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{{Short description|British Army general}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Sir Colin Halkett
| image =Sir Colin Halkett by William Salter.jpg
| caption =Sir Colin Halkett
| birth_date =7 September 1774
| death_date =24 September 1856 (aged 82)<ref>{{cite book |title=Art and Literature in the Sale-Room |year=1904 |publisher=Navy and Army Illustrated |page=viii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sbw_AQAAMAAJ&q=Sir+Colin+Halkett++7+September+1774&pg=PA516-IA2 |access-date=2 February 2021 }}</ref>
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial =
| birth_place = [[Venlo]], Netherlands
| death_place =
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| nickname =
| allegiance ={{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]]
| branch =[[File:Flag of the British Army.svg|23px]] [[British Army]]
| serviceyears =
| rank =[[General (United Kingdom)|General]]
| unit =
| commands =[[Bombay Army]]
| battles =[[Peninsular War]]<br/>[[Hundred Days]]
| awards =[[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]<br/>[[Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order]]
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
[[General (United Kingdom)|General]] '''Sir Colin Halkett''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|GCB|GCH}} (7 September 1774 – 24 September 1856) was a [[British Army]] officer who became [[Lieutenant Governor of Jersey]].

==Family==
Halkett came from a military family. His father was [[Major General]] Frederick Godar Halkett<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB|first=H. M. |last=Chichester |first2=David (reviewer) |last2=Gates |year=2004 |id=11935 |title=Colin Halkett}} {{DNBfirst |wstitle=Halkett, Colin |volume=24 |pages=49–51 |short=x}}</ref> and his younger brother was [[General]] [[Hugh Halkett]].<ref name=odnb/>

==Military career==
Halkett began his military career in the Dutch Guards and served in various companies for three years, leaving as a [[Captain (land)|captain]] in 1795.<ref name=odnb/>

From 1800 to 1801 he commanded [[Netherlands|Dutch]] troops on the Island of [[Guernsey]].<ref name=odnb/> On 28 July 1803, a letter of service was issued to [[Major]] Halkett (and to [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Johann Friedrich von der Decken|von der Decken]]) empowering him "to raise a battalion of infantry with an establishment of four hundred and fifty-nine men" and offering him the rank of lieutenant colonel should he increase the number to eight hundred men.<ref>Beamish, ''History of the King's German Legion Vol 1'' p.75f</ref> These men formed the nucleus of what was to become the [[King's German Legion]] in December 1803. On 17 November 1803, Halkett was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of the 2nd Light Infantry [[Battalion]].<ref name=odnb/> This Battalion was involved in [[William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart|Cathcart]]'s expeditions to [[Hanover Expedition|Hanover]], [[Rügen]] and [[Copenhagen Expedition|Copenhagen]].<ref name=odnb/>

===Peninsular War & Waterloo Campaign===
In 1811 he was given command of the Light Brigade of the [[King's German Legion]].<ref name=odnb/> He held this command throughout the [[Peninsular War]] from Albuera to Toulouse.<ref name=odnb/> On 1 January 1812 he was promoted to [[Colonel]].<ref name=odnb/> At the [[Battle of Salamanca]] (22 July 1812), he commanded 1st Brigade of the 7th Division under Major General [[John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun|Hope]].

Halkett was promoted to Major General on 4 June 1814.<ref name=odnb/>

On 18 June 1815, at the [[Battle of Waterloo]] he commanded the 5th Brigade in the 3rd Division, under the command of Major General [[Charles Alten|Carl von Alten]]. He was wounded four times during the course of the battle.<ref name=odnb/>

Late in the afternoon, Wellington rode up to the 5th Brigade. The situation was desperate, and casualties were mounting. Halkett asked the Duke, 'My Lord, we are dreadfully cut up; can you not relieve us for a little while?’ 'Impossible!’ Wellington replied. 'Very well My Lord, we'll stand until the last man falls', was Halkett's answer. https://museums.calderdale.gov.uk/waterloo-online-exhibition

==Governor==
[[File:Jersey passport 1827 Le Gros.jpg|thumb|This passport issued in 1827 lists Halkett's titles]]
Halkett became [[Lieutenant Governor of Jersey]] in 1821 and was the first Lieutenant Governor to reside in the [[Saint Saviour, Jersey|St Saviour]] [[Government House, Jersey|Government House]], still in use today. During this time he married Letitia Cricket,<ref name=odnb/> widow of Captain Tyle of the [[Royal Artillery]]. He had a son, Frederick (John) Colin Halkett, on 10 June 1826. He was promoted to [[Lieutenant General]] on 22 July 1830 and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the [[Bombay Army]] in January 1832.<ref name=odnb/> He was Governor of the [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]] from 1849 until his death in 1856.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=98501#s2 Survey of London, volume 11, edited by Walter H. Godfrey (editor), Published 1927]</ref>

He was appointed colonel of the [[71st Regiment of Foot]] on 21 September 1829. On 28 March 1838 he was removed to the [[31st Regiment of Foot]], and to the [[45th Regiment of Foot]] on 12 July 1847.<ref>[[Richard Cannon]], ''Historical Record of the Seventy-First Regiment, Highland Light Infantry'' (London, 1852) [https://archive.org/stream/recordofseventyf00canniala#page/131/mode/1up p. 131].</ref>

Two streets in [[Saint Helier]] are named after him.

