Hugh Lyle Carmichael
Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Lyle Carmichael (1764–1813), was a British officer of the 2nd West India Regiment. He was Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces at the Siege of Santo Domingo. He was Lieutenant Governor of Demerara Essequibo from 1812 until his death the following year. He was a strong proponent of giving native Caribbean troops the same rights as ordinary British soldiers. Biography Born at Dublin, Ireland, in 1764, he was the son of Hugh Carmichael (1720–1776) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Hugh Lyle, of Coleraine, County Londonderry; formerly the captain of a regiment of dragoons. His grandfather, Andrew Carmichael (1675–1759), was the grandson of Samuel, brother of the 2nd Lord Carmichael. Andrew came from Scotland to Northern Ireland where he was Provost of Dungannon and married at Killyleagh his cousin, Anne Montgomery, niece of Hugh Montgomery, 1st Earl of Mount Alexander. Carmichael's sister, Eleanor, married the son and heir of Theaker Wilder, nephew of James Steuart, Admiral of the Fleet. Carmichael is noted for recognising the value and usefulness of incorporating native Caribbean troops into the British Army. In 1797, he wrote that they were not only critical militarily, but their strength and stamina had been proven by their