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Douglas Generals
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As armies grew larger, composed of multiple companies, one captain
was granted general (overall) authority over the field armies by the
King. (National armies were the armies of the kings. Field armies
were armies raised by the King to enter the battle field in
preparation for major battles.) In French history, “lieutenant du
roi” was a title borne by the officer sent with military powers to
represent the king in certain provinces. A lieutenant du roi was
sometimes known as a lieutenant general to distinguish him from
lieutenants subordinate to mere captains. The sergeant acting as
staff officer to the captain general was known as the sergeant-major
general. This was eventually shortened to major general, while
captain general was shortened to simply general. This is the reason
why a major outranks a lieutenant, but a lieutenant general outranks
a major general.
As armies grew bigger, heraldry and unit
identification remained primarily a matter of the regiment. Brigades
headed by brigadier generals were the units invented as a tactical
unit, by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus the second ("Gustav II
Adolf", dead at battle of Lutzen 1632). It was introduced to
overcome the normal army structure, consisting of regiments. The
so-called “brigada” was a mixed unit, comprising infantry, cavalry
and normally artillery too, designated for a special task. The size
of such “brigada” was a reinforced company up to two regiments. The
“brigada” was a 17th century form of the modern “task force”. In
some armies "Brigadier General" has been shortened to "Brigadier".
Around the end of the 16th century, companies were grouped into
regiments. The officers commissioned to lead these regiments were in
fact called colonels (column officers). They were first appointed in
Spain by King Ferdinand II of Aragon where they were also known as
coronellos (crown officers) since they were appointed by the Crown.
Thus the English pronunciation of the word colonel.
The first
colonels were captains granted command of their regiments by
commission of the King. The lieutenants of the colonel were the
lieutenant colonels. In the 17th century, the sergeant of the
colonel was the sergeant major. These were field officers, third in
command of their regiments (after their colonels and lieutenant
colonels), with a role similar to the older, army-level sergeants
major (although obviously on a smaller scale). The older position
became known as sergeant major general to distinguish it. Over time,
the sergeant was dropped from both titles since both ranks were used
for commissioned officers. This gave rise to the modern ranks of
major and major general.
The full title of sergeant major
fell out of use until the latter part of the 18th century, when it
began to be applied to the senior non-commissioned officer of an
infantry battalion or cavalry regiment.
Regiments were later split into battalions with a lieutenant
colonel as a commanding officer and a major as an executive officer.
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Archibald The Grim, 3rd Earl of Douglas, -1400, Lieutenant General of Scotland. |
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Archibald Douglas, 2nd Earl of Forfar, Living 1716 |
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Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, 1369 - 1424 |
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Brig William Charles Douglas, 1862- |
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Brigadier General Archibald Campbell Douglas c1886 |
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Brigadier General Clarence J. Douglas, Jr. |
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Brigadier General Ephraim Douglas |
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Brigadier General John W. Douglass |
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Brigadier General Paul P. Douglas, Jr. |
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Brigadier General William M. Douglass, 1942 - |
| Brigadier-General
Sir Thomas Monteith Douglas. |
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Count Robert Douglas, b1611 |
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General Sir John Douglas of Glenfinart, 1817 - 1888 |
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General Barrington
Bruckeley Campbell Douglas, 1845-1917 |
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General Henry Kyd Douglas, 1840-1903 |
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General Hugh Douglas, Living 1780 |
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General Sir Charles Horsley Douglas, 1815-1940 |
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General Sir Howard Douglas (1776 - 1861) |
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General Sir Kenneth Mackenzie-Douglas, 1754-1833 |
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General William Douglas, 1742 - 1777 |
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General William Douglas, k1747 |
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George Douglas, 1st Earl of Dumbarton, 1635 - 1691/2 |
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George Douglas, 2nd Earl of Dumbarton, 1687 - 1748/9 |
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Lt Gen Archibald Douglas, 1707-1778 |
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Lt General Charles Douglas,
1814-1885 |
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Lt Gen James Douglas, living 1685 |
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Lt General Sir Neil Douglas, living 1815 |
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Lt General Sir Robert Douglas, abt 1745 - 1827 |
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Major General Archibald Douglas, 1896-1981 |
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Major General Henry Edward Manning Douglas VC, 1875-1939 |
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Major General John Primrose Douglas 1908-1975 |
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Major General Octavious Douglas-Hamilton 1821 - 1904 |
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Major General Robert Douglas, 1727-1809 |
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Major General Robert Douglas, c1744 - 1798 |
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Major General Robert Douglas, d1828 |
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Major General Robert W. Douglass 1900 - 1976 |
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Major General Sir Robert Percy Douglas, 1804-1891 |
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Major General Sir William Douglas (1858 - 1920) |
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Major General Sir William Douglas of Bonjedward and
Timpendean, 1770-1834 |
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Sir Robert Douglas, 3rd of Glenbervie, k1692 |
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Vilhelm Archibald Douglas, 1883-1960 |
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William, 8th earl of Douglas, Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom of
Scotland |
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