WELLINGTOIT 836 WELLINGTON Eton, at Brighton, and finally at the Mil- itary College of Angers, In 1787 he re- ceived a commission as ensign in the 73d Foot, and after & rapid series of changes and promotions, attained by pur- chase in 1793 the command as lieu- tenant-colonel of the 33d Regiment. Dur- ing 1794 and 1795 he served with his regiment under the Duke of York in Flanders. In 1796 his regiment was dis- patched to Bengal, Colonel Wellesley landing at Calcutta in February, 1797, at a critical moment for the British power in India. War had just been de- clared against Tippoo Sahib, and an army of 80,000, of which Colonel Welles- ley's regiment formed part, marched against him. An engagement took place at Mallavelly (Mysore) on the 27th, in which Wellesley, who commanded the left wing, turned the right of the enemy. He was subsequently employed to dis- lodcre the enemy from their posts in front of Seringapatani, and after the capture of that capital he was appointed in 1799 to the administration of My- sore, his brother being at this time gov- ernor-general (see Wellesley). In 1802 he attained the rank of Major- General, and in the following year he was appointed to the command of a force destined to restore the Peishwa of the Mahrattas, driven from his capital by Holkar. After this operation had been successfully performed the other Mah- ratta chiefs, Scindia and the Rajah of Berar, showed hostile designs against the British, and Wellesley was appointed to the chief military and political com- mand in the operations against them. After an active campaign, in which he took Ahmednuggur and Arungabad, he encountered a powerful Mahratta army, assisted by French officers, at Assaye, Sept. 23, and entirely defeated it. The parallel successes of General Lake, and the defeat of the Rajah of Berar by Wellesley at Argaum, Nov. 29, compelled tho submission of the Mahrattas, and peace was restored on conditions drawn up by the successful general. Early in 1805, his health failing, Wel- lesley obtained leave to return home, and arrived in England in September. He had before leaving Madras received his appointment as Knight Commander of the Bath. From November to February he was engaged as Brigadier-General in Lord Cathcart's expedition to the Con- tinent, which was without result. In January, 1806, he succeeded Lord Corn- wallis as colonel of his own regiment, the 33d. On April 10, 1806, he married Lady Catherine Pakenham, third daugh- ter of the Earl of Longford. He was shortly afterward elected M. P. for Rye, and in April, 1807, was appointed secretary of state for Ireland. In Au^st he received the command of a division in the expedition to Copenha- gen under Lord Cathcart and Admiral Gambler, and took Kioge on April 29, the only land operation of importance. On April 28, 1808, he attained the rank of Lieutenant-General, and in June re- ceived the command of a force destined to operate in the N. of Spain and Portu- gal. He was subsequently superseded; but before giving up the command he gained the battle of Vimeira over Junot, the campaign having been brought to a close with the convention of Cintra, by which the French agreed to evacuate Portugal. In 1809 Wellesley was appointed to take the chief command in the Penin- sula, which had been overrun by the French. The famous passage of the Douro, and the defeat of Soult which followed, fittingly opened this masterly campaign. For the victory at Talavera (July 28), the first of a long list that subsequently took place in the Peninsula, the government raised the Commander- in-Chief to the peerage as Viscount Wel- lington. Toward the end of 1810 Wel- lington fought the battle of Buraco, which was followed by the famous forti- fication and defense of the lines of Torres Vedras. A little later (in 1811) occurred the victory of Fuentes de On- oro. In the following year he took Ciu- dad Rodrigo and Badajoz by storm, and fought the battle of Salamanca, ac- counted one of his most famous vic- tories. On August 12, 1812, Wellington entered Madrid. For his brilliant con- duct of the campaign thus far he re- ceived the thanks of Parliament, was raised to the dignity of marquis, and a sum of $500,000 was voted to purchase him an estate. Next followed the battle of Vittoria (June 21, 1813), for which decisive victory Wellington was given the baton of Field-Marshal; then battles in the Pyrenees, the capture of San Se- bastian and the crossing of the Bidassoa into France. In 1814 the battle of Orthez was gained, and in the same year the battle of Toulouse, in which Soult's best troops were routed, and the hopes of France in the Peninsula utterly annihi- lated. The way was now open for the British troops to the heart of France. In six weeks, with scarcely 100,000 men, Wellington had marched 600 miles, gained two decisive battles, invested two fortresses, and driven 120,000 veteran troops from Spain. Napoleon abdicated on April 12, and a few days later the war was brought to a close by the signing of conventions
