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Napier (SIR CHARLES JAMES a British)

SIR CHARLES JAMES, a British military officer; born in London, England, Aug. 10, 1782. He entered the army in 1794, and served in Ireland and Portugal, being present at Corunna, where he was wounded and taken prisoner in 1809. In 1811, when again at liberty, he returned to the Peninsula, and served through the war, being severely wounded in several battles. In 1812 he was made lieutenant-colonel, and in the following year served in the expedition to the Chesapeake. In 1837 he was made Major-General; in 1838 K. C. B. In 1841 he was appointed to the chief command in the presidency of Bombay, with the rank of Major-General, and was shortly afterward called to Scinde. Here he gained the splendid victories of Meanee and Haidarabad, and was afterward made governor of Scinde, which he administered till 1847.

In 1849 his services were again required, and he sailed once more for the East, as Commander-in-Chief of all the forces in India. Before he arrived Lord Gough had brought the Sikh war to a triumphant termination, and no special work remained for Sir Charles Napier to perform. Having returned to England, he died in Portsmouth, Aug. 29, 1853.