Peregrine Maitland General Sir Peregrine Maitland , GCB ( 6 July 1777 – 30 May 1854 ) was a British soldier and colonial administrator . He also was a first - class cricketer from 1798 to 1808 . Born at Longparish House in Longparish , Hampshire , the eldest of five sons of Thomas Maitland of Lyndhurst , Hampshire , ( d . 1798 ) by his spouse Jane , daughter of Edward Mathew , General of the Coldstream Guards by his wife Lady Jane ( d . 21 August 1793 ) , daughter of Peregrine Bertie , 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven . Thomas Maitland possessed plantations in the parish of St . Thomas Middle Island on the island of St . Christopher . Military career . He joined the Grenadier Guards at the age of 15 as an Ensign . He went on to serve in Flanders in 1794 , by which time he achieved his promotion to Lieutenant . In 1798 , he took part in the unsuccessful landing at Ostend . In the Peninsular War , he served at both the Battle of Vigo , and at Corunna , at which he won a medal . He took part in the Walcheren in 1809 . During the later stages of the Peninsula War was second in command of his regiment at Cadiz , and later at the Battle of Seville . He served with distinction at Quatre Bras and the Battle of Waterloo . Promoted in early June ( 3 June 1815 ) to Major General , he was assigned to the First Corps , under overall command of the so - called " Slender Billy " . On the second day of battle , at Waterloo , he commanded two battalions of the First Grenadier Guards , each 1000 - men strong ; there he led the Guards in repelling the final French assault of the French Old Guard on 18 June . Subsequent to action at Waterloo , he dubbed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath , 22 June 1815 , the Order of Wilhelm ( Dutch ) , and the Order of Vladimir . He was appointed lieutenant governor of Upper Canada in 1818 and supported the Family Compact that dominated the province . He attempted to suppress and reform pro - American tendencies in the colony and resisted demands of radicals in the government . His tenure in Upper Canada ended in 1828 when he was appointed lieutenant - governor of Nova Scotia serving there from 1828 until 1834 . Maitland went to India and became commander in chief of the Madras Army in 1836 serving for two years . In 1844 he became governor of the Cape of Good Hope , but was removed during the Xhosa War . He is still highly respected in the Kingdom of Lesotho for his judgment on the border issue between the Orange River Afrikaners and the Basotho of King Moshoeshoe , which , had it been implemented , would have secured the economic future of the kingdom . He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 6 April 1852 . Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia . Maitland became the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia on 29 Nov . 1828 , with the added responsibility of commander - in - chief of the forces in the Atlantic region . He was popular . Certainly , his strongly moral conduct had an impact on Halifax ’ s society . By insisting on walking to church , he effectively ended the garrison parades on Sunday , the city ’ s major social event , and he publicly denounced the open market that day . Maitland was responsible for the settlement reached for Pictou Academy . In dealing with immigration and settlement , he had lands laid out in Cape Breton at crown expense so that the 4 , 000 immigrants expected that year could be legally placed and systematically settled . In October 1832 Maitland went to England on leave , presumably because of his health , and the government was placed in charge of Thomas Nickleson Jeffery . Though he continued to conduct official correspondence from England , he never returned to North America and he was succeeded in Nova Scotia by Sir Colin Campbell in July 1834 . First - class cricket career . Maitland was an amateur first - class cricketer who made 27 known appearances in major cricket matches from 1798 to 1808 . He was mainly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club ( MCC ) and he also played for Surrey and Hampshire . Family . Peregrine Maitland was the eldest of five sons of Thomas Maitland ( d 1797 ) and Jane Mathew ( 1759 - 1830 ) , daughter of General Mathew . He had three sisters , and his eldest sister Jane married in 1800 a Lt . Colonel Warren of the Third Foot Guards . Maitland ' s maternal aunt married James Austin , brother of Jane Austen . Maitland married twice : ( 1 ) on 8 June 1803 , in St George ' s , Hanover Square , ( Westminster ) , to Louisa ( d . 1805 ) , daughter of Sir Edward Crofton , 2nd Baronet , and ( 2 ) at the Duke of Wellington ' s HQ during the occupation of Paris , 9 October 1815 , Lady Sarah Lennox ( 1792 – 1873 ) , one of the Lennox sisters , daughter of the 4th Duke of Richmond . He reportedly eloped with his second wife on account of the opposition of her father . By his first wife , he had one son , Peregrine Maitland b . 1 May 1804 . By his second wife he had at least seven children : He was buried at St Pauls Church in Tongham in Surrey Maitland in popular fiction . In his novel " Les Misérables " Victor Hugo credits Maitland ( or Colville ) with asking for the surrender of the Imperial Guard and receiving General Cambronne ' s reply of " " Merde " " . ( Chapter XIV . The Last Square ) Legacy . Maitland , Hants County , Nova Scotia is named after him . Maitland Street , Dartmouth , Nova Scotia is named after him . The Church of St . John the Evangelist Anglican in Niagara Falls , Ontario was constructed in 1825 largely through the efforts of Lieutenant - Governor Sir Peregrine Maitland . The church remained in regular use until 1957 . In South Africa Maitland , Cape Town , a light industrial and residential suburb , the Maitland River west of Port Elizabeth and numerous streets in the country are named after him .