John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham General John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, (9 October 1756 – 24 September 1835) was a British soldier and politician. He is best known for commanding the disastrous Walcheren Campaign of 1809. Chatham was the eldest son of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. He was two and a half years older than his famous brother William Pitt the Younger, the future prime minister. Chatham joined the army as an ensign in the 47th Regiment of Foot on 14 March 1774. He served as aide-de-camp to General Guy Carleton in Quebec, but resigned his
John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham was back in Britain and in 1782 obtained a captaincy in the London-based 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards. Although he was appointed colonel in October 1793 and major-general in February 1795, Chatham does not appear to have undertaken any military duties for nearly fifteen years after the end of the War of American Independence in 1783. For much of the 1780s and 1790s Chatham focused on a political career. His brother, William Pitt the Younger, became prime minister in December 1783, and in July 1788 offered Chatham the cabinet post of First Lord of the Admiralty. 'I have had my