Sir Donald Stewart , 1st Baronet Field Marshal Sir Donald Martin Stewart , 1st Baronet , GCB , GCSI , CIE ( 1 March 1824 – 26 March 1900 ) was a senior Indian Army officer . He fought on the Aka Khel Expedition to the North - West Frontier in 1854 , took part in the response to the Indian Rebellion in 1857 and , after serving as commandant of the penal settlement of the Andaman Islands , fought in the Second Anglo - Afghan War as Commander of the Quetta Army . In that role , he advanced through the Bolan Pass to Quetta , and then on to Kandahar in January 1879 . In March 1880 , he made a difficult march from Kandahar to Kabul , fighting on the way the Battle of Ahmed Khel and Battle of Arzu , and then holding supreme military and civil command in northern Afghanistan . He became Commander - in - Chief , India in April 1881 and a member of the Council of the Secretary of State for India in 1893 . Early life . Born the son of Robert Stewart and Flora Stewart ( née Martin ) at Mount Pleasant , near Forres , Moray in Scotland , Stewart was educated at schools at Findhorn , Dufftown and Elgin and at the University of Aberdeen . Career . Stewart was commissioned as an ensign in the 9th Bengal Native Infantry on 12 October 1840 and was promoted to lieutenant on 3 January 1844 and to captain on 1 June 1854 . Later that year he served on the Aka Khel Expedition to the North - West Frontier . During the Indian Rebellion , after a famous ride from Agra to Delhi with dispatches , Stewart served on the as deputy assistant adjutant - general at the Siege of Delhi in Summer 1857 and then as assistant adjutant - general at the Siege of Lucknow in Autumn 1857 . After serving through the campaign in Rohilkhand he was promoted to major on 19 January 1858 and to lieutenant - colonel on 20 July 1858 . He became deputy - adjutant - general of the Bengal Army in 1862 and , having been promoted to colonel on 20 July 1863 , he commanded the Bengal brigade in the Abyssinian expedition in 1867 . Promoted to major - general on 24 December 1868 , he became commandant of the penal settlement of the Andaman Islands , and was present when one of the inmates assassinated Lord Mayo , British Viceroy of India , in 1872 . After being exonerated in the subsequent inquiry , he was appointed Commander of the troops at Lahore in 1876 . Promoted to lieutenant - general on 1 October 1877 , Stewart commanded the Quetta Army during the Second Anglo - Afghan War advancing through the Bolan Pass to Quetta , and then on to Kandahar in January 1879 . In March 1880 , he made a difficult march from Kandahar to Kabul , fighting on the way the Battle of Ahmed Khel and Battle of Arzu , and then holding supreme military and civil command in northern Afghanistan . On hearing of the Maiwand disaster , he despatched Sir Frederick Roberts with a division on his celebrated march from Kabul to Kandahar , while he led the rest of the army back to India through the Khyber Pass . For this he was given the thanks of parliament and created a baronet . Stewart became Military member of the Council of the Governor - General of India ( effectively War Minister ) in October 1880 and , having been promoted to full general on 1 July 1881 , he became Commander - in - Chief , India in April 1881 . In order to achieve efficiency savings he proposed merging the Bengal Army , Madras Army and Bombay Army into a single military force but this was rejected by the India Office . During the Panjdeh Incident in March 1885 he secured a significant increase in the number of British troops in India . He returned to London to became a member of the Council of the Secretary of State for India in 1893 and , in that role , again argued - this time successfully - for the creation of a single Indian Army . He was promoted to field marshal on 26 May 1894 and became a member of the Royal Commission on Indian civil and military expenditure as well as Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea from 1895 until his death on 26 March 1900 . He died at Algiers in Algeria , and is buried in Brompton Cemetery in London . Family . In 1847 Stewart married Davina Marine ; they went on to have two sons and three daughters . Honours and awards . Stewart ' s honours included :