John Sontag (British Army officer)
British Army officer
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Lieutenant-General John Salomon Balthasar Sontag was a British Army officer who briefly served as General Officer Commanding the 7th Division during the Peninsular War.
John Sontag | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 October 1747 The Hague, Netherlands |
| Died | 4 May 1816 (aged 68) Earl's Court, United Kingdom |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Service years | 1780–1792 1793–1816 |
Rank | Lieutenant-General |
| Nickname | General Ney |
| Unit | 12th Light Dragoons The Guides |
| Commands | Military Hospitals in the Netherlands Military Hospitals in South Britain Commandant of Lisbon 4th Brigade Commandant of Middleburg 3rd Brigade, Cadiz Brigade, 7th Division 7th Division |
Conflicts | |
Military career
Sontag was born the son of Johan Wilhelm Philip Sontag and his wife, Anna Hoek, in The Hague.[1]
He joined the British Army in 1779[2] and was naturalised as a British citizen in February 1780.[3] He became aide-de-camp to General Ralph Abercromby in 1795 and accompanied Abercromby during his expedition to the West Indies in 1796 and during the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in 1799.[2] He also saw action during the Walcheren Campaign and became Military Governor of Middelburg in August 1809; General George Don then appointed him Head of the Provisional Government of Walcheren in November 1809. He left when the British Forces withdrew from Walcheren in December 1809.[2]
He served as temporary General Officer Commanding the 7th Division in Spain during the Peninsular War from 1 August 1811 until relinquishing his position, due to ill health, in October 1811.[4]