[Dublin]].<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=21}}</ref> He joined the [[British Army]] on 7 August 1771 as an [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] in the [[15th Foot]] (the going rate for [[sale of commissions|purchasing a commission]] for this rank was £200). From that time on his life was spent entirely in the service of his country.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=53–54}} He was at [[Harrow School]] and matriculated at [[University College, Oxford]],<ref name="B58"/> but dropped out. He became friends there with [[Banastre Tarleton]]. With his uncle [[Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon|Lord Huntingdon]], he went on the [[Grand Tour]].<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=22}}</ref> On 20 October 1773, he was promoted to lieutenant in the [[5th Foot]]. He returned to England to join his regiment, and sailed for America on 7 May 1774.

==American War of Independence==
{{see also| American Revolutionary War}}

===Battle of Bunker Hill===
[[File:The death of general warren at the battle of bunker hill.jpg|thumb|250px|[[John Trumbull|Trumbull]]'s ''[[The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill]]''. Lieutenant Rawdon can be seen prominently in the background standing on the American breastworks waving the British Ensign|left]]
Rawdon was posted at [[Boston]] as a lieutenant in the [[5th Regiment of Foot]]'s Grenadier company, which was then under the command of Captain Francis Marsden. He first saw action at the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]] and the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]]. Serving with the [[grenadier]]s, he participated in the second assault against [[Breed's Hill]] (which failed), and the third assault against the redoubt. His superior, [[George Harris, 1st Baron Harris|Captain Harris]], was wounded beside him. At the age of 21, Lord Rawdon took command of the company for the third and final assault.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=27}}</ref> When the troops of the third assault began to falter, Rawdon stood atop of the American redoubt, waving the British ensign. [[John Burgoyne]] noted in dispatches: "Lord Rawdon has this day stamped his fame for life." He also was wounded during the assault.<ref name="B58"/> He was promoted captain, and given a company in the [[63rd Foot]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zYkVSL_x0BAC&q=Francis+Rawdon-+Hastings+killed+joseph+warren&pg=PA28|title=Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Marquess of Hastings: Soldier, Peer of the Realm, Governor-General of India|last=Nelson|first=Paul David|date=2005|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press|isbn=9780838640715|language=en}}</ref> 

After having recognized him upon entering the redoubt, it is stated by The 1st Earl of Russell in his '''''Essays, and Sketches of Life and Character''''' that it was Lieutenant Rawdon that executed the already mortally wounded American general [[Joseph Warren]] by shooting him through the head.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} Lord Rawdon is depicted in [[John Trumbull]]'s famous painting, ''[[The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill]]''. Rawdon is in the far background holding the [[British ensign]].

===Campaigns in the Carolinas and New York, 1775&ndash;76===
{{Main|Landing at Kip's Bay|Battle of White Plains}}
He was appointed [[Aide-de-camp]] to General Sir [[Henry Clinton (American War of Independence)|Henry Clinton]], and sailed with him on the expedition to [[Brunswick Town, North Carolina]], on the [[Cape Fear River]], and then to the repulse at [[Fort Moultrie]], [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. He returned with him to [[New York (state)|New York]]. On 4 August, he dined with General Clinton, [[Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe|Admiral Lord Howe]], [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|Lord Cornwallis]], [[John Vaughan (British Army officer, died 1795)|General Vaughan]], and others.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=42}}</ref> During the [[Battle of Long Island]], he was at headquarters with Clinton.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=32}}</ref> 

On 15 September, Rawdon led his men at [[Kip's Bay]], an amphibious landing on [[Manhattan]] island.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=47}}</ref> The next day, he led his troops in support of the Light Infantry that attacked [[Battle of Harlem Heights|Harlem Heights]] until the Americans withdrew.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} He participated at the landings at [[Pell's Point]].  The British pressed the Americans to [[White Plains, New York|White Plains]], where on 1 November the Americans withdrew from their entrenchments.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}}

