Charles Grey , 1st Earl Grey Charles Grey , 1st Earl Grey , KB PC ( 23 October 1729 – 14 November 1807 ) was a British general of the 18th century . He was the fourth son of Sir Henry Grey , 1st Baronet , of Howick in Northumberland . He served in the Seven Years ' War , American War of Independence and French Revolutionary War . Following the Battle of Paoli in 1777 he became known as " No - flint Grey " . His eldest son was the Prime Minister Charles Grey , 2nd Earl Grey . Early life . Grey was born at his family ' s estate , known as Howick , 30 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne and one mile from the North Sea , in Northumberland . His exact birthdate is unknown , but he was baptized 23 October 1729 , so he was probably born in October . His father was Henry Grey ( later Sir Henry Grey , first baronet of Howick ) and his mother was Hannah Grey ( née Wood ) . Because he had three older brothers , Grey didn ' t expect to inherit his father ' s titles and estates , so he pursued a career in the military . Military career . In 1744 , with financial assistance from his father , Grey purchased a commission as an ensign in the 6th Regiment of Foot . He soon went to Scotland with the Sixth Regiment to suppress the Jacobite Rising of 1745 . Following victory there , the Sixth Regiment spent the next few years in Gibraltar . In December 1752 , he purchased a lieutenancy in the Sixth Regiment . In March 1755 , he formed a new independent company and became their captain . Two months later , he purchased a captaincy in the 20th Regiment of Foot , also called the East Devonshire Regiment ( and later the Lancashire Fusiliers ) , in which James Wolfe served as lieutenant colonel . In 1757 , while with Wolfe ' s regiment , he participated in the unsuccessful attack on Rochefort . Seven Years ' War . In the Seven Years ' War , he served as adjutant in the staff of Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick and on 1 August 1759 was wounded at Minden . On 14 October 1760 he commanded a Light Company at the Battle of Campen , where he was again wounded . One year later , as Lt . Colonel of the 98th Foot , he participated in the Capture of Belle Île , off the coast of Brittany . Next , he served at the Battle of Havana in 1762 . Later , he was on the staff of Wilhelm , Count of Schaumburg - Lippe during the Spanish invasion of Portugal ( 1762 ) . In 1763 he retired on half - pay , but in 1772 he received a promotion to Colonel and served as aide - de - camp to King George III . American War of Independence . During the American War of Independence he was one of the more successful army leaders . He was rapidly promoted , becoming a Major General in 1777 and commanding the 3rd Brigade at the Battle of Brandywine . He earned the nickname " No - flint Grey " after the Battle of Paoli nighttime attack of 1777 , before which he had collected flints from the musket s of his troops before they engaged the American revolutionaries using bayonet s , thus maintaining the element of surprise . Immediately thereafter , he commanded the 3rd Brigade again at the Battle of Germantown and the Battle of Monmouth . In 1778 he led raids at New Bedford on 5 – 6 September , destroying nearly all the shipping and burning twenty shops and twenty - two houses in the town , and Martha ' s Vineyard , where between 10 and 15 September , the British carried off all the sheep , swine , cattle and oxen that they could find with promise of payment in New York . Grey then used the same tactic as he had at Paoli in the Baylor Massacre . He was recalled to England and became a knight of the Order of the Bath and a lieutenant general . He later was appointed commander - in - chief of the British troops in America , but hostilities ended before he could take command . French Revolutionary Wars . At the outset of the war with Revolutionary France , in 1793 , Sir Charles Grey was appointed commander of the West Indian expedition . First , however , he went to Ostend to participate in the relief of Nieuwpoort , Belgium . In early 1794 , he and Admiral Sir John Jervis led a British force to capture Martinique . The campaign lasted about six weeks with the British capturing Fort Royal and Fort Saint Louis on 22 March , and Fort Bourbon two days later . The British then occupied Martinique until the Treaty of Amiens returned the island to the French in 1802 . Next Grey was involved in the invasion of Guadeloupe . Between the years of 1797 and 1807 General Grey held the position of Governor of Guernsey , in the Channel Islands Peerage . In late 1794 he returned to England . From 1798 to 1799 he served as Commander of the Southern District , retiring in 1799 . In acknowledgment of his service , he was raised in January 1801 to the peerage as Baron Grey , of Howick in the County of Northumberland . In 1806 , he was created Earl Grey and Viscount Howick , in the County of Northumberland . He died the next year , at the age of 78 . Family . In 1762 , Grey married Elizabeth Grey ( 1744 – 1822 ) , the daughter of George Grey of Southwick ( 1713 – 1746 ) , their children were : Grey and his wife brought up Eliza Courtney , the illegitimate daughter of their son Charles with Georgiana , Duchess of Devonshire . He was also an ancestor of Prime Ministers Anthony Eden and Alec Douglas - Home , and of Diana , Princess of Wales