Thomas Simson Pratt
General Sir Thomas Simson Pratt, KCB (1797 – 2 February 1879) was a British Army officer. He served in the First Anglo-Chinese War (1839–1841), in India from 1843 to 1855 where he was deputy adjutant-general at Madras, and was commander of the British Forces in Australia from 1856 to 1861. He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 31 May 1865, and to full general eight years later.
Sir Thomas Pratt | |
|---|---|
Pratt as major-general, c. 1864 | |
| Birth name | Thomas Simson Pratt |
| Born | 1797 Kingdom of Ireland |
| Died | 2 February 1879 (aged 82) Bath, Somerset, England |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | British Army |
| Rank | General |
| Campaigns | Napoleonic Wars
|
| Awards | China War Medal (1842) New Zealand War Medal Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath |
He was commander of the British Forces in New Zealand from 1860 to 1861, and was on the Executive Council. He commanded during the First Taranaki War, but as he realised the doubtful validity of the Waitara Purchase (the main cause of the war), he disagreed with Governor Gore Browne, and his military action was ridiculed by the local settlers. He was created KCB for his services in New Zealand by the British Government.