John Fox Burgoyne

Field Marshal Sir John Fox Burgoyne, 1st Baronet, (24 July 1782 – 7 October 1871) was a British Army officer. After taking part in the Siege of Malta during the French Revolutionary Wars, he saw action under Sir John Moore and then under the Duke of Wellington in numerous battles of the Peninsular War, including the Siege of Badajoz and the Battle of Vitoria. He served under Sir Edward Pakenham as chief engineer during the War of 1812. He went on to act as official advisor to Lord Raglan during the Crimean War advocating the Bay of Kalamita as the point of disembarkation for allied forces and recommending a Siege of Sevastopol from the south side rather than a coup de main, so consigning the allied forces to a winter in the field in 1854. Military career Born the illegitimate son of General John Burgoyne and the opera singer Susan Caulfield, Burgoyne was brought up by the 12th Earl of Derby (a nephew of his father's late wife) following his father's early death. Educated at Eton College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 29 August 1798. Promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1800, he took part in the Siege of Malta in Autumn 1800 during the French Revolutionary Wars before becoming aide-de-camp to General Henry Fox. Promoted again, this time to second captain on 18 March 1805, he took part in the capture of Alexandria in February 1807 and the subsequent occupation of Rosetta in April 1807. During the Peninsular War, Burgoyne became commanding engineer on the staff of Sir John Moore in April 1808 and went with Moore's army to Sweden in May 1808 and to Portugal in September 1808. He then took part in the retreat from Corunna blowing up bridges behind the retreating army in January 1809. Burgoyne returned to Portugal in April 1809 to join Sir Arthur Wellesley's army. Promoted to captain on 5 July 1809, Burgoyne became engineer officer for the 3rd Division, in which role he took part in the Battle of Bussaco in September 1810, the Second Siege of Badajoz in June 1811 and the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812. Promoted to brevet major on 6 February 1812, he led the storming parties at the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812.