Eyre Coote

Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, KB (1726 – 28 April 1783) was a British soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1780. He is best known for his many years of service with the British Army in India. His victory at the Battle of Wandiwash is considered a decisive turning point in the struggle for control in India between Britain and France. He was known by his sepoy troops as Coote Bahadur (Coote the Brave). Early life A member of the Coote family headed by the Earl of Mountrath, he was born in Kilmallock, near Limerick, Ireland, the son of the Reverend Chidley Coote and Jane Evans, daughter of George Evans, and sister of George Evans, 1st Baron Carbery. He entered the 27th Regiment of Foot. He first saw active service in the Jacobite rising of 1745, and later obtained a captaincy in the 39th Regiment, the first regular British regiment to serve in India. Career in India