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Letter book of Sir Peregrine Maitland

 Single Item
MSS.Afr.r.2

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Letter book of Sir Peregrine Maitland as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Cape Colony. Contains copies of 31 letters to and from Maitland, including correspondence with representatives of churches in Cape Town (1847).

Dates

  • Creation: May 1846-December 1848

Extent

1 volume

Language of Materials

  • English

Preferred Citation

Oxford, Bodleian Libraries [followed by shelfmark and folio or page reference, e.g. MSS.Afr.r.2].

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Shelfmark:

MSS.Afr.r.2

Collection ID (for staff)

CMD ID 3094

Biographical / Historical

Sir Peregrine Maitland was born on the 6 July 1777 at Longparish House, Hampshire, England. In 1792 he was appointed ensign in the 1st foot-guards (grenadier guards) and became Lieutenant and Captain in 1794, and Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1803. He served with his regiment in Flanders in 1794, in the unsuccessful descent on Ostend in 1798, at Vigo and Corunna in 1809, and afterwards at Walcheren. He became Brevet Colonel in 1812, served with his regiment at Cadiz, and was second in command in the attack on Seville. He commanded the 1st brigade of guards at the passage of Bidassoa, at the battle of Nivelle, and at the passage of the Nive on the 9-12 December 1813, also at the operations before Bayonne, at the action of Bidart, and the passage of the Adour. He became a Major-General in 1814 and was made CB on the 4 June 1815. He commanded the 1st brigade of guards, consisting of the 1st and 3rd battalions grenadier guards, at Quatrebras and Waterloo and at the occupation of Paris (KCB).

Maitland was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (June 1818-1828); Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia (1828-1834); Commander-in-Chief of the Madras army (October 1836-Christmas 1838), and Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Cape Colony (March 1844-January 1847). The Seventh Xhosa War of 1846-1847 (formerly known as the Seventh Kaffir War) began during his government. Maitland became a full General in 1846. He was Colonel in succession of the 76th and 17th regiments, and was made a GCB in 1852. Maitland died at his residence in London on the 30 May 1854.

Other Finding Aids

The library holds a card index of all manuscript collections in its reading room.

Listed as no. 802 in Manuscript Collections of Africana in Rhodes House Library, Oxford, compiled by Louis B. Frewer (Oxford, Bodleian Library, 1968).

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased in ca.1931.

Bibliography

Listed in Private Papers of British Colonial Governors, 1782-1900, by The Historical Manuscripts Commission (1986).
Title
Letter book of Sir Peregrine Maitland
Status
Published
Author
Marion Lowman
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Bodleian Libraries Repository

Contact:
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom