# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Robe, William

Contains subarticle William Livingstone Robe (1791–1815), see William Livingstone Robe
​ROBE, Sir WILLIAM (1765–1820), colonel royal artillery, born at Woolwich in 1765, was son of William Robe, second lieutenant in the invalid battalion royal artillery, and proof master in the royal arsenal, Woolwich, and of Mary Broom his wife. He entered the royal military academy at Woolwich on 20 Oct. 1780 as an extra cadet, and was gazetted to a commission as second lieutenant in the royal artillery on 24 May 1781. Robe served from June 1782 to July 1784 at Jamaica, acting as adjutant and storekeeper. After two years at home he was in 1786 sent to Canada. He was promoted first lieutenant on 22 Nov. 1787, and returned to England in 1790.
In April 1793 Robe went to Holland with the artillery under Major Wright, part of an advanced force of the Duke of York's army, the main body of artillery under Sir William Congreve [q. v.] embarking in May. Robe took part in the siege defence operations at Willemstad, with which the English share of the campaign commenced. He was appointed, in addition to his ordinary duties, acting adjutant and quartermaster, and, at the instance of Congreve, he was made inspector of ammunition. Robe was at the battle of Famars, the siege of Valenciennes, the operations around Cambray, the siege of Dunkirk, the siege of Landrecy, and the operations near Tournay, including Lanoy and Roubaix. He took part in the retreat into Holland, and was particularly engaged at the bridge Waerlem and at Nimeguen in October and November 1794, returning to England towards the end of November.
Robe was promoted to be captain-lieutenant on 9 Sept. 1794, and was appointed quartermaster in the 1st battalion of artillery at Woolwich on 25 Nov., remaining there for nearly five years. In 1797 he originated the first regimental school for the children of soldiers; the Duchess of York subscribed liberally; the school proved a success, and the board of ordnance undertook its direction.
In 1799 Robe embarked for Holland with the Duke of York's army in the expedition to the Helder. He was appointed brigade major of royal artillery under General Farrington. He was present at the battle of Bergen on 2 Oct. 1799, on which date he was promoted to be captain; took part in the capture of Alkmaar on 6 Oct., and returned to England with the army on the 3rd of the following month, when he was posted to the 9th company of the 2nd battalion.
In the following year he was transferred to the command of the 9th company, 4th battalion, and was sent to Canada, where he served on the staff until 1806. Having considerable knowledge of architecture and drawing, he was employed to design and to superintend the erection of the church of England cathedral at Quebec, which remains a permanent record of his talent. He was promoted regimental major on 1 June 1806, when he returned to England, and regimental lieutenant-colonel on 13 Jan. 1807.
Robe accompanied the expedition to Copenhagen under Lord Cathcart in 1807. Major-general (afterwards Sir) Thomas Blomefield commanded the artillery, and Robe, who had command of the batteries of the left attack, was favourably mentioned by Blomefield in his report upon the bombardment.
On 12 July 1808 Robe sailed for Portugal, in command of the royal artillery of Wellesley's expedition. He was present at the battles of Roliça and Vimeiro, and was mentioned in despatches. At Vimeiro he used shrapnel shell for the first time, and was so pleased with its effect that he applied for large supplies of it. On the evacuation of Lisbon by the French, Robe took possession of the ordnance in the citadel; and when Sir John Moore's army left for Spain, Robe remained in command of the artillery at Lisbon, under Sir Harry Burrard and Sir John Craddock, until the arrival of Brigadier-general Howarth in April 1809.
On Wellesley's return from England to take command of the British forces in the Peninsula, Robe served as a lieutenant-colonel of artillery, and was in charge of the artillery reserves. He took part in the advance against Soult to the Tras os Montes, the capture of Oporto in May, the advance into Spain against Joseph Buonaparte, the battle of Talavera, 27 July 1809, and in the subsequent retreat over the Mesa d'Ibor to Truxillo, and thence to Badajos. In 1810 he was appointed to the command of the royal artillery driver corps, and he took part in the retreat to the lines of Torres Vedras, including the battle of Busaco, on 28 Sept.
