Sir David Dundas , 1st Baronet General Sir David Dundas , 1st Baronet , GCB ( 1735 – 18 February 1820 ) was a British general who fought in the Seven Years ' War and French Revolutionary Wars , wrote important texts on the " Principles of Military Movements " and then served as Commander - in - Chief of the Forces from 1809 to 1811 . Military service . Born the son of Robert Dundas , a Scottish merchant , and Margaret Dundas ( née Watson ) , Dundas graduated from the Royal Military Academy , Woolwich as a lieutenant - fireworker in the Royal Artillery on 1 March 1755 . He exchanged to the 56th Foot as a lieutenant on 24 January 1756 , serving with this regiment during the Seven Years ' War taking part in combined operations against the French ports of St . Malo and Cherbourg and fighting at the Battle of Saint Cast in September 1758 . Promoted to captain on 21 March 1759 , he transferred to the 15th Dragoons and fought at the Battle of Warburg in July 1760 , the Battle of Kloster Kampen in October 1760 and the Battle of Villinghausen in July 1761 . Dundas was also present at the fall of Havana in August 1762 . He was promoted to major on 28 May 1770 and lieutenant colonel on 12 December 1775 . On 31 December 1777 he was appointed Quartermaster - General in Ireland , in which post he was promoted to brevet colonel on 12 February 1782 . Army improvements . On 31 August 1783 Dundas left regimental service and became an advocate of officer training in the British Army writing many manuals on the subject , the first being " Principles of Military Movements " published in 1788 . He chose to play down the light infantry tactics that generals such as Lord Cornwallis or Willam Howe favoured during the American War of Independence . Instead Dundas , after witnessing Prussian army manouvres in Silesia in 1784 , favoured the army model that Frederick the Great had created . Its use of drilled battalions of line infantry marching in formation was a stark contrast to the light brigades that fought in small independent groups and with cover during the American War of Independence . Later career . On 23 June 1789 he became Adjutant - General in Ireland where he was able deploy his ideas for military training . He was promoted to major - general on 1 May 1790 and , as Britain became involved in the French Revolutionary Wars , he was appointed second in command at the siege of Toulon under O ’ Hara and Lord Mulgrave from September 1793 , where he commanded an abortive attack on the Arenes Heights on 30 November 1793 . Dundas became commanding officer under Lord Hood after O ’ Hara ’ s capture in this action . He lost Fort Mulgrave and Mount Faron after a 3 - day bombardment on 17 December 1793 . Dundas commanded the initial expedition to Corsica in 1794 , landing 7 February 1794 and capturing the Mortella Tower . He captured the Port of San Fiorenzo and Bastia , an important first step ultimately leading to the capture of the island and establishment of a short - lived Anglo - Corsican Kingdom by forces under Hood and Admiral Lord Nelson . Dundas was forced to resign by Hood on 10 March 1794 and transferred to serve in the Flanders Campaign under the Duke of York . Appointed commander of the 2nd Cavalry brigade after the death of John Mansel at Beaumont on 26 April 1794 , he distinguished himself at Willems on 10 May 1794 , and was attached to Otto ' s column at Tourcoing later that month . Dundas replaced Sir Robert Laurie at the head of his brigade during the retreat to Antwerp . In December 1794 , while commanding the British Right under Harcourt , he led the attack at Tuil on 30 December and directed the rearguard action at Geldermalsen on 5 January 1795 . He was made commander of the British forces ( mainly cavalry ) left behind at Bremen in April 1795 and given the local rank of brevet lieutenant general while remaining in Europe on 2 May 1795 . On 26 December 1795 Dundas became Colonel of the 7th Light Dragoons and on 8 November 1796 he became Quartermaster - General to the Forces in which role he implemented the army ' s official drill book for Cavalry officers . He was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant - general on 4 February 1797 . Dundas commanded the 3rd Division under the Duke of York in the Helder Campaign 1799 , seeing action at Den Helder on 27 August , Zype on 10 September , Bergen on 19 September , Alkmaar on 2 October and Castricum on 6 October . On 15 February 1800 he was given the honorary appointment of Governor of Landguard Fort . He was made Colonel of 2nd Dragoons on 9 May 1801 , promoted to general on 24 April 1802 and made commander in Kent and Sussex from 1803 . Dundas was appointed Knight of the Order of the Bath on 28 April 1803 and went into semi - retirement in 1805 . He chaired the hearing against Le Marchant in charges of calumny from 23 January 1807 , was a member of the Court Martial that tried Whitelocke for the failure of the Buenos Aires expedition on 28 January 1808 and was a member of the Board of Enquiry of the Convention of Cintra in 1808 . He was appointed Colonel - in - Chief of the 95th Foot on 31 August 1809 . Dundas was Commander - in - Chief of the Forces from 1809 to 1811 , during the Duke of York ’ s period of disgrace following a scandal caused by the activities of his latest mistress , Mary Anne Clarke . Dundas was also a Privy councillor from 22 March 1809 and Colonel of the 1st Dragoon Guards from 27 January 1813 . Dundas was Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea from 3 April 1804 until his death . He died there on 18 February 1820 and is buried in the grounds . Assessment . In the army Dundas was nicknamed " Old Pivot " for his Prussian - style drill books . Burne describes him as " A level - headed officer " , but " cautious " , while Bunbury writes " He . . . was an aged man . . . a brave , careful , and well - skilled soldier . . . Dundas was a tall , spare man , crabbed and austere , dry in his looks and demeanour . . . there were peculiarities in his habits and style which excited some ridicule amongst young officers . But though it appeared a little out of fashion , there was ' much care and valour in that Scotchman ' " . Thoumine writes that " Dundas was perhaps not as graceful nor as polished as some of his contemporaries , but he was as sound as oak and utterly reliable " . Family . In 1807 he married Charlotte De Lancey , daughter of General Oliver De Lancey ; they had no children . External links .