Robert Craufurd
Robert Craufurd | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Craufurd | |
| Nickname | Black Bob |
| Born | 5 May 1764 |
| Died | 23 January 1812 (aged 47) Ciudad Rodrigo, Spain |
| Allegiance | Great Britain United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Service years | 1779–1812 |
| Rank | Major general |
| Relations | Craufurd baronets |
Major-General Robert Craufurd (5 May 1764 – 23 January 1812) was a British Army officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. After a military career which took him from India to the Netherlands, in 1810 in the Peninsular War he was given command of the Light Division, composed of the elite foot soldiers in the army at the time, under the Duke of Wellington. Craufurd was a strict disciplinarian and somewhat prone to violent mood swings which earned him the nickname "Black Bob". He was mortally wounded storming the lesser breach in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo on 19 January 1812 and died four days later.