John Le Marchant (British Army officer, born 1766)

This article is about the British Army cavalry general. For his son, the British Army infantry general and Governor of Newfoundland, see John Le Marchant (British Army officer, born 1803).

John Le Marchant
Birth nameJohn Gaspard Le Marchant
Born9 February 1766
Amiens, France
Died22 July 1812 (1812-07-23) (aged 46)
Salamanca, Spain
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1783–1812
RankMajor General
Commands2nd Dragoon Guards
Battles/wars

Major-General John Gaspard Le Marchant (9 February 1766 – 22 July 1812) was a British Army officer. He has been described as one of the finest British cavalry commanders of his generation; he was also an intellectual soldier who had a great influence on the efficient functioning of the army he served in.[1] He was instrumental in the process which produced the first British military academy and staff college; and he saw active service in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Peninsular War until his death at the Battle of Salamanca.

  1. ^ Fletcher, pp. 3–4.