PICTON, Sir Thomas (1758-1815), general under Wellington in the Peninsular War, was the younger son of Thomas Picton, of Poyston, Pembrokeshire, where he was born in August 1758. In 1771 he obtained an ensign’s commission in the 12th regiment of foot, but he did not join until two years afterwards. The regiment was then stationed at Gibraltar, where he remained until he was made captain in the 75th in January 1778, when he returned to England. The regiment was shortly afterwards disbanded, and in 1794 he embarked for the West Indies without an appointment, on the strength of a slight acquaintance with Sir John Vaughan, who made him his aide-de-camp and gave him a captaincy in the 17th foot. Shortly afterwards he was promoted major. Under Sir Ralph Abercromby he took part in the capture of St Lucia and St Vincent. After the reduction of Trinidad he was made governor of the island, and in October 1801 he was gazetted brigadier-general. Resigning the governorship of Trinidad in 1803, he took part in an expedition against St Lucia and Tobago, and he held the governorship of the latter island until forced to resign it by public clamour in England. In 1807 he was put upon his trial for applying torture to a female slave in Trinidad to extort confession respecting a robbery, and a general verdict of guilty was returned. A new trial was, however, granted, and after protracted litigation the court, on 10th February 1810, ordered “the defendant’s recognizance to be respited until they should further order.” Previous to this he had taken part in the capture of Flushing, of which in 1809 he was made governor. At the special solicitation of Wellington he was named to the command of a division of the army in Spain, and during the Peninsular campaign he was placed in the post ...