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Facts and Events
John Piggot was baptised on 12th January 1789 in the parish of St Nicholas in Warwick, son of Martha Piggot, formerly Jeffs, and her husband John Rowland Piggot. It is quite likely that he was not a baby at the time. Some of his younger siblings were not baptised until they were a few years old - one sister was three years old, another nine year old, showing the family did not routinely baptise their children as babies. In particular, John's sister Elizabeth baptised in 1792 was said to be three years old, implying that she was born around 1789. John was presumably born a year or more earlier than Elizabeth. John's parents had married in late 1785 and he was their first child to be baptised, so it seems he was born sometime between 1785 and 1789, and most likely around 1786 or 1787.
In 1797 John's father died.
In August 1801, John enlisted in the 38th Regiment of the British Army, serving with them as a private for two years. He left that regiment in August 1803, but just over two months later, in November 1803, he re-enlisted in the 77th Regiment at London. He claimed to be twenty, although this was probably an exaggeration - had he been born in 1786 he would have been about seventeen. He was clearly still growing - his records note that he was 5 feet 6 inches tall when he joined the 77th Regiment, yet four years later had grown to be 5 feet 9½ inches tall. He was also described as having dark hair and having worked as a weaver and labourer outside the army.
John served as a private in the 77th Regiment for fifteen years in a period dominated by the Napoleonic Wars. He spent a couple of years serving in India between March 1805 and 1807.
After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, the need to maintain the army in the same numbers gradually diminished. John's regiment was reduced in numbers in November 1818, at which time they were at Galway on the west coast of Ireland. John's conduct as a soldier was described as good. By the time he was discharged John was married, although his marriage record has yet to be found. He and his wife were paid a marching allowance at Galway to cover their costs of travelling to Dublin. They have yet to be traced after John's discharge from the army.
References
- ↑ Church of England. Parish registers of St Nicholas, Warwick, 1539-1938. (Warwick: Warwickshire County Record Office).
Baptisms / 1789 / Jan[uar]y 12. John, S[on] of John & Martha Piggott
- British Regimental Registers of Service (The National Archives, Kew)
Class WO25; Piece 333.
Name: Pigott, John
Size: At Enlistment 5'6", at 24 Y[ea]rs of Age 5'9½"
Age At Enlistment: 20
Complexion: Fresh
Eyes: Grey
Hair: Brown
Visage: Round
Born: Warwick, St Nicholas
Trade: Weaver
Attestation: London 10th Nov[embe]r 1803
Former service: 38th Reg[imen]t 25th Aug[ust] 1801 To 24th Aug[ust] 1803
Service in East or West Indies: 6 March 1805 to 14 Sep[tember] 1807
- Kilmainham Pensioners British Army Service Records 1771-1821 (The National Archives, Kew)
Series WO119.
HIS MAJESTY'S Seventy-Seventh Reg[imen]t of Foot,
Whereof Major General Sir George Cooke KCB is Colonel
THESE ARE TO CERTIFY,
THAT John Pigott - Private born in the Parish of St Nicholas in or near the Town of Warwick in the County of Warwick was enlisted for the aforesaid Regiment at London in the County of Middlesex on the 10th Day of November 1803 at the Age of Twenty Years for unlimited service.
THAT he hath served in the Army for the space of Seventeen Years [blank] Days, after the Age of Eighteen, according to the subjoined
STATEMENT OF SERVICE.
38th Reg[imen]t From 25th Aug[ust] 1801 To 24th Aug[us]t 1803 as Private
77th Reg[imen]t From 10th Nov[embe]r 1803 To 9th Nov[embe]r 1818 as Private
Served in the East Indies from 6th March 1805 to the 14 September 1807
That in consequence of Chronic Rheumatism & General Debility as also on the reduction of the establishment of the Regiment HE IS HEREBY DISCHARGED.
THAT in he is not, to my knowledge, incapacitated by the Sentence of of General Court Martial, from receiving Pension. [Signature of Lieutenant]
THAT his General Conduct as a Soldier has been Good
THAT he has received all just Demands of Pay, Clothing, &c. from his Entry into the Service to the date of this Discharge, as appears by his Receipt underneath.
I John Pigott do hereby acknowledge that I have received all my Clothing, Pay, Arrears of Pay, and all just Demands whatsoever, from the time of my Entry in to the Service to the date of this Discharge.
Signature of the Soldier} John Pigott
Witnesses by [signed]
TO prevent any improper use being made of this Discharge, by its falling into other Hands, the following is a Description of the said John Pigott He is about Thirty five Years of Age, is Five Feet Nine Inches in height, Brown Hair, Grey Eyes, Dark Complexion; and by Trade or Occupation a Labourer.
Given under my Hand... [words obscured by seal] ...the Regiment at Galway this 9th Day of November 1818 [signatures of officers]
£1-7-6
Private John Pigott has r[e]c[eive]d from me the sum of One Pound Seven Shillings & Sixpence being marching allowance for himself and his wife from hence to Dublin, to appear before the board at Kilmainham (100 miles)
Galway 9 Nov 1818 [signature]
- ↑ See discussion of age in narrative.
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