killed, wounded, and prisoners, and a large number of
guns. The French lost about 8,000.”
Bagration put up persistent resistance against the
French at Eylau (now Bagrationovsk, Russia) on 8 Feb-
ruary 1807 and at Friedland (now Pravdinsk) on 14
June 1807. In 1808, he marched his troops across the
frozen Gulf of Finland to capture the Åland Islands in
the war against Sweden, winning a crucial victory at Art-
chio on 15–16 February 1808, and in 1809 he fought
the Turks at Machin (18 August), Fursov (22 August),
and Rossevat (4 September).
In 1812, Bagration was once again sent to fight the
French, commanding the Second Army of the West; he
was defeated by a French force at Mogilev on 23 July
- At Borodino on 7 September 1812, he headed
the left wing of the Russian army, commanded by
Mikhail barclay de tolly. During the battle, Bagra-
tion received a wound that proved mortal; he lingered
for 17 days, succumbing on 24 September 1812. Czar
Nicholas I later erected a monument in his honor at
Borodino.
References: Golubov, Sergei Nikolaevich, No Easy Vic-
tories: A Novel of General Bagration and the Campaign of
1812, translated by J. Fineberg (London: Hutchinson
International Authors Ltd., 1945); Keegan, John, and
Andrew Wheatcroft, “Bagration, Prince Petr Ivanovich,”
in Who’s Who in Military History from 1453 to the Pres-
ent Day (London: Routledge, 1996), 18; “Austerlitz,” in
Bruce, George, Collins Dictionary of Wars (Glasgow, Scot-
land: HarperCollins, 1995), 25.
Baird, Sir David (1757–1829) British general
Born in Newbyth, East Lothian, Scotland, on 6 Decem-
ber 1757, David Baird was commissioned in the 2nd
Regiment of Foot and entered the British army in 1772
(some sources report the year as 1773), joining his regi-
ment in Gibraltar. In 1779, he was transferred to India,
where, as a captain in the 73rd Highlanders, he served
under Colonel Baillie. When Baillie’s troops were taken
prisoner in 1780 by Hyder Ali (the Indian warrior also
known as Haider Ali), Baird was incarcerated with his
fellow soldiers and spent four years in captivity at Serin-
gapatam. Released in 1784, he remained in India, not
returning home to England until 1789. Two years later
he went back to India, breaking his journey to serve in
South Africa.
In India, Baird took up arms against Tipu (also
Tippoo) Sahib and was promoted to the rank of major
general. He saw action at the first battle of Seringapatam
(5–6 February 1792), where some 22,000 British and
Indian troops, under Lord cornWallis went against
a Mysore fortification under Tipu Sahib. Baird led a
second assault on Seringapatam (6 April–3 May 1799),
earning high praise for his bravery. Because of his ser-
vices to the British army, he fully expected to be named
commander of the British forces in India, and when he
was passed over for Arthur Wellesley (later the duke of
Wellington), he resigned his commission in a fit of
anger. He reentered the British army in 1801.
From 1801 to 1802, Baird served in Egypt against
the French, and in 1805 he was created Knight Com-
mander of the Order of Bath (KCB) and promoted to
lieutenant general. That year he was given command of
an expedition against the Dutch at the Cape of Good
Hope; he received the surrender of the Dutch forces the
following year, bringing the area under British control.
In 1807, Baird commanded a division at the siege of
Copenhagen, and in 1808 he was sent to Spain as sec-
ond in command of the British army. When General
Sir John moore was mortally wounded at the Battle
of La Coruña on 16 January 1809, Baird became the
commander in chief, but he also was wounded and lost
his left arm. Because of this, he was given no further
command, but he received the thanks of Parliament and
was created a baronet for his services (1809). In 1814, he
was promoted to the rank of full general, and from 1820
to 1822 he served as commander of British forces in Ire-
land. In 1829, he became the governor of Fort George
in his native Scotland, where he died on 29 August 1829
at the age of 72.
Baird biographer Henry Morse Stephens writes: “If
Baird was not a very great soldier, he was certainly a gal-
lant soldier, and the prisoner of Hydar Ali, the stormer
of Seringapatam, and the general of the march across
the desert, will deservedly remain a popular hero. There
was a chivalrous gallantry in his nature which made the
old pun, ‘Not Baird, but Bayard,’ particularly applicable
to him.”References: Stephens, Henry Morse, “Baird, Sir David,”
in The Dictionary of National Biography, 22 vols., 8 supps.,
edited by Sir Leslie Stephen and Sir Sidney Lee, et al.
(London: Oxford University Press, 1921–22), I:914–917;
Wilkin, Walter Harold, The Life of Sir David Baird (Lon- bAiRD, SiR DAviD