===Rhode Island, England, and New York===
On 8 December Rawdon landed with Clinton at [[Rhode Island]], securing the ports for the [[British Navy]]. On 13 January 1777, with Clinton, he departed for London, arriving 1 March. During a ball at [[George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville|Lord George Germain]]'s, he met [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Lafayette]], who was visiting London.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=55}}</ref>

Returning to America in July, while Howe went to his [[Philadelphia campaign]], Rawdon went with Clinton to the New York headquarters. He participated in the battles of the New York Highlands, where on 7 October, Fort Constitution (opposite [[West Point, New York|West Point]]) was captured.  However, this was too late to link up with General [[John Burgoyne|Burgoyne]] at [[Albany, New York|Albany]].<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=56}}</ref>

Rawdon was sent to [[Philadelphia]] with dispatches and returned to New York for the winter, where he raised a regiment, called the [[Volunteers of Ireland]], recruited from deserters and Irish Loyalists. Promoted colonel in command of this regiment, Rawdon went with Clinton to Philadelphia.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=61}}</ref> starting out on 18 June 1778, he went with Clinton during the withdrawal from Philadelphia to New York, and saw action at the [[Battle of Monmouth]].<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=62}}</ref> He was appointed adjutant general. Rawdon was sent to learn news of the [[Battle of Rhode Island]].<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=65}}</ref>

At New York, on 3 September 1779, he quarreled with Clinton, and resigned his position as adjutant general.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=67}}</ref> He served with the [[Volunteers of Ireland]] during the raid on [[Staten Island]] by [[Lord Stirling]] on 15 January 1780.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=69}}</ref>

===Southern Campaign===
{{Main|Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War}}
He went south to the [[Siege of Charleston]] with reinforcements. After the city fell to the British, [[Lord Cornwallis]] posted him at [[Camden, South Carolina|Camden]] (16 August 1780)<ref name="B58"/> as the British sought to occupy [[South Carolina]]. Rawdon commanded the British left wing at the [[Battle of Camden]]. When Cornwallis went into [[Virginia]], he left Rawdon in effective command in the South.
[[File:Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92) - Francis Rawdon-Hastings (1754-1826), Second Earl of Moira and First Marquess of Hastings - RCIN 407508 - Royal Collection.jpg|left|thumb|The Marquess of Hastings as [[Governor-General of India]] by [[Joshua Reynolds]]]]
Perhaps his most noted achievement was the victory in 1781 at the [[Battle of Hobkirk's Hill]], in which, in command of only a small force, he defeated by superior military skill and determination, a much larger body of Americans.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=54}} Thinking (in error) that General [[Nathanael Greene]] had moved his artillery away, Rawdon attacked Greene's left wing. Rawdon quickly concentrated his entire force on the American left flank, using the military advantage of [[force concentration|local superiority]], which forced the American line to collapse and abandon the field in disorder.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=95}}</ref>

However, Rawdon was forced to begin a gradual retreat to [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]]. He relieved the [[Siege of Ninety-Six]], evacuating its small garrison and conducting a limited pursuit of American troops. He withdrew his forces to Charleston. In July 1781, in poor health, he gave up his command. On his return to Great Britain, he was captured at sea by [[François Joseph Paul de Grasse]], but was exchanged.<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://home.golden.net/~marg/bansite/friends/rawdon.html
 |title       = Lord Rawdon, Baron Rawdon, Earl of Moira, Marquess of Hastings
 |work        = banastretarleton.org
 |access-date  = 26 October 2008
 |author      = Paul David Nelson
 |date        = 7 May 2007
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090129192247/http://home.golden.net/~marg/bansite/friends/rawdon.html
 |archive-date = 29 January 2009}}</ref> After Rawdon's departure, the British evacuated Charleston as the war drew to a close. They took thousands of Loyalists and freed slaves with them, having promised freedom to slaves of rebels who joined their lines, resettling these groups in Nova Scotia and the Caribbean.

