Augustus Abbott

Major-General Augustus Abbott (7 January 1804 – 25 February 1867) was a British army officer. He was the eldest of several prominent brothers. He served in various military campaigns including the First Anglo-Afghan War. He died at Cheltenham, to which he had retired, having been discharged from the army due to poor health.

Early life Augustus Abbott was born in London and baptised on 10 March 1804 at St Pancras Old Church, the eldest son of Henry Alexius Abbott, a retired merchant of Blackheath, Kent, and his wife Margaret Welsh, the daughter of William Welsh of Edinburgh. He was educated by the Rev. John Faithfull at Warfield, and at Winchester College. At the East India Company's Addiscombe Military Seminary (1818–19) he trained as an officer cadet.

Military career In 1819, aged 15, Abbott sailed for British India, as second lieutenant, and on 7 August 1821 was promoted to First Lieutenant. By 1835 Abbott had been made captain. He then served with distinction in the First Anglo-Afghan War from 1838 to 1842, playing an important part in the siege of Jalalabad.