William Fenwick Williams
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Sir William Fenwick Williams, 1st Baronet GCB (December 4, 1800 – July 26, 1883) was a British military leader of the Victorian era. He was born in Annapolis, Nova Scotia, the second son of Commissary-General Thomas Williams, barrack-master at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
He entered the Royal Artillery as second lieutenant in 1825. His services were lent to Turkey in 1841, and he was employed as a captain in the arsenal at Constantinople. He was British commissioner in the conferences preceding the treaty of Erzerum in 1847, and again in the settlement of the Turko-Persian boundary in 1848 (brevet majority and lieutenant-colonelcy and CB). Promoted colonel, he was British commissioner with the Turkish army in Anatolia in the Russian War of 1854–56, and, having been made a ferik (lieutenant-general) and a pasha, he practically commanded the Turks during the heroic defence of Kars, repulsing several Russian attacks and severely defeating the Russian general Muraviev in the siege of Kars (not to be confused with the Battle of Kars) on September 29, 1855. Cold, cholera, famine and hopelessness of succour from without, however, compelled Williams to make an honourable capitulation on November 28 following.
A baronetcy with pension for life, the KCB, the grand cross of the Legion of Honour and of the Turkish Medjidie, the freedom of the City of London with a sword of honour, and the honorary degree of |DCL of Oxford University, were the distinctions conferred upon him for his valour.
Promoted major-general in November 1855 on his return from captivity in Russia, he held the Woolwich command, and represented the borough of Calne in parliament from 1856 to 1859.
From 1859 to 1864 he held the position of Commander in Chief, North America, and was responsible for preparations for war with the United States in the case that relations broke down. The mosts severe strain in relations occurring during the Trent Affair.
He became lieutenant-general and colonel-commandant Royal Artillery in 1864, general in 1868, commanded the forces in Canada from 1859 to 1865, held the governorship of Nova Scotia 1865-1867, and the governorship of Gibraltar 1870-1876. He was made GCB in 1871, and Constable of the Tower of London in 1881. He died in London on 26 July 1883.
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- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
| Military Offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir William Rowan |
Commander-in-Chief, North America 1859 |
Succeeded by passed over to the Governor General of the Province of Canada Sir Edmund Walker Head |
Categories: Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica | 1800 births | 1883 deaths | Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament from English constituencies | English Canadians | Governors of Gibraltar | People from Halifax, Nova Scotia | Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath | Lieutenant Governors of Nova Scotia | People from Annapolis County, Nova Scotia | Pre-Confederation Nova Scotia people | UK MPs 1852-1857 | UK MPs 1857-1859
