102 



Biographical Memoirs of Eminent Persons. 



[JAN. 



May, 1791 ; in the general action of the 

 6th of February, 1792, when the enemy's 

 lines were stormed under the walls of Sering- 

 apatam, and at the siege of that capital, the 

 surrender of which led to a termination of 

 the war on the 19th of the ensuing month. 



In the peace which followed, he continued 

 as major of brigade to the king's forces. On 

 the breaking out of the war with France, in 

 1793, he served at the siege and capture of 

 Pondicherry. He remained in India till 

 August, 1794, when, in consequence of 

 severe illness, he was under the necessity of 

 returning to England ; where, on his arrival, 

 he was appointed Aid-de-camp to the Mar- 

 quis Cornwallis, then commanding the east- 

 ern district. Previously to this, however, on 

 the 1st of September, 1794, he had obtained 

 a company in the 125th foot. 



On the 28th of February, 1795, Captain 

 Nightingall was promoted to a Majority in 

 the 121st Foot, and appointed Brigade Ma- 

 jor-General to the eastern district. 



On the 9th of September, in the same 

 year, he procured, by purchase, a Lieutenant- 

 Colonelcy in the 115th regiment ; and, on 

 the 28th of October, also in 1795, he was re- 

 moved to the 38th regiment of Foot. In 

 the two succeeding years, he served with the 

 latter regiment in the West Indies. Owing 

 to a severe attack of the yellow fever, he 

 was compelled to return to England; but, 

 having recovered during the voyage home, he 

 was immediately after his arrival, appointed 

 deputy Adjutant-General to the forces in 

 St. Domingo. He sailed for that island 

 early in 1798, and held his appointment till 

 July, when he was sent home with despatches 

 to government. 



In February, 1799, Lieutenant-Colonel 

 Nightingall again proceeded to St. Domingo, 

 accompanied by Lieutenant-General Mait- 

 land, on a mission of considerable import- 

 ance to Toussaint L'Ouverture, the cele- 

 brated black chief. 



On his return to England, in the month 

 of July following, he was made assistant 

 Adjutant-General to the army, under the 

 Duke of York, in Holland. There, he was 

 engaged in the actions of the 19th of Sep- 

 tember, and the 2nd of October. He was 

 next employed on the coast of France, under 

 Lieutenant-General Maitland. In January 

 1800, he sailed for Quiberon Bay ; .in Feb- 

 ruary, he returned to England, to take out 

 troops for an attack upon Belleisle ; and, soon 

 afterwards, he sailed from Cork, with the 

 36th regiment of Foot, with the view of 

 taking possession of Honat, as a preparatory 

 measure. The object, however, was aban- 

 dence, and, in July, he returned home with 

 despatches. In 1801, he was appointed 

 assistant Quarter-Master-General to the 

 eastern district : a post which he enjoyed 

 until the cessation of hostilities between 

 France and England, when he accompanied 

 the Marquis of Cornwallis to Amiens and 

 Paris, as private secretary. 



In July, 1802, this officer was appointed 



to a Lieutenant-Colonelcy in the 51st Foot. 

 On the 25th of September, 1803, he ob- 

 tained the rank of Colonel in the Army. 



Having been appointed Quarter-Master- 

 General to the king's troops in India, Co- 

 lonel Nightingall sailed, in 1803, for Bengal. 

 On his arrival there, he found that the army 

 under Lord Lake had taken the field against 

 the Mahrattas. He joined immediately ; 

 reached head-quarters previously to the at- 

 tack on Agra, and served in the attack of a 

 body of infantry posted under the walls of 

 that town, and at the siege and capture of 

 the fortress. He was afterwards in the 

 general and decisive action at Laswaree; and 

 he continued to serve with the army in the 

 field till the termination of the war with 

 Scindeah. 



In 1805, Colonel Nightingall was ap- 

 pointed military secretary to the Marquis 

 Cornwallis. On the 8th of May, 1806, he 

 was removed from the 5 1 st to the 69th regi- 

 ment. On the death of the Marquis Corn- 

 wallis he remained in Bengal, in the office 

 of Qurter-Master-General, until February 

 1807. His health being much impaired, he 

 then returned to England, and soon after- 

 wards resigned his staff appointment. 



Colonel Nightingall's interval of relaxa- 

 tion was very brief. Within four months 

 after his return, he was appointed to serve 

 as Brigadier-General, with the forces under 

 Major-General Spencer. He accordingly 

 proceeded to Gibraltar, and was employed on 

 the coast of Spain, until General Spence's 

 division joined the army under Sir Arthur 

 Wellesley, at Mondego Bay. He was then 

 appointed to command the third brigade, 

 with which he served during the campaign 

 of 1808. He was consequently in the actions 

 of Roleia and Vimiera, for his gallant con- 

 duct in which he received the thanks of Par- 

 liament. 



Early in July, 1809, he was placed on the 

 staff of the Kent district, as Brigadier-Ge- 

 neral. Ill health detained him from active 

 service till the month of January, 1810, 

 when, with the rank of Major-General, he 

 returned to Portugal, joined the army at 

 Cartaxo, and distinguished himself in the 

 battle of Fuentes d'Onor. 



In 1812, Major-General Nightingall once 

 more visited Bengal, and was sent by Lord 

 Minto to take the chief command of Java 

 and its dependencies. In that station, he 

 reduced the Rajah of Boni, and also esta- 

 blished the British supremacy in Celebes. 

 On the 14th of June, 1814, he was made 

 Lieutenant-General ; in 1815, a Knight 

 Commander of the Bath ; and, soon after- 

 wards, he received the Colonelcy of the 6th 

 West India Regiment. 



The Lieutenant-General was next in- 

 vested with the command in chief at Bom- 

 bay, whether he sailed in 1816. He re- 

 mained there till 1819, when he returned to 

 England. On the 19th of February, 1820, 

 he was appointed Colonel of the 49th Foot. 



At the time of this officer's death, which 