==Peace years==
On his arrival in England, Rawdon was honoured by [[George III of the United Kingdom|King George III]], who created him an English peer (Baron Rawdon) in March 1783. In 1789 his mother succeeded to the barony of Hastings, and Rawdon added the surname of Hastings to his own.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=54}}

Rawdon became active in associations in London. He was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] in 1787 and [[Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London]] in 1793.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=19&dsqSearch=%28%28text%29%3D%27hastings%27%29|title= Fellows Details|publisher= Royal Society|access-date= 23 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="B59">Beevor, p. 59.</ref> For 1806–08 he was Grand Master of the Free Masons.

In May 1789 he acted as the [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Duke of York]]'s second in his duel with Lieut.-Colonel Lennox on [[Wimbledon Common]].<ref name="B58"/>

==French Revolutionary Wars==
{{see also|French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1794}}
Following the declaration of war in 1793 of France upon Great Britain, Rawdon was appointed major general, on 12 October 1793.  Sent by the [[William Pitt the Younger|Pitt]] ministry, Rawdon launched an expedition into [[Ostend]], France, in 1794.<ref>Brown, J. (1851) [https://books.google.com/books?id=I4ULAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA187 ''A History of the Highlands and of the Highland Clans, Vol.IV''].</ref><ref>James, C. (1805), [https://books.google.com/books?id=tOypDj9DoZMC&pg=PT785 ''A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary, 2nd ed.'']</ref> He marched to join with the army of the [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Duke of York]], at [[Alost]]. The French general [[Jean-Charles Pichegru|Pichegru]], with superior numbers, forced the British back toward their base at [[Antwerp]]. Rawdon left the expedition, feeling Pitt had broken promises.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=121}}</ref><!--Expand&nbsp;— what does this mean?-->

==Donington Hall==
[[File:DoningtonHallCastleDonington.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Donington Hall]]
Inheriting [[Donington Hall]] in Leicestershire from his uncle, Rawdon rebuilt it in 1790–93 in the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] style; the architect was William Wilkins the Elder. It is now a [[Grade II* listed building]].

He placed the estate at the disposal of the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon Princes]] upon their exile in England following the [[French Revolution]]. He is said to have left a signed cheque-book in each bedroom for the occupant to use at pleasure.<ref name="B60">Beevor, p. 60.</ref>

==Irish parliamentarian and patron==
Rawdon sat for [[Randalstown (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Randalstown]] in the [[Irish House of Commons]] from 1781 until 1783. That year he was created '''Baron Rawdon''', of [[Rawdon, West Yorkshire|Rawdon]], in the [[Yorkshire|County of York]].<ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 12419
| date = 1 March 1783
| page = 1
}}</ref> In 1787, he became friends with the Prince of Wales, and loaned him many thousands of pounds.  In 1788 he became embroiled in the [[George IV of the United Kingdom|Regency Crisis]].

In 1789, he took the surname Hastings in accordance with his uncle's will. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Moira on 20 June 1793, and thereafter served first in the [[Irish House of Lords]] and then, from 1801, in the [[House of Lords|United Kingdom House of Lords]].

In the [[Parliament of Ireland|Irish Parliament]], Rawdon associated on most questions with the Patriot party of [[Henry Grattan]] and [[Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont|Lord Charlemont.]] In an eve-of-the [[Irish Rebellion of 1798|-Rebellion]] speech to the Lords on 19 February 1798 he appealed for parliamentary reform (through their "pocket boroughs" the Lords effectively nominated two-thirds of the Irish Commons), the [[Catholic emancipation|emancipation of Catholics]] (extended the limited right to vote in 1793 but excluded from parliament) and denunced the government's policy of coercion.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Webb|first=Alfred|date=1798|title=Francis Rawdon, Earl of Moira, Marquis of Hastings - Irish Biography|url=https://www.libraryireland.com/biography/FrancisRawdonEarlofMoiraMarquisofHastings.php|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-30|website=www.libraryireland.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Curtin|first1=Nancy|title=The United Irishmen: Popular Politics in Ulster and Dublin, 1791–1798|date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-820736-8|location=Oxford|page=217}}</ref> He presented evidence collated and supplied by the eminent physician [[Whitley Stokes (physician)|Whitley Stokes]] of the atrocities and tortures visited upon country people by Crown forces as they sought to break-up and disarm the [[Society of United Irishmen]] who, despairing of reform, had begun organising for insurrection.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Webb|first=Alfred|date=1878|title=Dr. Whitley Stokes - Irish Biography|url=https://www.libraryireland.com/biography/DrWhitleyStokes.php|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-30|website=www.libraryireland.com}}</ref>

