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{{About|a 19th century British General|the similarly named actor|Charles McGregor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Major General]] Sir
| name = Charles MacGregor
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the Bath|KCB]] [[Order of the Star of India|CSI]] [[Order of the Indian Empire|CIE]]
| native_name =
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| image = Major-General-Sir-Charles-Metcalfe-Macgregor-Kcb-Csi-Cie-1883.jpg
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1840|8|12|df=yes}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1887|02|05|1840|8|12|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Agra]], [[North-Western Provinces]], [[Company Raj|Company's India]]
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| allegiance = {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} {{flag|British India}}
| branch = {{army|United Kingdom|23px}} {{army|British India|23px}}
| serviceyears =
| rank = [[File:British_Army_OF-7.svg|20px]] [[Major General]]
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| battles = [[Siege of Lucknow|Lucknow]]; [[Battle of Magdala]]; [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Battle of Kandahar]]
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| spouse = Frances Mary Durand; Charlotte Mary Jardine
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}}
[[Major General]] '''Sir Charles Metcalfe MacGregor''' [[Order of the Bath|KCB]] [[Order of the Star of India|CSI]] [[Order of the Indian Empire|CIE]] (12 August 12, 1840 – 5 February 1887) was a British explorer, geographer and officer of the [[British Indian Army]]. He was the [[Quartermaster General]] for the British Army in India, the head of the Intelligence Department for the British Indian Army and served under [[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Frederick Roberts]] in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The [[MacGregor Medal]] is awarded in his honour.

==Biography==
Of [[Scotland|Scottish]] descent, MacGregor was born in [[Agra]], India, the son of Major Robert Guthrie MacGregor of the [[Bengal Artillery]].
His grandfather was Major-General James MacGregor of the [[Bengal]] Cavalry.<ref name=rgs>Holdich, T.H. '''Obituary: Sir Charles M. MacGregor''', ''Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography'', Vol. 9, No. 3 (Mar, 1887), pp. 194-196</ref> MacGregor was schooled at [[Marlborough College]] before returning to India at the age of 16 to join the Bengal Army.<ref name=rgs/>
Arriving just in time for the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], MacGregor fought in a number of actions, including at [[Siege of Lucknow|Lucknow]] and was wounded twice.<ref name=rgs/>

MacGregor earned successive promotions whilst serving variously in campaigns in China, the [[Bhutan War]] (where he became the deputy assistant Quartermaster General) and [[1868 Expedition to Abyssinia|Abyssinia]] including at the [[Battle of Magdala]]. In the [[European influence in Afghanistan#Return of Dost Mohammad and The Second Anglo-Afghan War, 1843–1880|Second Afghan War]] MacGregor served as Quartermaster General on the Khyber communication lines and commanded the 3rd Brigade of the Kabul-Kandahar field force at the [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Battle of Kandahar]].<ref name=laurie /> In the second phase of the Second Afghan War he became [[Donald Martin Stewart|Commander Stewart]]'s and Earl Roberts' [[Chief of staff (military)|chief of staff]].<ref name=laurie>Laurie, W.F.B. ''Sketches of Some Distinguished Anglo-indians'' (W.H. Allen & Co. 1888)</ref> After the Second Afghan War, training of men in intelligence gathering became the responsibility of the Quartermaster General and MacGregor served in this role for the East Indies until 1885.<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNB|wstitle=MacGregor, Charles Metcalfe|first=Samuel Pasfield|last=Oliver|volume=35}}</ref>

In 1870, MacGregor founded the [[United Service Institution]] of India for the "furtherance of interest and knowledge in the art, science and literature of the Defence Services."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usiofindia.org/history.htm|title=History of the United Service Institution of India|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511232339/http://www.usiofindia.org/history.htm|archivedate=2008-05-11}}</ref> The Institution awards the MacGregor Medal, founded in his memory, in recognition of valuable contributions to military intelligence that are of defensive importance to India.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usiofindia.org/mcgro.htm |title=The MacGregor Medal |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511232257/http://www.usiofindia.org/mcgro.htm |archivedate=2008-05-11 }}</ref>

MacGregor's ''The Defence of India'' (1884) attempted to alert the British public to the geo-strategic importance of India, and the threat posed to British interests by [[Russian Empire|Russia]].<ref>Adrian Preston, Sir Charles MacGregor and the Defence of India, 1857-1887, ''[[The Historical Journal]]'', XII, 1 (1969), pp. 58-77</ref>

MacGregor was appointed [[Order of the Bath|Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]], [[Order of the Star of India|Companion of the Order of the Star of India]] and [[Order of the Indian Empire|Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire]]).<ref name=lg18-2>{{London Gazette|issue=25674|page=848|date=18 February 1887}}</ref> He was promoted to Major General weeks before his death on 5 February 1887.<ref name=lg18-2 /><ref>{{cite DNB|wstitle=MacGregor, Charles Metcalfe |first=Samuel Pasfield|last=Oliver|volume=35}}</ref>

There is a memorial to him in [[St Paul's Cathedral]].<ref>"Memorials of St Paul's Cathedral" [[William Sinclair (Archdeacon of London)|Sinclair, W.]] p. 460: London; Chapman & Hall, Ltd; 1909</ref>

==Family==
In 1869, he married Frances Mary, daughter of Sir [[Henry Marion Durand]]; she died on 9 May 1873; they had one daughter.
In February 1883, he married Charlotte Mary Jardine.<ref name="DNB"/>

==Works==
*''Narrative of a journey through the province of Khorassan and on the n.w. frontier of Afghanistan in 1875'', 1879
*''Wanderings in Balochistan'', 1882
*''The defence of India: a strategical study'', 1884

==See also==
* [[Rana Chhina]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Charles Metcalfe MacGregor |sopt=t}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacGregor, Charles}}
[[Category:British Indian Army generals]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Abyssinian War]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:People educated at Marlborough College]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Bhutan War]]
[[Category:1840 births]]
[[Category:1887 deaths]]
[[Category:The Great Game]]

Charles MacGregor - Revision history

Bot at 20:05, 14 September 2022