Sir David Baird , 1st Baronet General Sir David Baird , 1st Baronet GCB ( 6 December 1757 – 18 August 1829 ) was a British military leader . Military career . He was born at Newbyth House in Haddingtonshire , Scotland , the son of an Edinburgh merchant family , and entered the British Army in 1772 . He was sent to India in 1779 with the 73rd ( afterwards 71st ) Highlanders , in which he was a captain . Immediately on his arrival , Baird was attached to the force commanded by Sir Hector Munro , which was sent forward to assist the detachment of Colonel Baillie , threatened by Hyder Ali . In the action which followed the whole force was destroyed , and Baird , severely wounded , fell into the hands of the Mysore chief . The prisoners remained captive for over four years . Baird ' s mother , on hearing that her son and other prisoners were in fetters , is said to have remarked , " God help the chiel chained to our Davie . " The bullet was not extracted from Baird ’ s wound until his release . He was promoted to major in 1787 , visited England in 1789 , and purchased a lieutenant - colonelcy in 1790 , returning to India the following year . He held a brigade command in the war against Tippoo Sultan , and served under Lord Cornwallis in the Seringapatam operations of 1792 . He captured Pondicherry being promoted colonel in 1795 . Baird served also at the Cape of Good Hope as a brigadier - general , and he returned to India as a major - general in 1798 . In the last war against Tippoo in 1799 Baird was appointed to the senior brigade command in the army . At the successful assault of Seringapatam , Baird led the storming party , and soon took the stronghold where he had previously been a prisoner . Disappointed that the command of the large contingent of the nizam was given to the then Colonel Arthur Wellesley , and that after the capture of the fortress the same officer obtained the governorship , Baird felt he had been treated with injustice and disrespect . He later received the thanks of parliament and of the Honourable East India Company for his gallant bearing on that important day , and a pension was offered him by the Company , which he declined , apparently in the hope of receiving the Order of the Bath from the government . General Baird commanded the Indian army which was sent in 1801 to co - operate with Ralph Abercromby in the expulsion of the French from Egypt . Wellesley was appointed second in command , but owing to ill - health did not accompany the expedition . Baird landed at Kosseir , conducted his army across the desert to Kena on the Nile , and then to Cairo . He arrived before Alexandria in time for the final operations . On his return to India in 1802 , he was employed against Sindhia , but being irritated at another appointment given to Wellesley he relinquished his command and returned to Europe . In 1804 he was knighted , and in 1805 — 1806 , being by now a lieutenant - general , he commanded the expedition against the Cape of Good Hope with complete success , capturing Cape Town and forcing the Dutch general Janssens to surrender . But here again his usual ill luck attended him . Commodore Sir Home Popham persuaded Sir David to lend him troops for an expedition against Buenos Aires ; the successive failures of operations against this place involved the recall of Baird early in 1807 , though on his return home he was quickly re - employed as a divisional general in the Copenhagen expedition of 1807 . During the bombardment of Copenhagen , Baird was wounded . Shortly after his return , he was sent out to the Peninsular War in command of a considerable force which was sent to Spain to cooperate with Sir John Moore , to whom he was appointed second in command . It was Baird ' s misfortune that he was junior by a few days both to Moore and to Lord Cavan , under whom he had served at Alexandria , and thus never had an opportunity of a chief command in the field . At the Battle of Corunna , he succeeded to the supreme command after Moore ' s death , but shortly afterwards his left arm was shattered , and the command passed to Sir John Hope . Once again thanked by parliament for his gallant services , he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath and a baronet in 1809 . He was not employed again in the field , and personal and political enmities caused him to be neglected and repeatedly passed over . He was not given the full rank of general until 1814 , and his governorship of Kinsale was given five years later . In 1820 he was appointed commander - in - chief in Ireland and made a Privy Counsellor for Ireland , but the command was soon reduced , and he resigned in 1822 . Family . Sir David Baird was the fifth son of an Edinburgh merchant , William Baird of Newbyth , who was grandson of Sir Robert Baird , Bart . , of Saughton , and cousin and heir of Sir John Baird , Bart . , of Newbyth , and Alicia Johnston . Sir David married Anne Preston Menzies Campbell Preston , daughter and heiress of Major Patrick Preston , Younger of Valleyfield , on 4 August 1810 . He died on 18 August 1829 at age 71 , without issue , and was succeeded by his nephew , David , the son of Robert Baird and Hersey Christina Maria Gavin . His widow erected an obelisk to him at Crieff . Popular culture . Baird appears as a character in the Richard Sharpe series of novels , focusing on his role in the 1799 Mysore campaign , and the 1807 expedition to Copenhagen . Baird is shown as hearty , bluff likeable man , and is friendly towards Sharpe . He is described as being able to move within the high society , Though an officer , he was complimented to be fearless , he can outswear any sergeant and was as tough as an enlisted man . Though a high - ranking officer , he leads from the front with the men . Baird also appears as a commanding General in the naval fiction book " The Only Victor " by Douglas Reeman . This is set just before Baird ' s successful campaign to capture Cape Town of which he eventually became the Governor . Baird ' s role in the attack on Buenos Aires is also described in some detail by Julian Stockwyn in " Betrayal " , a book of naval fiction released in 2012 . Baird is one of several 17th and 18th century generals , used as computer opponent identities in many computer adaptations of the board game Risk .