British Army general
Lieutenant General John Neptune Sargent CB (18 June 1826 – 20 October 1893) was Commander of British Troops in China, Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements.
Military career
Sargent was commissioned into the 95th Regiment of Foot in 1844.[1] In 1847, he went to Canton to protect the local factories from violence.[2] He was appointed adjutant of his regiment in 1851.[3] He fought in the Crimean War at the Battle of Alma and was wounded;[2] he also fought at the Battle of Inkerman[2] and the Siege of Sevastopol of 1855 where he was again wounded.[4] He also took part in the Second Opium War in 1860, leading a detachment during the storming of the north Taku Forts.[2]
He was made commanding officer of the 2nd battalion of the Buffs at Malta in 1861 and then of the 1st battalion in England in 1862.[2] In 1864 he took command of the Inns of Court Volunteers, in 1873 he became commander of a brigade depot at Milford Haven, and in 1874 he became commander of a military depot in Oxford.[2]
He was appointed Commander of British Troops in China, Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements in 1882,[5] and retired in 1890.[6]
He was also colonel of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers from 1891 to his death in 1893.[7]
He lived at Mount Mascal near Bexley in London.[2]
Family
In 1852, Sargent married Miss R. S. Champion.[2] In 1863, he married Alice Mary Tredwell, daughter of Thomas Tredwell.[2][8]
References