George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield
George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, was a Scottish officer of the British Army, who served in three major wars during the 18th century. He rose to distinction during the Seven Years' War when he fought in Germany and participated in the British attacks on Belle Île (France) and Cuba. Eliott is most notable for his command of the Gibraltar garrison during the Great Siege of Gibraltar, which lasted from 1779 to 1783, during the American War of Independence. He was celebrated for his successful defence of the fortress and decisive defeat of Spanish and French attackers.
1787 portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds
George Augustus Eliott Portrait by Mather Brown Portrait on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Defeat of the floating batteries by John Singleton Copley - climax of the Great Siege of Gibraltar in 1782. Elliot is on the white horse
Memorial by John Bacon, senior in St Andrew's Church, Buckland Monachorum
The siege of Havana was a successful British siege against Spanish-ruled Havana that lasted from March to August 1762, as part of the Seven Years' War. After Spain abandoned its former policy of neutrality by signing the family compact with France, resulting in a British declaration of war on Spain in January 1762, the British government decided to mount an attack on the important Spanish fortress and naval base of Havana, with the intention of weakening the Spanish presence in the Caribbean and improving the security of its own North American colonies. A strong British naval force consisting of squadrons from Britain and the West Indies, and the military force of British and American troops it convoyed, were able to approach Havana from a direction that neither the Spanish governor nor the Admiral expected and were able to trap the Spanish fleet in the Havana harbour and land its troops with relatively little resistance.
The Capture of Havana, 1762, Taking the Town, 14 August, Dominic Serres
A plan of Havana and its environs in 1762, by Thomas Kitchen
The British expeditionary fleet
Bombardment of the Morro Castle, Havana, 1 July 1762 by Richard Paton