Edward Pakenham (19 March 1778-8 January 1815) was a Irish-born British general in the army of the United Kingdom and the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington. He served in the Peninsular War and the War of 1812, the latter of which cost him his life.
Biography[]
Pakenham was from Westmeath in Ireland, born to an Anglo-Irish family. In 1794 his family bought him a commission in the 92nd Regiment of Foot and fought first in Ireland against the United Irishmen Rebellion in 1798 and then in the Americas. In 1810 he fought in the Peninsular War and was responsible for the bayonet charge at the Battle of Salamanca in 1811. In 1814 he took part in the capture of Toulouse, ending the Peninsular War.
He transferred to the Americas for the War of 1812 in 1814 after the death of seasoned general Robert Ross, and he fought in the Battle of New Orleans after the war ended in 1815. The battle was technically part of the war, as it was a continuation of the conflict that had been resolved by a peace months before, unknown to many. Pakenham was wounded and then killed by two blasts of grapeshot, and only in February 1815 did the war finally come to an end.