In 1811 Robe was engaged in all the active operations of the pursuit of Masséna to the neighbourhood of Ciudad Rodrigo. In August he returned to England on account of his health, but rejoined the army before Badajos on 20 April of the following year, the ​morning after the capture of the Picurina fort. He opened the principal breaching batteries of the third siege, and on the fall of Badajos he was particularly mentioned by Wellington in his despatch. Robe was present in the advance against Marmont, at the affair of Sabugal, at the attack on the forts of Salamanca, and at the battle of Salamanca in July 1812. He commanded the royal artillery at the entry of the army into Madrid, at the surrender of the Retiro, and at the unsuccessful siege of Burgos, when for the third time he was mentioned in despatches. He was severely wounded in the retreat from Burgos, while defending the bridge at Cabeçon, near Valladolid. His wound necessitated his return to England; he was carried four hundred miles on men's shoulders to Lisbon.
Robe was promoted to be brevet colonel on 4 June 1814, and to be regimental colonel on 16 May 1815. For his services he received on 13 Sept. 1810 a medal for Roliça and Vimeiro; on 13 Sept. 1813 a cross bearing the names of Vimeiro, Talavera, Badajos, and Salamanca, superseding the medal previously bestowed, and on 3 July 1815 an additional clasp for Busaco. On 3 Jan. 1815 Robe was made a K.C.B., and was permitted from that date to wear the order of the Tower and Sword of Portugal, granted to him by the prince regent of Brazil on 12 Oct. 1812. He was also made a knight of the Hanoverian Guelphic order.
Robe died at Shooters Hill, near Woolwich, on 5 Nov. 1820, and was buried in the family vault in Plumstead churchyard. He married, about 1788, in Canada, Sarah (d. 4 Feb. 1831), daughter of Captain Thomas Watt of Quebec, and by her had five sons and four daughters.
The eldest son, William Livingstone Robe (1791–1815), born in 1791, became a cadet at the royal military academy at Woolwich on 9 April 1805, obtained a commission as second lieutenant in the royal horse artillery on 3 Oct. 1807, accompanied the expedition to Gottenberg the same year, and went to Gibraltar, whence he volunteered for service in Portugal, and joined his father during the battle of Vimeiro. He was promoted to be lieutenant on 28 June 1808. He took part in Sir John Moore's retreat to Coruña, was engaged at the Pombal, Sabugal, Fuentes d'Onore, El Boden, Badajos, Tarifa, Salamanca forts and battle, Madrid, Burgos, Nivelle, Nive, Adour, and Bayonne. He was in no fewer than thirty-three actions as a subaltern, and was mentioned by Wellington for his distinguished conduct at the battles of Nivelle and Nive, where he commanded a mountain battery of artillery carried on mules. He was one of the four officers of Ramsay's troop of horse artillery struck down near La Haye Sainte, at the battle of Waterloo, and died from the effects of his wounds on the following day, 19 June 1815, sending just before his death a message to his father to assure him that he died like a soldier. The gold medal, with clasps for the battles of Nivelle and Nive, was sent after his death to his family. His brother officers erected a monument to his memory in the church at Waterloo.
The second son, Alexander Watt, born in 1793, a lieutenant-colonel of royal engineers, died at St. John's, Newfoundland, on 2 April 1849, when serving there as commanding royal engineer. The third son, Thomas Congreve, born in 1799, a lieutenant-colonel royal artillery, died of yellow fever at Bermuda on 21 Sept. 1853, when in command of the royal artillery at that station. The fourth son, Frederick Holt (1800–1871), major-general and colonel of the 95th regiment of foot, was made a C.B. The fifth son, George Mountain Sewell (1802–1825), lieutenant 26th Bengal native infantry, served as adjutant in the Burmese war, and died on passage to Chittagong. The daughters were unmarried. The youngest, Vimiera, died in December 1893 at No. 4 The Common, Woolwich. She presented to the Royal Artillery Institution at Woolwich all the medals, orders, and decorations of her father and eldest brother, together with miniature portraits of each of them. These are displayed in the smoking-room in a case let into the wall.
R. H. V.