The King's Rake

Beauing, belling, dancing, drinking,

Breaking windows, cursing, sinking

Every raking, never thinking,

Live the Rakes of Mallow,

Spending faster than it comes,

Beating waiter's bailiffs, duns,

Bacchus' true begotten sons,

Live the Rakes of Mallow.

And so begin the lyrics of the mid-18th-century song that remains in today's culture as an international classic, "The Rakes of Mallow." This song tells of the rakes from the farming town of Mallow, about 20 miles north of the city of Cork.  What exactly is a rake? Although Mallow is a farming town, we aren't talking about the tool used for gardening. The other rake is an archaic term for a carousing, gambling, drinking, and womanizing type of person. The kind both celebrated and criticized by Georgian England. This brings us to the rake of this story—the complex and never uninteresting George Hanger...

The Rake at Dawn

George Hanger was born near Berkshire, England, around 1751. His father was Gabriel, the 3rd Baron Coleraine, an Irish peerage. As the third son of an upper-class noble, it was almost preordained that he would be destined for the military. Hanger was educated at Eton and then spent a year at the University of Göttingen in Hannover, Germany. A bright student, Hanger cut a "rakish" figure and favored the proverbial wine, women, and gambling—not necessarily in that order. He allegedly fought three duels by the time he was 20 and was reputed to be a crack shot. While in Germany, Hanger observed the famed Prussian Army of Frederick the Great during maneuvers and determined then and there to pursue a military career. In January 1771, he was appointed an ensign in the 1st Foot Guards, a posh regiment of the household troops. Hanger performed well but resigned after being passed over for a promotion just four years later. Already, hints of his lifestyle began to swirl.

George Hanger

Soldier for Hire

Hanger's German contacts served him well, however, and he soon received a captain's commission in the Feldjager Korps of the forces of the Landgraf (Elector) of Hesse-Kassel, another elite unit. I think we know where this is going... It was as part of this band of young Teutonic aristocrats that Hanger sailed for America when the Landgraf "rented" his troops to King George III. Leaving Portsmouth in March 1776, young Hanger would arrive just in time for some of the most "fun" episodes for crown forces during the entire eight-year struggle. He played a role in the juggernaut campaigns that swept the rebels from New York and the Jerseys in 1776, as well as in the less glamorous but no less savage escapades of 1777. His performance was such that he assumed command of an elite Hessian Jaeger (light infantry) company drawn from all the Hessian regiments of the army. By all accounts, Hanger distinguished himself in the months that followed. His unit did more than its share of screening, patrolling, and small-scale fighting in the area around Kingsbridge, Spuyten Duyvil, and Westchester. Around this time, he learned that his estate in Britain had gone into foreclosure, and through a series of misfortunes, he found himself worse than broke. Our young hero had become a self-styled "soldier of fortune."

Hanger became a master of light infantry

An Unlikely Spy

When the British occupation of Newport, Rhode Island, ended in 1779, Hanger was selected by the British commander in chief, General Henry Clinton, to embark on a daring reconnaissance mission to determine if the American occupiers had left their defenses vulnerable for reconquest. He sailed the 150 miles north from the mouth of New York harbor on a frigate and led a twelve-man longboat into perilous waters during a bold night raid. He captured a prisoner and returned to New York with him. Hanger was later criticized in the American papers when the prisoner suddenly fell ill and died.

An unlikely Hanger sails on a secret mission
 to Rhode Island: espionage

Moving South

Patrick Ferguson
 - a badass

Later, Hanger took command of a series of mixed rifle and musket units and was seconded to the famed "counter-guerrilla" Major Patrick Ferguson, one of the badass British officers of the war whose demise at King's Mountain would herald the beginning of the end in the South. But I digress. With Ferguson, Hanger sailed to the Carolinas under General Henry Clinton in the spring of 1780, marking the opening of the "southern strategy." After a short stint as Clinton's aide-de-camp and then inspector of militia under Ferguson, the ever-mobile Hanger managed to transfer to Banastre Tarleton's British Legion. The two hard-drinking, rough-and-tumble aristocrats hit it off, and Tarleton made Hanger his deputy. Hanger joined the green-jacketed band of Loyalist regulars that would become notorious under Tarleton.

