Alexander George Woodford

Field Marshal Sir Alexander George Woodford, GCB, KCMG (15 June 1782 – 26 August 1870), was a British Army officer. After taking part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, he served in most of the battles of the Napoleonic Wars. During the Hundred Days he commanded the 2nd battalion of the Coldstream Guards at the Battle of Quatre Bras, the Battle of Waterloo and the storming of Cambrai. He went on to become lieutenant governor and brigade commander at Malta, lieutenant governor and brigade commander at Corfu and then commander of the British garrison on the Ionian Islands before being appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar. Military career Born at 30 Welbeck Street, London, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Woodford and Lady Susan Gordon (daughter of Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon), Woodford was educated at Winchester College and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich before being commissioned as an ensign in the 9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot on 6 December 1794. He was promoted to lieutenant in the 22nd (the Cheshire) Regiment of Foot on 15 July 1795 and transferred back to the 9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot in September 1799 before seeing action at the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799 (where he was wounded) during the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. Promoted to captain lieutenant on 14 December 1799, he transferred to the Coldstream Guards on 28 December 1799 and became aide-de-camp to Major-General Sir James Forbes in Sicily in 1803. He took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in August 1807 before rejoining Lord Forbes' staff in Sicily in March 1808. After returning London, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 8 March 1810. Woodford was deployed to Spain in early 1811 and, after arriving at Isla de León, he took part in the Siege of Cádiz in March 1811, the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812 and the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812 before also fighting at the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812 and the Siege of Burgos in September 1812 during the Peninsular War. He commanded the 1st battalion of the Coldstream Guards at the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813, the Siege of San Sebastián in August 1813 and the Battle of Nivelle in November 1813 as well as the Battle of the Nive in December 1813 and the Battle of Bayonne in April 1814.