Hudson Lowe

Sir Hudson Lowe KCB, GCMG (28 July 1769 - 10 January 1844) was an Anglo-Irish military commander, best known as the Governor of St Helena, where he was the "gaoler" of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Early life and career

The son of John Lowe, an army surgeon, he was born at Galway in Ireland, his mother's native country. His childhood was spent in various garrison towns but he was educated chiefly at Salisbury Grammar School. He obtained a post as ensign in the East Devon Militia before his twelfth year, and subsequently (1787) entered his father's regiment, the 50th, then at Gibraltar under Governor-General O'Hara. Following the outbreak of war with France early in 1793, Lowe saw active service successively in Corsica, Elba, Portugal, and Minorca, where he was entrusted with the command of a battalion of Corsican exiles, called the Corsican Rangers. In Corsica he was actually billeted in the Casa Buonaparte. He led the Corsican Rangers in Egypt in 1800-1801.

Napoleonic Wars

After the peace of Amiens, Lowe, now a major, became assistant quartermaster-general; but on the renewal of war with France in 1803 he was charged, as lieutenant-colonel, to raise the Corsican battalion again and with it assisted in the defence of Sicily. On the capture of Capri he proceeded there with his battalion and a Maltese regiment; but in October 1808 Joachim Murat organized an attack upon the island, and Lowe, owing to the unreliability of the Maltese troops and the unavailability of help from the sea, had to agree to evacuate the island. Sir William Napier criticised him, but his garrison consisted of only 1362 men, while the assailants numbered between 3000 and 4000.

In the course of the year 1809 Lowe and his Corsicans helped in the capture of Ischia and Procida, as well as of Zante, Cephalonia and Cerigo. For some months he acted as governor of Cephalonia and Ithaca, and later on of Santa Maura. He returned to Britain in 1812, and in January 1813 was sent to inspect a Russo-German legion then being formed, and he accompanied the armies of the allies through the campaigns of 1813 and 1814, being present at thirteen important battles. He won praise from Blücher and Gneisenau for his gallantry and judgment. He was chosen to bear to London the news of the first abdication of Napoleon in April 1814.

He was knighted and promoted to major-general; he also received decorations from the Russian and Prussian courts. Charged with the duties of quartermaster-general of the army in the Netherlands in 1814-1815, he was about to take part in the Belgian campaign when he was offered the command of the British troops at Genoa; but while still in the south of France he received (on the 1st of August 1815) news of his appointment to the position of custodian of Napoleon Bonaparte, who had surrendered to HMS "Bellerophon" off Rochefort. Lowe was to be governor of Saint Helena, the place of the emperor's exile.

aint Helena

On his arrival there at Plantation House he found that Napoleon had already had scenes with Admiral Cockburn, of HMS "Northumberland", and had sought to induce the former governor, Colonel Wilks, to infringe the regulations prescribed by the British government. Napoleon and his followers at Longwood pressed for an extension of the limits within which he could move without surveillance, but it was not in Lowe's power to grant this request. Various matters, in some of which Lowe did not evince much tact, produced friction between them.

The news that rescue expeditions were being planned by the Bonapartists in the United States led to the enforcement of stricter regulations in October 1816, Lowe causing sentries to be posted round Longwood garden at sunset instead of at 9 p.m. This offended Napoleon and his followers, who campaigned against Lowe. Barry Edward O'Meara, the British surgeon, whilst initially providing information for Lowe, ultimately sided with Napoleon, and joined in the criticisms from Las Cases and Montholon. The French, Russian and Austrian Commissioners on St Helena, whilst hostile to Napoleon, were also very critical of Lowe's conduct and found it impossible to get on with him.

After the death of Napoleon in May 1821, Lowe returned to England. On the publication of O'Meara's book, Lowe resolved to prosecute the author, but his application was too late.

Apart from the thanks of George IV, at a levee, he received little reward from the British Government whose orders he had obeyed to the letter. The Duke of Wellington later said that he was "a very bad choice; he was a man wanting in education and judgement. He was a stupid man, he knew nothing at all of the world, and like all men who knew nothing of the world, he was suspicious and jealous".

In 1825-30 he commanded the forces in Ceylon, but was not appointed to the governorship when it fell vacant in 1830.

He was appointed to the colonelcy of the 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot in 1831, and in 1842 transferred to the colonelcy of his old regiment, the 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot ; he was also made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG). He died in 1844.

Portrayals in fiction

Sir Hudson Lowe was portrayed by Orson Welles in Sacha Guitry's film "Napoléon" (1955), by Vernon Dobtcheff in "L'Otage de l'Europe" (1989), by David Francis in the Napoleon miniseries (2002), and by Richard E. Grant in "Monsieur N." (2003).

References

* [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xyemIwSjSFMC&pg=PA320&lpg=PA320&dq=Corsican+Rangers&source=web&ots=M_LAGAGbGO&sig=CLX6QJrA5y0bCnJztBCqqJ0Hz94&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result Obit] 1. Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, "Napoleon: The Last Phase", London 1900, pp.68-69.

Further reading

Gilbert Martineau Napoleon's St Helena (1968)