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Ranks British Army vs HEICo armies;recruitment 1759

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Ranks British Army vs HEICo armies;recruitment 1759

Posted: 13 Jun 2015 1:40AM GMT
Classification: Military
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I have a case of one Lt James Stewart of the Royal Volunteers also called the 85th Regiment of foot [the first light infantry regiment of the British Army] raised at Shrewsbury by Col. John Craufurd in 1759 and serving in the the 7 years war till 1763 when it was disbanded at Salisbury.

My questions are as follows:

1: It was normal practise for a fresher to join the British army as Ensign or Subaltern.How was he listed as a Lieutenant in 1759. I have found no record of his having served or had military service anywhere else before, his year of birth was probably 1743. No records are available .Could he have purchased his commission?

2:After a regiment is disbanded the officers presumably dispersed and sought to join any other recruitment post in process unless they required to leave the military service for whatever reason. The HEICo army officers were not held in high esteem by the officers of the British Army as they were not of the " upper class" in civil society.Mention of Lt James Stewart appears next in the officers listing as a Capt in the Bombay Army of the HEICo.The Bombay Government decided to fight the Marathas and the advance force was lead by Capt James Stewart in the First Anglo-Maratha War in 1778. My questions are :
[a]How did Lt Stewart become a Captain?Was this promotion by seniority and if so how many years did it take to become a Captain.in the HEICo army or was this rank given as an incentive when he joined?
[b] Were any incentives given to ex-army men to join the HEICo army in the form of a one upgrade to a more senior post or monetarily?In the case of a Capt James Hartley who was with Capt James Stewart in the Vadgaon fracas [spelt Wudegaon" in HEICo related literature] and took charge of the Advance Party after Capt James Stewart 's killing on 04 Jan 1779 at Karla,he was promoted to Lt. Col which was without the salary of aLt Col.as an acknowledgement of active his part in the conflict. On a plea to the Company to raise his salary the Company replied by saying that since there were many seniors to him, this increment and the post could only be ratified after the seniors were promoted. However the Company recommended his case to the King George III who without hesitation gave a Lt Colonelcy in the 75 Highland Regiment.
Capt Hartley was promoted to become Lt Gen in May 1799 but died in Sept 1799.

3: Both James Stewart and James Hartley were ADCs to the Governor of Bombay during their tenure there. Did the ADC s have to belong to the British Army ceded to the HEIco army in which case did they have a tenure and did they also do field service concomitantly with battlefield duties?

Any help or views will be appreciated..
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Dr. John A.Thomas,MD,FRCPath, FAMS

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