==Distinctions==
*Britain
**[[Order of the Bath|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] (GCB)<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=20811|page=4789|date=31 December 1847}}</ref>
**[[Army Gold Medal|Gold Cross]] for Albuera, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nive
**[[Waterloo Medal]]
*Hanover
**[[Royal Guelphic Order|Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order]] (GCH)
*Portugal
**[[Order of the Tower and Sword]], 2nd rank
*Bavaria
**[[Order of Maximilian Joseph]], 2nd rank
*Netherlands
**[[Military Order of William]], 2nd rank<ref>Beamish, ''History of the King's German Legion Vol 2'', p.524ff</ref>

----

{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|+'''Battle Order of the 1st Brigade at The Battle of Salamanca'''
|-
| '''Unit'''
| '''Commander'''
| '''Number of Men'''
|-
| 1st Brigade
| Colonel Sir Colin Halkett
| unknown
|-
| 1st Light Battalions King's German Legion
| unknown
| unknown
|-
| 2nd Light Battalions King's German Legion
| unknown
| unknown
|-
| 7 Cos Brunswick Oels
| unknown
| unknown
|}

----

{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|+'''Battle Order of the 5th Brigade at The Battle of Waterloo'''
|-
| '''Unit'''
| '''Commander'''
| '''Number of Men'''
|-
| 5th Brigade
| Major General Sir Colin Halkett
| 2,274
|-
| 2nd/30th Foot Regiment
| Lieutenant Colonel Bailey
| 635
|-
| 33rd Foot Regiment
| Lieutenant Colonel Elphinstone
| 576
|-
| 2nd/69th Foot Regiment
| Major Muttlebury
| 565
|-
| 2nd/73rd Foot Regiment
| Lieutenant Colonel Harris
| 498
|}
[[File:Halkett Place Ruette Morier Jersey.jpg|thumb|A plaque in Halkett Place, [[Saint Helier]], commemorates Halkett's term as Lieutenant Governor of Jersey]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Literature==
*N. Ludlow Beamish; ''History of the King's German Legion Vol 1''. 1832-37 (new edition: Naval and Military Press 1997 {{ISBN|0-9522011-0-0}})
*N. Ludlow Beamish; ''History of the King's German Legion Vol 2''. 1832-37 (new edition: Naval and Military Press 1997 {{ISBN|0-9522011-0-0}})
*Mike Chappell; ''The King's German Legion (2) 1812-1816''. Osprey 2000 {{ISBN|1-85532-997-2}}

==External links==
*{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Halkett, Hugh, Freiherr von |volume=14 |pages=844–845 |short=x}}
*{{cite web |title=General Sir Colin Halkett GCB 1838-1847 |website=The Queen's Royal Surrey Regimental Association |url=http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/colonels/057.html |access-date=27 August 2018}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Hugh Gordon (British Army officer)|Hugh Gordon]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Lieutenant Governor of Jersey]]|years=1821–1830}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William Thornton (British Army officer)|Sir William Thornton]]}}
|-
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Thomas Sydney Beckwith|Sir Thomas Beckwith]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Bombay Army|C-in-C, Bombay Army]]|years=1832–1834}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Keane, 1st Baron Keane|Sir John Keane]]}}
|-
{{S-bef| before = Sir [[Gordon Drummond]] }}
{{S-ttl| title = Colonel of the [[71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot]]
| years = 1829–1838 }}
{{S-aft| after = Sir [[Samuel Ford Whittingham]] }}
|-
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[George Anson (British Army general)|Sir George Anson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Royal Hospital Chelsea#List of Governors|Governor, Royal Hospital Chelsea]]| years=1849–1856}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Edward Blakeney|Sir Edward Blakeney]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halkett, Colin}}
[[Category:1774 births]]
[[Category:1856 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army generals]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Governors of Jersey]]
[[Category:King's German Legion]]
[[Category:Commanders-in-chief of Bombay]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Waterloo Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Army Gold Cross]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Military Order of Max Joseph]]
[[Category:Knights Third Class of the Military Order of William]]

Colin Halkett - Revision history

Bot at 16:48, 18 June 2022