Rawdon strenuously opposed the government as it moved, in the wake of the United Irish risings in the summer of 1798, to abolish the Irish Parliament and effect a [[Acts of Union 1800|legislative union]] with [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]].<ref name=":1" /> While Governor General of India, in 1814 Rawdon was to offer further evidence an Irish attachment. He headed the list of subscribers in Bengal to the [[Belfast Harp Societies|Irish Harp Society]] formed in [[Belfast]] "to revive the Ancient Music of Ireland" by veterans of the patriotic and reform politics of the 1780s and '90s, among them several former United Irishmen.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Magee |first=John |title=The Heritage of the Harp: the Linen Hall Library and the Preservation of Irish Music |publisher=Linen Hall Library |year=1992 |isbn=0950898554 |location=Belfast |pages=22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Old News Clippings: Belfast News–Letter (Belfast, Ireland) Tuesday, April 15, 1828 |url=https://www.wirestrungharp.com/harps/harpers/old_news/ |access-date=2022-02-22 |website=www.wirestrungharp.com}}</ref> Prior to leaving for India, Rawdon had also used his offices to secure a position-- registrar of the [[Admiralty court|Admiralty Prize Court]] in [[Bermuda]]--for the Irish patriotic bard (and squib writer for the Whigs) [[Thomas Moore]].<ref name="Harry White2">{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Harry |title=Moore, Thomas |url=https://dib.cambridge.org/viewReadPage.do?articleId=a5948&searchClicked=clicked&quickadvsearch=yes |access-date=18 August 2020 |website=Dictionary of Irish Biography |publisher=Royal Irish Academy}}</ref><ref name="Harry White">{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Harry |title=Moore, Thomas |url=https://dib.cambridge.org/viewReadPage.do?articleId=a5948&searchClicked=clicked&quickadvsearch=yes |access-date=18 August 2020 |website=Dictionary of Irish Biography |publisher=Royal Irish Academy}}</ref>  

== British Peer ==

===Plot to become Prime Minister===
In 1797 it was rumoured briefly that Rawdon (Moira) would replace Pitt as [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]]. There was some discontent with Pitt over his policies regarding the [[French Revolutionary Wars|war with France]]. Additionally, Pitt's long tenure in office had given him ample opportunity to annoy various political grandees, including but not limited to The Duke of Leeds and Lords Thurlow and Lansdowne.

In mid-May a combination of these various figures, coupled with a handful of Members of Parliament, proposed to make Rawdon (Moira) the Prime Minister. Having fought in the American War and having led an expedition to [[Quiberon]], he commanded widespread respect. His relationship to the Prince of Wales also established him as a potential rival to Pitt, who was supported strongly by George III.<ref name=Hague407>{{cite book |last= Hague |first= William J. |author-link= William Hague |title= [[William Pitt the Younger: A Biography]] |publisher= [[HarperCollins]] |date=September 2004 |isbn= 978-0-00-714719-9}} p. 407.</ref>

The prime motivation for the plan of having Rawdon (Moira) become Prime Minister was to secure peace with France, the plotters having come to believe (somewhat unfairly) that Pitt was an obstacle to this objective. But their plan collapsed barely a month later in mid-June because of a lack of support from the political establishment. Additionally, when Rawdon (Moira) wrote to the King to propose the change of chief ministers, the monarch ignored him. Thus the proposal came to nothing.<ref name=Hague407 />

