Clement Delves Hill | |
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Born | Hawkstone Hall, Shropshire, England | 6 December 1781
Died | 20 January 1845 Karnataka, British India | (aged 63)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1805–1841 |
Rank | Major-General |
Battles/wars | |
Relations |
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Major-General Clement Delves Hill (6 December 1781 – 20 January 1845) was a British Army officer who fought at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and later saw service in India.
The sixth son of Sir John Hill, 3rd Baronet, and Mary, co-heir and daughter of John Chambré of Petton, Shropshire, he was born on 6 December 1781 at Hawkstone Hall near Prees, Shropshire.[1]
He joined the Royal Horse Guards (Blues) as a cornet on 22 August 1805 and was promoted to lieutenant on 6 March 1806. Promotion to captain followed on 4 April 1811, to major on 19 December 1811, to lieutenant-colonel on 30 December 1813, to colonel on 21 June 1827, and to major-general on 10 January 1837.[2]
After arriving in Portugal he served throughout the Peninsular War as aide-de-camp to his elder brother Lord Hill and was slightly wounded during the campaign.[2]
He was present at the Battle of Waterloo where he was wounded when a sword was thrust through his thigh, pinioning him to the ground.[2][3]
In India, he commanded the Mysore Division of the Madras Army under the Marquess of Tweeddale from 24 November 1841.[2][4]
Hill died at the falls of Guersoppa in the Indian state of Karnataka on 20 January 1845 aged 63 and was buried at Honavar on the 22 January.
There is a colossal monument erected in honour of Colonel Hill in Honavar. The monument is a 30-metre (98 ft) tall column popularly known as Colonel Hill Pillar.[5][6][7] Locals are trying hard to preserve the column and grave.
A commemorative tablet dedicated to Hill was placed in St Chad's Church, Prees.[4]
His brothers Rowland, Robert and Thomas all followed military careers and were present at the Battle of Waterloo.[8]
He is not the same Clement Delves Hill who on 26 June 1841 Hill married Harriet Emma Charlotte, only daughter of sportsman and eccentric John Mytton (1796–1834).[9] This man was actually his nephew, the youngest son of his eldest brother John Hill and Elizabeth Cornish Rhodes.[10]