About Harry Burrard Sir Harry Burrard, 1st Baronet (1 June 1755
– 17 October 1813) was a British General during the Peninsular
War. After Woolwich Burrard joined the Royal Artillery, the 60th
Foot and the 1st Foot Guards, seeing combat in the American
Revolution and the Revolutionary Wars. He was captured during a
raid on the Bruges canal in 1798. He led the 2nd Brigade during
the 1799 Anglo-Russian campaign in Holland, fighting at the
battles of Bergen, Egmont and Castricum. In 1807, he commanded
the 1st Division at the siege of Copenhagen. Sir Harry Burrard
had long since passed his prime when he took over the British
army in Portugal from Sir Arthur Wellesley in 1808. Wellesley
was one of the most junior Lieutenant-Generals in the British
army, so for reasons of protocol, a more senior officer had to
be placed above him. Burrard stopped Wellesley's pursuit of
General Jean-Andoche Junot after Vimeiro. It was his only real
order during his one day in command of the army. He was replaced
the next day by an eq