The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1855-07-31
R!i5rrllQnrulls.
The Late Lord Raglan--Brief Sketch
of his Life,

The news of the death OF Lord Raglan com.
mander-in-chief Of the British forces in the
Crinea, brought BY the Arago, was scarcely ex
pected on this side Of the Atlantic, though the
accounts Of his illness received by Tho previous
steamer prevent the Intelligence awakening emo.
tons of surprise. 1t does not appear by the
London journals that the announcement caused
any sensation in England. The public mind
there had been prepared for his resignation, and
his successor was already known. His dcccaSr,
however, has called forth all the generous feel
iugs Of the English nation. The Queen and the
Parliament have paid tribute to his ncm'ry,
and the people and the press speak kindly Of The
old general who died in his cOuntrys service. -
The following is brief sketch Of his life.
Lord Rag glan, or, as he was better known tor
so many years, Lord Fitzroy Somerset MRS th&:
Youngest son OF the fifth Duke Of Beaufort, a''l
uncle to the present Duke. lIe WIS BORA in
l77S, aud was consequently III his >ix!v-rght'i
year. The Spmerxts are Of the proiilesl and
most ancient blood Q: Britain. 10 travel b:,cS
TO the source Of their origin would be as hope
less task as to penetrate to the fountain OF the
Nile "Iwo centuries ago" we are told, 81"
rrouder man WAS seen in Ea,land than the then
Duke Of Somerset, who had the highways clear.
cd before him that he might not BE- l''Vkcd upon
by vulgar eyes, and who rebukc'l his second
wife for tapping lis shoulder with fan, saying,
Madam my first WAS Percy, and she never
took such liberty
Lord Fiizruy Somerset was 4 Cornct.in 1904,
aC,ptan in 1905, a Majorin 1911 and Il Colo
mel in 1912, accomplishing in eight years what
Cost Sir De Lacey Evans, who saw still greater
service forty Years to achieve. Lord fltzroy
Su,ncrSet was present at every one Of the great
Peninsula battles His rank, as is ever the
case, at omce recommended h,n to the Duke Of
Wellington, then Sir A. Wellesley, who was
bu: too happy to attach to his interest the pow
erful family Of the BeaufortS by naming him on
his staff, and afterward raising him td the post
.of Military Secretary. In this capacity heserv,d
through the whole war, exhibiting on every oc-
cason soldier-lke abilities combined with far
less Courage He WAS twice severely wnnn'l'rl,
and lost his right arm at the iaTm Of Hay"
Sainte,' On the day Of Waterloo Wien after
the great engagement the curtain i'!i T?'A the
wars of Europe, Lord Fitzruy S"m"r,"' waS up,
poiuted. in addition to other hoHnrs Secretary
of the Embassy at Paris Thence II" attended
the Duke Of We ngtpn 10 Vienna and Verona
in 1922. and in 1926 proceeded 30 s., Peters
hurg, whittier he WAS s.nt to congratulate III"
lat. Emperor Nicholas on his accession to ti!e
throne.
In 1919 he was appointed Secretary to the
Duke of wellington Master General Of the Or
diuance until 1927, and in 1929 was made Mill.
tarv Secretary to the Commander Chit, the
functions of which Office he performed during
the reign of the several Commanders n-Chlef
down to the death Of the Duke OF Wellington,
On the death Of tho Duke, the command in.
chief WAS, much to the disappointment of Lord
Fltzroy Somerset, conferred on Lord Hardiuage,
and Lord Fitzroy being unwilling to serve un.
der an officer of similar standing to himself, was
appointed Master General of the Ordinance, with
n Peerage, which he assumed under the title Of
Lord Raglan, that name of a castle which Ed
ward Somerset, one of his ancestors, held against
Cromwell, as the last of the mobiles.
During the long reign of Lord H'll, and the
subsequent one Of the Duke Of Wellington at
the Horse Guards, Of Lord F. Summerset ow-
ing to the age Of these veterans and the coni'-
dence reposed in him, though acting as Military
Secretary, was virtually Commander in Chief, and
in an Office where so much tact and deIlcacy
were required contrved during that long perlod,
with strong class prejudice, to win and retain
fhe respect and regard Of the army. lie never
for one moment forge: "his order," or abandoned
that faith in the divine right of arstocracy which
he inherited by birth and education, But he
concealed his prepossessions and bigotrr, with
auch graceful art and such silvered verbiage, as
to make the refused Commouers who left his
levee more blessed in the fascinating refusal than
in rudc compliance With their request.
Without any military genius, Lord Raglan