He became [[Commander-in-Chief, Scotland]] with the rank of full [[general]] in September 1803.<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/12568?docPos=1|title=Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/12568|access-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> In this capacity he rented the huge [[Duddingston House]], south of [[Edinburgh]].<ref>Cassels Old and New Edinburgh vol.4 ch.37</ref>

===Later politics===
Rawdon was a long-standing advocate of Irish issues, in particular [[Catholic Emancipation]]. At one point he was described by the Irish revolutionary [[Wolfe Tone]] as "The Irish [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Lafayette]]".<ref>Kelly p. 228.</ref>

Becoming a [[British Whig Party|Whig]] in politics, he entered government in 1806 as part of the [[Ministry of All the Talents]] as [[Master-General of the Ordnance]], which enabled him to carry a philanthropic measure, which he had promoted since his first entry into the House of Lords, the Debtor and Creditor Bill for relief of poor debtors.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=54}} However, he resigned his post on the fall of the ministry the next year.<ref name="B58"/> He was also [[Constable of the Tower]] (of London) from 1806 to his death. Being a close associate of the [[George IV of the United Kingdom|Prince-Regent]], Moira was asked by him to form a Whig government after the [[assassination of Spencer Perceval]] in 1812 ended that ministry. Both of Moira's attempts to create a governing coalition failed, but as a mark of the prince's respect he was appointed to the [[Order of the Garter]] in that year.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=54}} The Tories returned to power under the [[Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool|Earl of Liverpool]]. On 6 December 1816, after the conclusion of the Anglo-Nepalese War (see below), Moira was raised to the rank of '''Marquess of Hastings''' together with the subsidiary titles '''Viscount Loudoun''' and '''Earl of Rawdon'''.<ref>{{London Gazette | issue = 17198 |page=2314 | date = 7 December 1816 }}</ref>

==Governor-General of India==
[[File:Francis, 1st Marquess of Hastings (Earl of Moira).jpg|thumb|upright|The Marquess of Hastings as [[Governor-General of India]]]]
Through the influence of the Prince-Regent, Moira was appointed [[Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William]], effectively the Governor-General of India, on 11 November 1812.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=148}}</ref> His tenure as Governor-General was a memorable one, overseeing the victory in the [[Gurkha War]] (1814–1816); the [[Third Anglo-Maratha War|final conquest]] of the [[Maratha]]s in 1818; and the purchase of the island of [[Singapore]] in 1819.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ehistory.osu.edu/biographies/francis-rawdon|title=Francis Rawdon- Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings {{!}} eHISTORY|website=ehistory.osu.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-11-15}}</ref>

After delays clearing his affairs, he reached [[Madras]] on 11 September 1813. In October, he settled in at [[Calcutta]] and assumed office.  British India then consisted of Madras, [[Bengal]], and [[Bombay]]. He commanded an army of 15,000 British regulars, a Bengal army of 27 regiments of native infantry, and eight regiments of cavalry; a Madras army, led by General [[John Abercromby (British Army officer)|John Abercrombie]] of 24 regiments of native infantry, and eight regiments of native cavalry.<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|p=162}}</ref>

===Anglo-Nepalese War===
{{Main|Anglo-Nepalese War}}
In May 1813, the British declared war against the [[Gurkha]]s of [[Nepal]]. Hastings sent four divisions in separate attacks led by General Bennet Marley with 8,000 men against [[Kathmandu]], General John Sullivan Wood with 4,000 men against [[Butwal]], General Sir [[David Ochterlony]] with 10,000 men against [[Amar Singh Thapa]], and General Robert [[Rollo Gillespie]], with 3,500 men against [[Nahan]], [[Srinagar]], and [[Garhwal Kingdom|Garhwal]]. Only Ochterlony had some success; Gillespie was killed. After inconclusive negotiations, Hastings reinforced Ochterlony to 20,000 men, who then won the battle of Makwanpur on 28 February. The Gurkhas then sued for peace, under the [[Sugauli Treaty]].<ref>{{harv|Paul David Nelson|2005|pp=164–165}}</ref>

