British and Irish History: Biographies

The Oxford Companion to British History A Dictionary of British History Further reading

Picton, Sir Thomas

The Oxford Companion to British History | 2002 | | Copyright

Picton, Sir Thomas (1758–1815). Soldier. Born in Pembrokeshire, he joined the army at 13, but was put on half-pay at the peace in 1783. In 1794 he volunteered for service in the West Indies and fought with distinction, being appointed governor of Trinidad, captured from the Spaniards, in 1797. Accusations of cruelty forced his resignation in 1803 and legal actions continued until 1810 when he was cleared on the grounds that Spanish law still operated. By that time he was in Portugal with Wellington and fought gallantly in the Peninsular campaign. In 1813 he was knighted and promoted lieutenant-general. As soon as Napoleon left Elba, Picton rejoined Wellington, was wounded at Quatre-Bras, but took his post at Waterloo two days later. He was killed by a bullet at the head of his men, roaring them on. There is a statue of Picton at Carmarthen and the top hat he wore at Waterloo is preserved at Sandhurst.

J. A. Cannon

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JOHN CANNON. "Picton, Sir Thomas." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Picton, Sir Thomas." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-PictonSirThomas.html

JOHN CANNON. "Picton, Sir Thomas." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-PictonSirThomas.html

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Picton, Sir Thomas

A Dictionary of British History | 2004 | | Copyright

Picton, Sir Thomas (1758–1815). Soldier. Born in Pembrokeshire, he joined the army at 13, but was put on half‐pay at the peace in 1783. In 1794 he volunteered for service in the West Indies and fought with distinction, being appointed governor of Trinidad, captured from the Spaniards, in 1797. In 1810 he was in Portugal with Wellington and fought gallantly in the Peninsular campaign. In 1813 he was knighted and promoted lieutenant‐general. As soon as Napoleon left Elba, Picton rejoined Wellington, was wounded at Quatre‐Bras, but took his post at Waterloo two days later. He was killed by a bullet at the head of his men, roaring them on.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

JOHN CANNON. "Picton, Sir Thomas." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Picton, Sir Thomas." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-PictonSirThomas.html

JOHN CANNON. "Picton, Sir Thomas." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-PictonSirThomas.html

Learn more about citation styles

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