Infamous Banastre Tarleton
Hanger's mentor and commander

The Legion

Lord Charles Cornwallis

The Legion led Major General Charles Cornwallis's invasion of North Carolina. When Tarleton was struck down by yellow fever, Hanger took command. Although an accomplished infantry fighter and reliable deputy, Hanger struggled with the cavalry, the crucial strike force of Tarleton's Legion. He allowed himself to be ambushed at Wahab Plantation on September 21, 1780, where a partisan force under American Colonel William Davie attacked in the early evening. Surprised and overwhelmed, Hanger suffered 12 killed, 47 wounded, and nearly 100 invaluable horses captured. Tasked with leading the British advance against Charlotte less than a week later, he faltered again. This time, he allowed his horsemen to become separated from their supporting infantry. Once more, Davie outmaneuvered him when Hanger's cavalry charged recklessly into the town without support. Hanger led several assaults against Davie's American riflemen, who were defending from behind a wall. Hanger's men began to fall to the precise fire. Cornwallis himself had to step in to stabilize the situation. Hanger was severely wounded during the fight and subsequently contracted yellow fever. Sick and injured, he was sent to the Bahamas (of all places) to recover.

Hanger led the Legion's cavalry to savage fighting and defeat
at Charlotte

Dead Ender?

Guy Carleton

When he recovered sufficiently, Hanger returned to New York in the summer of 1781 and took on garrison duties. As the key to Britain's control over North America, New York was the center of gravity, and Hanger found himself back in the mix. He also returned to the city filled with bars, brothels, and bedrooms for him to enjoy during his downtime from drilling troops or patrolling the outskirts. One might think our young rake had the best of both worlds during this time. Ever the soldier, he sailed with General Clinton's relief force aimed at rescuing Cornwallis's trapped army at Yorktown. Upon learning of the surrender, he returned to the city with the rest of the fleet. As peace negotiations settled on terms, Hanger took on another role: resettling members of the Legion. In that effort, he made a trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to find land and quarters for the loyalists who chose not to go to England. Mission accomplished, he came back to New York. One has to view George as a proverbial dead-ender. He remained with one of the last British units to evacuate the city, sailing with the final British commander and governor in North America, General Guy Carleton.

Hanger in a "Forrest Gump" like move, manages to
witness the American Revolution's climax

The Bad Boy of Georgian England

Once home, Hanger returned to the life of a flamboyant party boy. He became a party companion of that other rake, the Prince of Wales, who later became King George IV. The prince was amused by Hanger's rakish ways. Hanger seemed to have become famous for being famous, as they say—the subject of much satire and ridicule in the equivalent of today's tabloids. His fast living landed him in debtor's prison, where he spent two years (1798-1800). He turned to writing while in prison and produced his memoirs there.

Hanger and his buddy the Prince of Wales
attended many a party

When he got out, he became a coal merchant (in which he was quite successful) but continued his addiction to gambling and partying around London. Throughout, Hanger flaunted contemporary mores, cavorting openly with women of all kinds, keeping a peculiar collection of dogs, cats, and monkeys, and generally thumbing his nose at the upper crust and middle class. One of his celebrated exploits was arranging a cross-country race between a flock of turkeys and a flock of geese!

Cartoon satire of Hanger

At the same time, he learned to capitalize on some of his strengths as a pamphleteer - the bloggers of their day. Reinventing himself as a subject matter expert, he published pamphlets on military topics, gambling, hunting, and shooting. Hanger engaged in public disputes over military policy during the Napoleonic Wars. He wrote absurd advice columns on various subjects, most famously about the fairer sex. His escapades and opinions were closely followed by the media of his time. In 1814, he was offered the barony of Coleraine, but he turned it down to continue his "celebrated" lifestyle in London.

Cartoon satire of Hanger

The Legacy

Cartoon satire of Hanger

Despite his hard living, Hanger maintained his lifestyle as a rake-about-town, a military expert, and a celebrated eccentric until his death in London on March 31, 1824. He left behind a second wife, possibly his housekeeper, and their son, who was denied his father's peership. George Hanger was undoubtedly one of the more complex men of his time and certainly one of the most interesting, if not amusing.

 Eventually, his notoriety caught up with him. The king distanced himself from him, high society shunned him, and the press ridiculed him. Yet, in many ways, he embodied his class and era: a curious mix of breeding, talent, courage, rapacity, and culture. It's a pity he didn't settle in America...

George Hanger, 4th Baron Coleraine?