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He was distinguished for his bravery during his first campaign in America, <strong>and</strong> in 1778<br />

was appointed adjutant general <strong>of</strong> the British forces. He was at the storming <strong>of</strong> Forts<br />

Clinton <strong>and</strong> Montgomery in 1777, <strong>and</strong> was with Sir Henry Clinton at the battle <strong>of</strong><br />

Monmouth. He was promoted to brigadier, <strong>and</strong> was succeeded in his <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> adjutant<br />

general by Major Andrè. Rawdon afterward received the commission <strong>of</strong> a major<br />

general. In 1812, he was appointed Governor General <strong>of</strong> British India, which <strong>of</strong>fice he<br />

held until 1822. During his administration, the Nepaulese, Pindarees, <strong>and</strong> other native<br />

powers, were subjugated, <strong>and</strong> the British authority made supreme in India. During his<br />

absence in the East, he was created Marquis <strong>of</strong> Hastings. [Pictorial Field Book <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Revolution, Vol. III. by Benson J. Lossing, 1850. Chapter XVII.<br />

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~wcarr1/Lossing1/Chap49.html ]<br />

The Battle <strong>of</strong> Hobkirk's Hill (sometimes referred to as the Second Battle <strong>of</strong><br />

Camden) was a battle <strong>of</strong> the American Revolutionary War fought on April 25, 1781,<br />

near Camden, South Carolina.<br />

The British were outnumbered 900 to General Nathanael Greene's 1,500. This was<br />

Lord Francis Rawdon's first independent comm<strong>and</strong>ing battle, <strong>and</strong>, despite being<br />

outnumbered, he did not want to make his first comm<strong>and</strong>ing battle a retreating one.<br />

He tried to attack Greene's army by surprise, but Greene made a battle strategy<br />

quickly. Rawdon countered Greene's first moves, <strong>and</strong> Greene was forced to withdraw<br />

to the old battlefield <strong>of</strong> Camden when his advancing line faltered at one point in the<br />

battle.<br />

This left Rawdon in control <strong>of</strong> Hobkirk's Hill. Though Rawdon had won, he was forced to retreat to Charleston soon afterwards since<br />

he had too few troops remaining to hold the hill.<br />

He succeeded his father as the 2nd Earl <strong>of</strong> Moira in 1793.<br />

Becoming a Whig in politics, he entered government as part <strong>of</strong> the Ministry <strong>of</strong> all The Talents in 1806 as Master-General <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Ordnance, but resigned upon the fall <strong>of</strong> the ministry the next year. Being a close associate <strong>of</strong> the Prince-Regent, he was asked by<br />

the Prince-Regent to try to form a Whig government after the assassination <strong>of</strong> Spencer Perceval in 1812 ended that ministry. Both <strong>of</strong><br />

Moira's attempts to create a governing coalition failed, <strong>and</strong> the Tories returned to power under the Earl <strong>of</strong> Liverpool.<br />

Through the influence <strong>of</strong> the Prince-Regent, Moira was appointed Governor-General <strong>of</strong> India in 1813. His tenure as Governor-<br />

General was a memorable one, overseeing the victory in the Gurkha War 1814 - 1816; the final conquest <strong>of</strong> the Marathas in 1818;<br />

<strong>and</strong> the purchase <strong>of</strong> the isl<strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong> Singapore in 1819. His domestic policy in India was also largely successful, seeing the repair <strong>of</strong><br />

the Mogul canal system in Delhi as well as educational <strong>and</strong> administrative reforms. He was raised to the rank <strong>of</strong> Marquess <strong>of</strong><br />

Hastings in 1817.<br />

Hastings' tenure in India ended due to a financial sc<strong>and</strong>al in 1823, <strong>and</strong> he returned to Engl<strong>and</strong>, being appointed Governor <strong>of</strong> Malta<br />

in 1824. He died at sea <strong>of</strong>f Naples two years later.<br />

On July 12, 1804, he married Flora Campbell, 6th Countess <strong>of</strong> Loudoun <strong>and</strong> had at least five children:<br />

Flora Elizabeth Rawdon-Hastings (11 February 1806–5 July 1839), died unmarried.<br />

George Augustus Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd Marquess <strong>of</strong> Hastings (4 February 1808–13 January 1844)<br />

Sophia Frederica Christina Rawdon-Hastings (1 February 1809–28 December 1859), married John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd<br />

Marquess <strong>of</strong> Bute <strong>and</strong> had issue.<br />

Selina Constance Rawdon-Hastings (1810–8 November 1867), married Charles Henry <strong>and</strong> has issue<br />

Adelaide Augusta Lavinia Rawdon-Hastings (25 February 1812–6 December 1860), married William Murray, 7th Baronet <strong>of</strong><br />

Octertyre<br />

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_Campbell%2C_6th_Countess_<strong>of</strong>_Loudoun<br />

The Right Honourable Flora Muir Campbell, 6th Countess <strong>of</strong> Loudoun (1780–January 8, 1840), was a British peeress, the<br />

daughter <strong>of</strong> James Campbell, 5th Earl <strong>of</strong> Loudoun.<br />

Regarding his child by Jemima French, the following interesting information is available:<br />

http://www.thepeerage.com/p2387.htm<br />

Reverend George Hunn Nobbs 1 (M) b. 16 October 1799, d. 5 November 1884.<br />

Father Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess <strong>of</strong> Hastings b. 9 December 1754, d. 28 November 1826<br />

Mother Jemima French [ffrench]<br />

Reverend George Hunn Nobbs was born on 16 October 1799 in Moira, Irel<strong>and</strong>. He was the son <strong>of</strong> Francis Rawdon-Hastings,<br />

1st Marquess <strong>of</strong> Hastings <strong>and</strong> Jemima French. He married Sarah Christian, daughter <strong>of</strong> Charles Christian <strong>and</strong> Sully, on 18<br />

October 1829 in Pitcairn Isl<strong>and</strong>. He died on 5 November 1884 at age 85 in Norfolk Isl<strong>and</strong>. Most <strong>of</strong> the isl<strong>and</strong> community, numbering<br />

around 470, attended his funeral.<br />

Charles Christian, above, was the son <strong>of</strong> Fletcher Christian [leader <strong>of</strong> the famed ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’] <strong>and</strong> Mauatua.<br />

Reverend George Hunn Nobbs emigrated to Pitcairn Isl<strong>and</strong> arriving on 5 November 1828. He was a clergyman. He was an<br />

unacknowledged son <strong>of</strong> Francis Rawdon, Marquis <strong>of</strong> Hastings, <strong>and</strong> Jemima French, daughter <strong>of</strong> an Irish baronet, who, becoming<br />

involved in the Irish revolution, was forced to leave his country. On his mother's deathbed, she extracted from George a solemn<br />

promise never to accept any favor at the h<strong>and</strong>s <strong>of</strong> his father's family. Moreover, she was very anxious that he leave Engl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />

take up residence in some other part <strong>of</strong> the world where 'her wrongs <strong>and</strong> mine might be buried in oblivion'.<br />

His mother <strong>and</strong> gr<strong>and</strong>mother, suffering a serious reduction in circumstances, sent him to Yarmouth into the care <strong>of</strong> an elderly family<br />

named Nobbs, whose name they forced him to assume. She had arranged with Admiral Murray, comm<strong>and</strong>ing in North Yarmouth, to<br />

74

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