Major-General Sir John George Woodford, (28 February 1785 – 22 March 1879) was a British Army officer who has been called "possibly the first battlefield archaeologist". He served in the Napoleonic Wars, and in 1818, did archaeological work in the area surrounding the Battle of Agincourt.
Woodford played a large role in military reform before his retirement in 1841. Battlefield archaeologist Tim Sutherland called him the last living British officer to have served at the Battle of Waterloo.
Life
Early life and family
Born the son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Woodford and Lady Susan Gordan (daughter of Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon), Woodford was the younger brother of his fellow officer Field-Marshal Sir Alexander George Woodford. Woodford also had three half-sisters: Susan Drummond, Elizabeth Lowther, and Lady Mary Fludyer. He was educated at Harrow under Joseph Drury. The foundations of his military career started in 1800, when he was sent to Brunswick, which was at the time in a personal union with the Kingdom of Great Britain, due to the accession of the Elector of Hanover as King George I in 1714.
Military career
Granted a commission as an ensign in the first regiment of the Grenadier Guards by the Duke of Gloucester in May 1800, Woodford finished his time training in Brunswick before his return to Great Britain to join his regiment in 1801. Upon his return, he was befriended by William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry, who presented him with a fine horse and led him to the King at Windsor. This friendship proved fortunate, as Douglas left him £10,000 in 1810. Although Woodford joined the regiment in 1801, he did not see active service until 1807, when he was involved in the Battle of Copenhagen. Following this, in 1808, he was sent to the Peninsula under the command of Sir David Baird to join with the forces of Sir John Moore. Here, Woodford was appointed deputy-assistant quartermaster-general and aide-de-camp to Moore. Involved in the retreat to Corunna, it is said that Woodford's heel was injured by the last shot fired in the Battle of Corunna at dusk. As a result of this, Woodford was unfit for military service for eighteen months until he was able to join the Duke of Wellington's army, which had just crossed the Ebro. Woodford continued his previous roles and was a participant in numerous battles, including Nivelle, Nive, Orthez, and Toulouse.
In 1813, Woodford had purchased a captaincy in the first regiment of the Grenadier Guards. Upon the return of Napoleon in 1815, Woodford served in the fourth division under Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Colville as a lieutenant-colonel in the 1st Foot Guards. This division was detailed to support Prince Frederick of the Netherlands on the road to Halle. However, Woodford was dispatched by Colville to Wellington for orders. Arriving in the early morning, Wellington ordered Woodford to remain by his side as an aide-de-camp due to the imminence of the battle. Tim Sutherland, in his TV series Medieval Dead, stated that Woodford was the last living British officer to have fought at Waterloo. Following the battle, Woodford continued to serve under Colville and assisted in the occupation of Cambrai. In 1818, Woodford was appointed to the command of the Army of the Occupation in France until its withdrawal in October of that year. Woodford was made a C.B. in 1815.