| LOWE, Sir Hudson
(b July 28, 1769, Galway, County Galway - d Jan 10 1844, London),
British General, governor at St Helena when Napoleon was held captive
there, was widely criticized for his unbending treatment of the former
emperor. Lowe held several important commands in the war with France
from 1793. He arrived on the island of St Helena, Napoleon's last
place of exile, in April 1816. Many persons, notably the Duke of Wellington,
considered the choice ill advised. Overwhelmed by the magnitude of
the charge given him, Lowe adhered rigorously to orders and treated
Napoleon with extreme punctiliousness. After Oct 1816 the news that
rescue operations were being planned by Bonapartists in the United
States caused Lowe to impose even stricter regulations. The next month
he deported the Comte de Las Cases, Napoleon's confidant and former
imperial chamberlain, for writing letters about Lowe's severity. |
| |
When, late in 1817,
Napoleon first showed symptoms of his fatal |
| illness,
Lowe did nothing to mitigate the Emperor's living conditions. Yet
Lowe recommended that the British government increase its allowance
to Napoleon's household by one-half. After the Emperor's death (May
5, 1821), Lowe returned to England, where he received the thanks of
King George IV but was met with generally unfavourable opinion. He
later commanded the British forces on Ceylon (1825-30) but was not
appointed governor of that Island when the office fell vacant in 1830. |
|
Napoleons' Life on St Helena 12:837g
Encyclopaedia
Britannica
Micropaedia. Ready Reference & Index, VI - Lalo - Montpar, 15th
edition - 1984. [There is a picture, which shows him to be stern
looking]
|
| Sir Hudson LOWE:
British General: B. Galway, 28 July 1769; d. London, 10 Jan 1844.
He entered the army at an early age and saw much service in Europe;
in 1813 was attached to the army of Blucher, and took part in the
invasion of France in the early part of the following year. Appointed
in 1815 to the command of the English troops which were to co-operate
with the Austro-Sardinian army in Italy. He was the first to bring
to England news of Napoleon's abdication, in 1814, and was created
K.C.B. in 1816. On the fall of Napoleon he was appointed governor
of Saint Helena, and entrusted with the care of the ex-emperor. He
returned to England in July 1821, and was afterward on the staff in
Ceylon 1825-30. He has been accused by the partisans of Napoleon for
want of courtesy and for rigor and cruelty to his prisoner. It is,
however, freely admitted that Napoleon and his suite made a system
of exaggerating their grievances, and even sedulously tried to provoke
them, with a view to exciting sympathy in Europe and especially in
England. Many of the grievances were puerile, as that Sir Hudson would
not give Napoleon the title of emperor, which England had never recognized,
and which he was forbidden by his government to use. |
|
Consult Forsyth,
"Captivity of Napoleon at Saint Helena from Letters and journal's
of Sir Hudson Lowe", London 1853
O"Mears, "A Voice from Saint Helena: Napoleon in Exile", the work
of the deposed
emperor's physician: ib,
1822
Rose, J.H., "Napoleonic Studies" ib., 1904;
Lord Rosebery, "Napoleon: the Last Phase;
Seaton, "Sir Hudson Lowe and Napoleon", ib. 1898
The Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 17. p 662 1957 Edition
|
|