Person:John Pitt (31)

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John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, also 2nd Viscount Pitt and 2nd Baron Chatham, (9 October 1756 – 24 September 1835) was a British soldier and politician. He spent a lengthy period in the cabinet but is best known for commanding the disastrous Walcheren Campaign of 1809.

Chatham was the eldest son of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. He was two and a half years older than his famous brother William Pitt the Younger, the future prime minister. After serving as a junior officer in the American War of Independence, he succeeded his father as Earl of Chatham in 1778. Politically he was a close supporter of his brother during the following decade, leading to his appointment as First Lord of the Admiralty in 1788. Despite overseeing the Royal Navy's victory at the Glorious First of June in 1794, he faced criticism for his handling of the Admiralty and was demoted to the comparatively unimportant post of Lord Privy Seal. Although he continued to serve in William's cabinet, the relationship between the two brothers never fully recovered after this point.

After serving in the 1799 Helder Campaign, he was promoted to be Master General of the Ordnance in 1801. This became a key role in the next few years when a French invasion appeared imminent, and he helped oversee Britain's defences including the construction of a series of martello towers. He grew increasingly independent from his brother and did not resign from the cabinet when William Pitt left office in 1801. He held this post under Henry Addington and when his brother returned to office again in 1804. Following his brother's death in 1806, he briefly went into opposition against the Ministry of All the Talents before returning as Master General in the new Tory government of 1807. He also continued his military career, being promoted to lieutenant general and appointed to several commands in charge of home defence.

Considered on at least two occasions as a possible Prime Minister, Chatham rejected these approaches due to poor health of his wife. He also turned down the prospect of commanding British troops in Portugal in 1808 at the beginning of the Peninsular War, a command that instead went to Arthur Wellesley. In 1809 he did accept command of an expedition to the island of Walcheren, as part of a plan to strike at a French fleet being assembled in nearby Antwerp. Despite overseeing the largest force Britain had despatched abroad during the war, the expedition became bogged down on the island and began suffering heavy casualty rates due to disease. Chatham was recalled and was subject to an inquiry that largely placed the blame on him.

After a number of years in the political wilderness, in 1820 Chatham was made Governor of Gibraltar. Although Europe was at peace by this time, Gibraltar remained a key strategic post, and he oversaw improvements to the defences while also dealing with a difficult diplomatic relationship with neighbouring Spain which was going through a period of political turbulence.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.