John Moore ( British Army officer ) Lieutenant - General Sir John Moore , KB , ( 13 November 1761 – 16 January 1809 ) was a British soldier and General , also known as Moore of Corunna . He is best known for his military training reforms and for his death at the Battle of Corunna , in which he defeated a French army under Marshal Soult during the Peninsular War . Early years . He was born in Glasgow , the son of John Moore , a doctor and writer , and the older brother of Vice Admiral Sir Graham Moore . He attended Glasgow High School , but at the age of eleven joined his father and Douglas , the young 16 - year - old 8th Duke of Hamilton , ( 1756 – 1799 ) , his father ' s pupil , on a grand tour of France , Italy and Germany . This included a two - year stay in Geneva , where Moore ' s education continued . Military and political career 1776 – 90 . He joined the British Army in 1776 as an ensign in the 51st Foot then based in Minorca . He first saw action in 1778 during the American War of Independence as a lieutenant in the 82nd Regiment of Foot , which was raised in Lanarkshire for service in North America by 8th Duke of Hamilton . From 1779 - 1781 he was garrisoned at Halifax , Nova Scotia . In 1779 , he distinguished himself in action during the Penobscot Expedition in present - day Maine , when a small British detachment held off a much larger rebel American force until reinforcements arrived . After the war , in 1783 , he returned to Britain and in 1784 was elected to Parliament as the Member for UK Parliament constituency , a seat he held until 1790 . In 1787 , he was made Major and joined the 60th briefly before returning to the 51st . In 1791 his unit was assigned to the Mediterranean and he was involved in campaigning in Corsica and was wounded at Calvi . He was given a Colonelcy and became Adjutant - General to Sir Charles Stuart . Friction between Moore and the new British viceroy of Corsica led to his recall and posting to the West Indies under Sir Ralph Abercromby . Moore in Ireland 1798 . In 1798 , he was made Major - General and served in the suppression of the republican rebellion raging in Ireland . His personal intervention was credited with turning the tide at the battle of Foulksmills on 20 June and he regained control of Wexford town before the ruthless General Lake , thereby possibly preventing its sacking . Although the rebellion was crushed with great brutality , Moore stood out from most other commanders for his humanity and refusal to perpetrate atrocities . Moore and military training . In 1799 , he commanded a brigade in the expedition to Egmont - op - Zee , where the British force was badly defeated and he himself was seriously injured . He recovered to lead the 52nd regiment during the British campaign in Egypt against the French , having become colonel of that regiment in 1801 on the death of General Cyrus Trapaud . He returned to England in 1803 to command a brigade at Shorncliffe Army Camp near Folkestone , where he established the innovative training regime that produced Britain ' s first permanent light infantry regiments . He had a reputation as an exceptionally humane leader and trainer of men ; it is said that when new buildings were being constructed at the camp and the architect asked him where the paths should go , he told him to wait some months and see where the men walked , then put the paths there . The barracks are now named after him . Additionally , Army Training Regiment Winchester is named after him : Sir John Moore Barracks . Sir Arthur Bryant wrote , " " Moore ' s contribution to the British Army was not only that matchless Light Infantry who have ever since enshrined his training , but also the belief that the perfect soldier can only be made by evoking all that is finest in man - physical , mental and spiritual " " . War with France 1803 – 1808 . When it became clear that Napoleon was planning an invasion of England , Moore was put in charge of the defence of the coast from Dover to Dungeness . It was on his initiative that the Martello Tower s were constructed ( complementing the already constructed Shorncliffe Redoubt ) , following a pattern he had been impressed with in Corsica , where the prototype tower , at Mortella Point , had offered a stout resistance to British land and sea forces . He also initiated the cutting of the Royal Military Canal in Kent and Sussex , and recruited about 340 , 000 volunteers to a militia that would have defended the lines of the South Downs if an invading force had broken through the regular army defences . In 1804 Moore was knighted and promoted to Lieutenant - General . In 1806 he returned to active duty in the Mediterranean and then in 1808 in the Baltic to assist the Swedish . Disagreements with Gustavus IV led to his being soon sent home where he was ordered to Portugal . Spanish War 1808 – 09 . Moore took command of the British forces in the Iberian peninsula following the recall of Harry Burrard of Lymington ( 1 June 1755 – 17 October 1813 ) , Hew Dalrymple ( 1750 – 1830 ) , Governor of Gibraltar from November 1806 to August 1808 , and Arthur Wellesley ( 1769 – 1852 ) , later Duke of Wellington , who all faced an inquiry over the Convention of Cintra on the French troops ' evacuation from Portugal . When Napoleon arrived in Spain with 200 , 000 men , Moore drew the French northwards while retreating to his embarkation ports of A Coruña and Vigo . Moore established a defensive position on hills outside the town , while being guarded by the 15th Hussars , and was fatally wounded at the Battle of Corunna , being " struck in his left breast and shoulder by a cannon shot , which broke his ribs , his arm , lacerated his shoulder and the whole of his left side and lungs " . He remained conscious , and composed , throughout the several hours of his dying , amongst his final words being " Remember me to your sister , Stanhope " , referring to his friend , the intrepid Near East Asia traveler Lady Hester Stanhope . ( Her niece suspected they might have considered marrying . ) Like Nelson he was mortally wounded in battle , and also like the admiral lived long enough to be assured that he had gained a victory . He said to his old friend Colonel Anderson " You know I always wished to die this way " . His last words were " I hope the people of England will be satisfied ! I hope my country will do me justice ! " He was buried wrapped in a military cloak in the ramparts of the town ; the funeral is celebrated in a well known poem by Charles Wolfe ( 1791 – 1823 ) , " The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna " , which begins : and ends , six verses later , with : When the French took the town , a monument was built over his grave by the orders of Marshal Soult . The monument was rebuilt and made more permanent in 1811 . In his native Glasgow he is commemorated by a statue in George Square , and in England by a monument in St Paul ' s Cathedral . Houses are named for him at The High School of Glasgow and HM Queen Victoria School , Dunblane .