Major-General Stringer Lawrence (February 1698–10 January 1775) was an English soldier, the first Commander-in-Chief of Fort William.
Origins
Lawrence was born at Hereford, England, the son of John Lawrence of Hereford by his wife Mary, about either of whom little is known. He was baptised in the Church of All Saints, Hereford, on 27 February 1697 (Old Style). Concerning his possible ancestry, in 1660 "James Lawrence, junior, gentleman", was admitted to the freedom of the City of Hereford, and became Mayor in 1661. In 1682 "John Lawrence, apothecary", and in 1702 "John Lawrence, brewer", were admitted to the freedom of the city. In the opinion of Biddulph (1901) one of these last "must, almost certainly, have been the father of Stringer Lawrence". In the All Saints' Church burial register is recorded the burial of a certain Michael Stringer on 13 November 1698, from which fact Biddulph (1901) presumed that Stringer was the maiden name of his mother.
Career
He seems to have entered the army in 1727 and served in Gibraltar and Flanders, subsequently taking part in the Battle of Culloden. In 1748, with the rank of major and the reputation of an experienced soldier, he went out to India to command the East India Company's troops. Dupleix's schemes for the French conquest of southern India were on the point of taking effect, and not long after his arrival at Fort St David, Lawrence was actively engaged. He successfully foiled an attempted surprise by French troops at Cuddalore, but was captured by a French cavalry patrol at Ariancopang (modern Ariankuppam) whilst leading forces to assist Admiral Edward Boscawen in enforcing the Siege of Pondicherry in 1748. He was kept prisoner by the French until the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle.
In 1749 he was in command at the capture of Devicota, during which one of his subordinate officers was Robert Clive (1725–1774), the future Commander-in-Chief of British India, with whom a lifelong friendship began. When Clive had become famous he honoured Lawrence by refusing to accept a sword of honour unless one was voted to him also, as the creator of the Indian army.
In 1750 Lawrence returned to England, but he was back in India by 1752. Here he found Clive in command of a force intended for the relief of Trichinopoly. As senior officer Lawrence took over the command, but was careful to allow Clive every credit for his share in the subsequent operations, which included the relief of Trichinopoly and the surrender of the entire French besieging force. In 1752 with an inferior force he defeated the French at Bahour and in 1753 again relieved Trichinopoly. For the next seventeen months he fought a series of actions in defence of that place, and finally arranged an armistice of three months, afterwards converted into a conditional treaty. He was commander-in-chief until the arrival of the first detachment of regular forces of the crown.
In 1757 he served in the operations against Wandiwash, and in 1758-1759 was in command of Fort St George, Madras, during the siege by the French under Lally. In 1759 failing health compelled him to return to England, but in 1761 he resumed his command as major-general and commander-in-chief. Clive supplemented his old friend's limited income by settling on him an annuity of £500 a year. In 1765 he presided over the board charged with arranging the reorganisation of the Madras army, and he finally retired the following year.
Retirement, death and succession
His retirement years in England were spent as an honoured guest of his friend Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet (1717-1798) at Haldon House in the parish of Dunchideock in Devon, a fellow officer of the British East India Company who served as Governor of the Madras Presidency.
He died in London on 10 January 1775, and was buried in Dunchideock Church in Devon, the parish church of Haldon House.
Lawrence bequeathed the huge sum of £50,000 to his friend Palk, as whose guest Lawrence spent his retirement. Palk erected lavish monuments in Lawrences' memory, namely the 26 metres (85 ft) high triangular 'Lawrence Tower' (at Haldon House), containing a life-size statue of Lawrence dressed as a Roman general and decorated with three large tablets inscribed with details of his career, and also a mural monument in Dunchideock Church. Palk named his son and heir Lawrence in his honour, which became a tradition in the Palk family.