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\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\f0\fs16 Free-standing monument to Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton KGCB (1758-1815) by Sebastian Gahagan.\par
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Sir Thomas Picton, a Welshman born in 1758, began his long and controversial career at the tender age of thirteen, when he obtained an ensign commission in the 12\super th\nosupersub Regiment of Foot. He was later transferred to the 75\super th\nosupersub Regiment of Foot, where he gained notice by quelling a mutinous riot among his troops. His action gained him the promise of promotion, however this fell through and Picton returned to his home of Pembrokeshire disheartened.\par
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In 1794, after twelve years of self-imposed retirement, Picton sailed to the West Indies upon a merchant ship, where he served as a major in the 58\super th\nosupersub Regiment of Foot under Sir John Vaughan. He was shortly after promoted to lieutenant colonel, under the command of Sir Ralph Abercomby, before he was appointed governor of Trinidad by Abercomby in 1797. Picton took to governing the island with a firm, and judged by some, brutal hand. Determined to quiet any civil disorder on the island, Picton established stricter laws and showed no mercy with punishments, especially in regard to the control of the island\rquote s large slave population. In 1803, to curb Picton\rquote s vigorous rule, the governing of the island was handed over to a body of commissioners, which included Colonel William Fullarton and Commodore Samuel Hood, along with Picton. Pushed to the sidelines by Fullarton, Picton resigned from his post and returned home after briefly serving in the recaptures of St. Lucia and Tobago. \par
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By the end of 1803, criminal charges for excessive cruelty and administering executions without due process were pressed against Picton by Fullarton. Most of these charges were handled by the Privy Council and Picton was promptly released on \'a340,000 bail. However, in 1806 he was placed on trial for the single charge of torturing a fourteen year-old girl to extract information. Picton\rquote s actions were deemed unlawful under Spanish law and he was found guilty. A retrial was immediately sought, and 1808 found Picton once again on trial, where this time new evidence supported the legality of his actions under Spanish law, therefore acquitting Picton of the charge. \par
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Picton was promoted major-general, and briefly served in the Walcheren expedition in the Netherlands, before joining Wellington\rquote s forces in Spain in 1810. Over the next five years, Picton continually rose in the British ranks and in Wellington\rquote s esteem, becoming one of the Duke\rquote s senior officers and promoted to lieutenant-general. \par
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After Napoleon\rquote s return from Elba, Picton was put in command of the 5\super th\nosupersub Infantry Division during the Battle of Waterloo. While leading his troops forward, Picton was struck in the temple by a musket ball and died. He was originally buried in St. George\rquote s, Hanover Square, but on 8 June 1859, he was reinterred to St. Paul\rquote s Cathedral, placed near Wellington. \par
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When Sebastian Gahagan was awarded the commission for Picton\rquote s monument at St Paul\rquote s in 1816, he had already been established as a known sculptor in London, working as an assistant for Joseph Nollekens and exhibiting at the Royal Academy several times. However, the Committee of Taste\rquote s decision to use Gahagan\rquote s designs for the Picton monument was his first prestigious commission, and launched a greater demand for his talents, including several commissions of copies of Picton\rquote s bust, one of which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1818. The monument was completed and installed in 1820. \par
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ERECTED AT THE PUBLIC EXPENSE / TO LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR THOMAS PICTON, K.G.C.B. / WHO AFTER DISTINGUISHING HIMSELF IN THE VICTORIES OF / BUZACO, FUENTES DE ONOR, CUIDAD RODRIGO, BADAJOZ, VITORIA, / THE PYRENEES, ORTHES, AND TOULOUSE; / TERMINATED HIS LONG AND GLORIOUS MILITARY SERVICE / IN THE EVER MEMORABLE BATTLE OF WATERLOO, / TO THE SPLENDID SUCCESS OF WHICH / HIS GENIUS AND VALOUR EMINENTLY CONTRIBUTED, / ON THE XVIII OF JUNE MDCCCXVSEBASTIAN GAHAGAN / INVENIT ET FECIT