===Third Anglo-Maratha War===
{{see also| Third Anglo-Maratha War}}
After raids by [[Pindari]]s in January 1817, Hastings led a force at [[Hindustan]] in the North; in the South, the Army of the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]], under the command of General [[Sir Thomas Hislop, 1st Baronet|Sir Thomas Hislop]].  The Peshwa was defeated by William Fullarton Elphinstone on the [[Poona]]. Appa Sahib was defeated at the battle of [[Nagpur]]. Hislop defeated [[Holkar]] at the [[Battle of Mahidpur]]. These events effectively established the supremacy of British power in India.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=55}}

===Diplomacy===
Rawdon was active diplomatically, protecting weaker Indian states.  His domestic policy in India was also largely successful, seeing the repair of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughul]] canal system in [[Delhi]] in 1820, as well as educational and administrative reforms, and encouraging press freedom.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=55}} He confirmed the purchase of [[Singapore]] from the Sultan of Jahore, by Sir [[Stamford Raffles]], in January 1819.

His last years of office were embittered by then-notorious matter, the affairs of the W. Palmer and Company [[bank|banking house]]. The whole affair was mixed up with insinuations against Lord Hastings, especially charging him with having shown favouritism towards one of the partners in the firm. He was later exonerated but the experience embittered him.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=55}}

[[File:Malta - Valletta - Triq il-Papa Piju V - Hastings Gardens - Monument to Lord Hastings 01 ies.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Lord Hastings in Hastings Gardens, Valletta]]
He also became increasingly estranged from the [[East India Company]]'s Board of Control (see [[Company rule in India]]). He resigned in 1821 but did not leave India until early 1823.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=55}} He was appointed [[Governor of Malta]] in 1824 but died at sea off Naples two years later aboard [[HMS Revenge (1805)|HMS ''Revenge'']], while attempting to return home with his wife. She returned his body to Malta, and following his earlier directions, cut off his right hand and preserved it, to be buried with her when she died.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=55}} His body was then laid to rest in a large marble sarcophagus in [[Hastings Gardens]], Valletta. His hand was eventually interred, clasped with hers, in the family vault at [[Loudoun Kirk]].<ref name="B59"/>

==Legacy==
* He was awarded the [[freedom of the city]] of [[Dublin]] in recognition of his service in America.<ref>Morley p. 286.</ref>
* Loyalists whom he rescued from the [[Siege of Ninety Six]] during the American Revolution were resettled by the Crown and granted land in [[Nova Scotia]]. They named their township [[Rawdon, Nova Scotia|Rawdon]] in his honour.
* [[Hastings County, Ontario]], and three of its early townships were named after him, by Loyalists who were resettled in [[Upper Canada]] after the American Revolution.<ref>Boyce, Gerald E. (1967). ''Historic Hastings'', Belleville: Hastings County Council.</ref>
* [[HMS Moira (1805)|HMS ''Moira'']] was named in his honour in 1805, as was the [[Moira River]] in [[Ontario]], Canada.
* [[Francis Crozier|Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier]] (1796&ndash;c.1848), an Irish [[Royal Navy]] officer and polar explorer, was named for him; Lord Moira (as he was at the time) was a friend of Crozier's family.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Michael|title=Icebound In The Arctic: The Mystery of Captain Francis Crozier and the Franklin Expedition|year=2021|publisher=Dublin: The O'Brien Press|isbn=978-1788492324|pages=20–24}}</ref>
* The [[Hastings River]] in [[New South Wales]] is named after him, as is Rawdon Island, within the River. The township of Huntingdon in the Hastings Valley is also associated with him.

