King George III and William Pitt the Elder Confer a Ceremonial Title on Major General George Walsh as He Neared Retirement

George Walsh had a long career in the British military. He attained the rank of Major General in 1759 and was knighted in 1761. He died soon after. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, the plaque there reading, “Near this place are deposited the remains of George Walsh, Esq. late Lieutenant General of His Majesties Forces and Colonel of the 49th Regiment of Foot who died October the 23rd 1761 aged 73. The toils of life and pangs of death are o’er and care and pain and sickness are no more”.

The 49th Regiment of Foot was raised in Jamaica in 1743 to defend British interests in the Caribbean. It was commanded by Walsh from 1754–1761, and remained in Jamaica during the Seven Years’ War until being posted to Ireland in 1764. It would take a leading role in the American Revolution, French Revolutionary Wars, War of 1812, the Opium Wars in China, and the Crimean War.

In the British Army, Colonel of the Regiment is a ceremonial position often conferred on retiring generals who have a close link to a particular regiment. In was conferred on Walsh as he neared retirement, when he was made Colonel of his 49th Regiment of Foot.

Document signed by King George III and his famed Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder, London, October 27, 1760, while the Seven Days War still raged, conferring the ceremonial title “Colonel of Our 49th Regiment of Foot” on “Our trusty and Well-beloved George Walsh, Esq., Major General”. This is the most senior British Army appointment we have ever carried, and the first for a military man buried in Westminster Abbey.

Pitt guided Britain successfully through the Seven Years War, known in the United States as the French and Indian War. It vastly increased British holdings and influence, and drove the French from Canada. His autograph is uncommon.