Joseph Brome (British Army officer, died 1825)

Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Brome (died 1825) was a British Royal Artillery officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars.

Biography

Brome was the adopted son of Joseph Brome (died 1796) a distinguished Royal Artillery officer.[1][lower-alpha 1]

Brome graduated from the Royal Military Academy as second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery (R.A.) on 14 August 1794—the date of the creation of the 5th battalion R.A. to which he was posted at Woolwich. On 22 September the same year he was promoted to first lieutenant and posted to Erith, as second in command of Royal Artillery detachments destined for the East Indies.[2]

On 8 June 1797 Brome returned to England and was appointed to command of H. M. bomb tender, Judith, in the Downs.[2] During 14 May to 25 June 1798 the Judith took part in the expedition to Ostend to destroy the locks of the Bruges Canal under the command of the Duke of York, and later in the year actions on the coast of France.[3] In November of the same year he joined the expedition against Minorca. The next year, in August 1799 he participated in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland on the Walcheren.[4]

Brome was promoted to captain-lieutenant of H. M. bomb ship Thunder on 18 April 1801. In August of that year Thunder was part of the fleet that took part in the expedition to Boulogne, and destruction of the French invasion flotilla.[5] In covering the evacuation, he distinguished himself,[5] and was mentioned in a despatch to Admiral Lord Nelson:

Captain Broome, and Lieutenant Beem, of the Royal Artillery, did every thing in their power to annoy the enemy.

— John Conn Captain of HMS Discovery[6]

In January 1802 he was part of the expedition to West Indies where he commanded the bomb ships off Port Royal, Jamaica.[4] In July of the same year he returned to England and was posted to Woolwich for land service in R.A., and joined the 3rd battalion as acting adjutant. On 1 January 1803 he was appointed acting Adjutant of 3rd battalion until his promotion was confirmed on 13 August. On 19 July 1804 his navy rank of captain-lieutenant was converted into second captain in the artillery (captain in the army) and in the same month he was promoted to captain R.A. and placed in command of No. 3 company 3rd battalion (6-pounder field brigade) at Canterbury; and moved to Exeter in December. He returned to Woolwich in 1805.[4]

From December to February 1806 he commanded a light field brigade (6-pr.) on the expedition for defence of Hanover under Sir Arthur Wellesley.[4] The next year (1897) he commanded his 6-pr. light brigade on the Expedition to Copenhagen under the overall command of Sir Arthur Wellesley and Major General Thomas Blomefield in command of the Royal Artillery contingent, and took part in the investment and siege of Copenhagen.[7]

In 1809 he commanded the light brigade of the Royal Artillery on the expedition to Walcheren, and was engaged in both first and second operations of the Scheldt expedition, including actions of Walcheren and South Beleland under the command of Brigadier-General John Macleod, R.A.[8]

On 4 July 1813 he received a promotion to Brevet Major. He took part in the Waterloo Campaign as commander of a brigade of 9-pounder field artillery but did not fight at the Battle of Waterloo because he was stationed at Hal to prevent a possible French attack towards Mons and to protect the British line of retreat to the coast. He did take part in the siege of Cambray and other actions during the advance on Paris.[9]

He returned to Woolwich in 1816 and was posted to Gibraltar in 1819. On 8 August 1821 he was promoted to Regimental Major, R.A., and commandant of R.A. in the West Indies, where in 1823 he was promoted to Regimental Lieutenant-Colonel. He died on 4 January 1825 in Jamaica.[9]

Notes
  1. Brome's father had two non-adopted sons, Joseph and Thomas Walton who also served as officers in the Royal Artillery.[1]
Citations
  1. Murdoch 1894, p. 214.
  2. Murdoch 1894, p. 458.
  3. Murdoch 1894, pp. 458, 459.
  4. Murdoch 1894, p. 459.
  5. Murdoch 1894, p. 259.
  6. Harrison 1806, p. 364.
  7. Murdoch 1894, p. 459 cites "History of the Royal Artillery," Vol. II., p. 162.
  8. Murdoch 1894, p. 460 cites "General Macleod's Journal").Murdoch 1894, p. 460
  9. Murdoch 1894, p. 460.

References
  • Harrison, James (1806). The Life of the Right Honourable Horatio: Lord Viscount Nelson: Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Burnham-Thorpe and Hilborough in the County of Norfolk... Vol. 2. C. Chapple. p. 364.
  • Murdoch, Robert Hamilton (1894). "Memoirs, Historical and Biographical. The Brome-Walton Family". Journal of the Royal Artillery. Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution. 21: 214, 458–460.

Further reading
  • Murdoch, Robert Hamilton (1895). The Brome-Walton family. Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution.
  • Philippart, John, ed. (1820). The Royal Military Calendar, Or Army Service and Commission Book: Containing the Services and Progress of Promotion of the Generals... (3 ed.). A.J. Valpy. p. 216.
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