Hugh Smithson Percy 2nd Duke of Northumberland

Portrait_of_Hugh_Percy_Second_Duke_of_Northumberland(1788)

• General Notes
  • 
    Hugh Percy, 2nd duke of Northumberland, 1786 - 1817. 
    Born 1742, died 1817, British general. He fought on the Continent in the Seven Years War and, although he disapproved of the war against the colonists in America, served there (1774-77) as a lieutenant general. He covered the bloody British retreat from Concord to Charlestown after the battle of Lexington and took part in the attack on Fort Washington. Recalled at his own request, following disputes with Gen. William Howe, he was made a general in 1793.
    During the Napoleonic Wars he raised his own regiment of 1500 men.
    
    Had 2 wives, the second was Frances Jane Burrell who bore him 3 sons, Hugh later Third Duke, Henry died as a child, and Algernon later Fourth Duke; and had 6 daughters.
    He also fathered a number of illegitimate children - these children are not recorded in the genealogical manuscripts of the Duke of Northumberland.