Robert Thomas Wilson General Sir Robert Thomas Wilson Kt ( 17 August 1777 – 9 May 1849 ) was a British general and politician who served in Flanders , Egypt , Spain , Prussia , and was seconded to the Imperial Russian Army in 1812 . He sat as the Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP ) for Southwark from 1818 to 1831 . He served as the Governor of Gibraltar from 1842 until his death in 1849 . Early career . Born in London , he was the grandson of a Leeds wool merchant , and the fourth child of painter and portraitist painter . Orphaned at the age of twelve he was raised and educated by his uncle and guardian , William Bosville . He eloped in his twenties with Jemima , the daughter of Colonel William Belford . She bore him thirteen children in the following 15 years . Military life . He had a distinguished career in the Army and the diplomatic service . In 1794 , as an ensign in the 15th Light Dragoons , Wilson fought in the celebrated Battle of Villers - en - Cauchies where a handful of cavalry smashed a much larger French force . He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1801 . In 1804 he became a lieutenant - colonel in the 19th Light Dragoons . He was expelled from Russia as a spy after the Treaty of Tilsit . During the Peninsular War he organized Portuguese soldiers into the Loyal Lusitanian Legion . During the British retreat from the Iberian peninsula in January 1809 , Wilson refused to comply with the withdrawal and instead decided to oppose the incoming 9 , 000 - man corps commanded by the French General Pierre Belon Lapisse . He installed half of his 1 , 200 Lusitanian Legion in the fortress of Almeida and arranged the rest in a thin screen . He then harried the opposition with such remorseless energy that Lapisse , convinced he was confronted by a far more numerous enemy , switched entirely to the defensive . In summer 1809 , Wilson ' s Legion again formed an important part of the Anglo - Portuguese network of advance posts and was placed on the Spanish frontier to provide early warning of French moves while the British commander Arthur Wellesley advanced on Oporto . In Wellington ' s advance on Talavera in spring 1809 , Wilson ' s Lusitanians again formed a valuable flank guard . In the aftermath of the Battle of Talavera , when the French General Victor and his corps threatened to cut Wellington ' s forces off from the south , Wilson ' s little flank column of 1 , 500 men surprised Victor ' s 19 , 600 men from the north . In the face of this unclear threat , Victor panicked and precipitously withdrew to Madrid . On 12 August 1809 , Wilson with 4 , 000 men , including two battalions of the Legion , was defeated by French forces under Marshal Michel Ney at the Battle of Puerto de Baños . Facing treble the number of French , Wilson nevertheless managed to maintain his position for nine hours . He lost nearly 400 men while inflicting 185 casualties on the French . Wilson returned to Russia in 1812 as a liaison officer . He was a sharp observer during the events of Napoleon ' s disastrous retreat from Moscow and was present at the Battle of Krasnoye . Parliament . In 1817 , near the start of the Great Game , he published the anti - Russian " A Sketch of the Military and Political Power of Russia " . In 1818 , Wilson became an MP for Southwark . In 1821 , now a Radical MP he attended the funeral of Queen Caroline ( the wife of George IV ) , a very controversial figure whose treatment by her husband had led her to be celebrated by the ' loud ' section of the general populace . Her supporters , considering that they were not being allowed by the authorities to celebrate this occasion as they wished , began to become unruly . Soldiers escorting the cortege but also on duty because of the Establishment ' s fear of the mob , upon being stoned , fired over the heads of the crowd . Wilson strode up and stated that , " It is quite disgraceful to continue firing in this manner , for the people are unarmed . Remember you are soldiers of Waterloo ; do not lose your honours gained on that occasion . You have had cannon shot at your head , never mind a few stones . " The firing ceased as the officer in charge recognised Wilson , and the troops , although maintaining their cohesion ' retired ' . A few weeks later Wilson was dismissed from the Army by the Duke of York . He was , however , to again serve his country . Later career . Wilson was promoted to lieutenant - general in 1830 and full general in 1841 . He was appointed Governor of Gibraltar in 1842 . He wrote a great deal about history and politics . Other reading . Three biographies exist : Giovanni Costigan , " Sir Robert Wilson : A Soldier of Fortune in the Napoleonic Wars " , Madison , Wisconsin , 1932 ; Herbert Randolph , ed . , " Life of General Sir Robert Wilson " , 2 vols . , London , 1862 ; ' Ian Samuel ' An Astonishing Fellow . The life of General Sir Robert Wilson " The Kensall Press London 1985 External links .