Men of the Time, eleventh edition/Alexander, James Edward
ALEXANDER, Lieut.-Gen. Sir James Edward, C.B., of Westerton, co. Stirling, eldest son of the late Mr. Edward Alexander, of Powis, co. Clackmannan (a descendant of the Alexanders of Menstrie, afterwards Earls of Stirling), was born in 1803, and educated at the oolleges of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Sandhurst. Having entered the army, he held several staff and other appointments in India, at the Cape, and in North America, and took part in the Burmese, Persian, Turkish, Portuguese, and Kaffir wars. He was employed in 1836–7 on an expedition of discovery in the interior of Africa, receiving for his services the honour of knighthood, and he also explored for the government in the forests of America. He commanded the 14th regiment at the siege and capture of Sebastopol, and held a command in New Zealand during the war. Sir James is the author of several volumes of travel, including "Excursions in Western Africa," "An Expedition into Southern Africa," "Explorations in British America," "Sketches in Portugal," "Transatlantic Sketches," "Travels from India to England," "Travels through Russia and the Crimea," and of "Translations from the Persian," a "Life of the Duke of Wellington," and "Passages in the Life of a Soldier." Sir James, who is a lieutenant-general in the army, has been decorated for his public services with several foreign orders and war medals, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Scottish Antiquaries, and of the Royal Geographical and Royal Asiatic Societies. In 1875 he proceeded to Egypt to arrange for the transport of Cleopatra's Needle to London. He was nominated a C.B. in 1873.