==Family==

On 12 July 1804, at the age of 50, he married [[Flora Campbell, 6th Countess of Loudoun]], daughter of Major-General [[James Mure-Campbell, 5th Earl of Loudoun]] and Lady Flora Macleod.  They had six children:

*[[Lady Flora Hastings|Flora Elizabeth Rawdon-Hastings]] (11 February 1806&nbsp;– 5 July 1839), lady in waiting to Queen Victoria's mother, the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], died unmarried.
*Hon. Francis George Augustus (1807–1807), died in infancy.
*[[George Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd Marquess of Hastings|George Augustus Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd Marquess of Hastings]] (4 February 1808&nbsp;– 13 January 1844)
*[[Sophia Crichton-Stuart, Marchioness of Bute|Sophia Frederica Christina Rawdon-Hastings]] (1 February 1809&nbsp;– 28 December 1859), married [[John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute]], mother of [[John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute]].
*Selina Constance Rawdon-Hastings (1810&nbsp;– 8 November 1867), married Charles Henry and had children.
*Adelaide Augusta Lavinia Rawdon-Hastings (25 February 1812&nbsp;– 6 December 1860), married [[William Keith Murray|Sir William Murray, 7th Baronet of Octertyre]].
Through his brother, the Hon. John Theophilus Rawdon, he was uncle to [[Elizabeth, Lady William Russell]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Russell [née Rawdon], Elizabeth Anne [known as Lady William Russell] (1793–1874), hostess|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-90000380152|access-date=2020-12-23|website=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|year=2020|language=en|doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000380152|last1=Reynolds|first1=K. D.|isbn=9780198614128}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
*The character of Rawdon Crawley in [[William Makepeace Thackeray]]'s 1847–1848 novel ''[[Vanity Fair (novel)|Vanity Fair]]'' is named after him.
* He appears as Francis Rawdon Hastings, the Second Earl of Moira, in [[Stephanie Barron]]'s 2006 novel ''Jane and the Barque of Frailty'' .

==Portraits==
<gallery>
File:Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings by Hugh Douglas Hamilton.jpg|Marquess of Hastings by [[Hugh Douglas Hamilton]] (c. 1801)
File:Lord Moira.jpg|Marquess of Hastings, [[Governor-General of India]] by [[Joshua Reynolds]] (c. 1812)
File:Francis Edward Rawdon, Marquess of Hastings.jpg|Francis Rawdon, Marquess of Hastings. Engraving. Fisher, Son & Co, London. 1829
File:Francis Rawdon-Hastings (1754–1826), 2nd Earl of Moira (later 1st Marquess of Hastings), Governor-General of Bengal and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in India.jpg|Francis Rawdon, Marquess of Hastings by [[Henry Raeburn]]. 1813
File:Francis, Lord Rawdon-Hastings.jpg|portrait by [[Gilbert Stuart]], c. 1796
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Hastings, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of|volume=13|pages=53–55}}
* {{Cite ODNB|id=12568|title=Hastings, Francis Rawdon}}
* {{cite book|author=Paul David Nelson|title=Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Marquess of Hastings: Soldier, Peer of the Realm, Governor-General of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zYkVSL_x0BAC|year=2005|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press|isbn=978-0-8386-4071-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Beevor|first= R. J. |year=1931|title= Hastings of Hastings|publisher= Printed for Private Circulation}}
* {{cite book| last1=Harrington| first1=Jack| year=2010| title=Sir John Malcolm and the Creation of British India | publisher=New York: [[Palgrave Macmillan]]| isbn=978-0-230-10885-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Kelly|first= Ronan|title=Bard of Erin: The Life of Thomas Moore|publisher=Penguin Books|year= 2009}}
* {{cite book|last=Morley|first= Vincent| title=Irish opinion and the American Revolution, 1760–83|publisher= Cambridge University Press|year= 2002}}

==External links==
*{{Hansard-contribs | mr-francis-rawdon-hastings | the Marquess of Hastings }}
*[[Ninety Six National Historic Site]]
*[http://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/british_army_francis_rawdon.html Francis, Lord Rawdon – Colonel]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080601044133/http://www.essortment.com/all/historiccamden_rlbc.htm Battle of Hobkirk's Hill]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121024232251/http://www.hobkirkhill.org/hobkirk/orderofbattle.aspx#Rawdon Rediscovering Hobkirk's Hill]

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