Edward Pakenham

Sir Edward Michael Pakenham (19 March 1778 – 8 January 1815) was a British general who was killed at the Battle of New Orleans.

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He was born at Pakenham Hall, County Westmeath, Ireland to Edward Michael Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford and Catherine Rowley. He was educated at the Royal School, Armagh. In 1806 his sister Catherine married Arthur Wellesley who later went on to become the Duke of Wellington.

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Early duties included serving in Martinique and seeing action throughout the wars of the French Revolution before joining his famous relative in the Peninsula War. In 1811 he fought in the battle of Fuentes de Onoro to defend the besieged fortress of Almeida, helping the British to victory. Later in 1812 he was praised for his performance at Salamanca.

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In 1814, Pakenham accepted an offer to replace Sir Robert Ross as commander of the British North American army. The next year during the Battle of New Orleans, he was defeated by Colonel Andrew Jackson and was mortally wounded. His last words were reputed to be "Lost for the lack of courage."

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There is a statue in his memory at the South Transept of St Paul's Cathedral in London.

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His body was returned to Ireland in a casket of rum and buried in the Pakenham family vault.

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