William Beatson

Major-General William Ferguson Beatson KCB CIE GCO (1821-1895) was an army officer in the East India Company. He joined the 2nd Battalion 25th Bengal Native Infantry in 1820 and served in several different regiments of the Bengal Native Army. On furlough fought in Spain before returning to India in 1837 to raise the Bundelkhand Legion which served under Napier in Sind. In 1847 he was appointed to command the Nizam's Cavalry in Hyderabad. His success as a leader of irregular cavalry led to his training units in Turkey and fighting in the Crimea. In 1857 he returned to India where he raised two regiments of Beatson's Horse which operated in the Central India Campaign. After command in Allahabad and Ambala he returned on leave to England where he died suddenly.

External links

William Beatson Dictionary of Indian Biography (1906)
William Beatson Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Beatson Genealogy Google Books
Beatson's Service Record Google Books
General Beatson Hansard House of Commons 15 July 1856

Historical books online

• Twelve Months with the Bashi-Bazouks by Edward Money 1857 Google Books. Major General Beatson's Irregular Turkish Cavalry at the Dardanelles during the Crimean War, which became known as Osmanli Irregular Cavalry, and were also known as Beatson's Horse. Some of the troops had a connection with India in that they spoke Hindustani (perhaps they came from India?) and there were some officers who had (past?) connections with the East India Company Armies.
• Story of the surname of Beatson compiled by Surgeon-General WB Beatson, late...Indian Army. 1900. Reprinted from The Genealogical Magazine (revised and corrected). FamilySearch Digital Library (you need to be logged in). See pages 40-42.