LOWE, SIR HUDSON (1769-1844), English general, was the son of an army surgeon, John Lowe, and was born at Galway on the 28th of July 1769. His mother was a native of that county. His childhood was spent in various garrison towns but he was educated chiefly at Salisbury grammar school. He obtained a post as ensign in the East Devon Militia before his twelfth year, and subsequently entered his father's regiment, the 50th, then at Gibraltar (1787) under Governor-General O'Hara. After the outbreak of war with France early in 1793, Lowe saw active service successively in Corsica, Elba, Portugal and Minorca, where he was entrusted with the command of a battalion of Corsican exiles, called The Corsican Rangers. With these he did good work in Egypt in 1800-1801. After the peace of Amiens, Lowe, now a major, became assistant quartermaster-general; but on the renewal of war with France in 1803 he was charged, as lieutenant-colonel, to raise the Corsican battalion again and with it assisted in the defence of Sicily. On the capture of Capri he proceeded thither with his battalion and a Maltese regiment; but in October 1808 Murat organized an attack upon the island, and Lowe, owing to the unsteadiness of the Maltese troops and the want of succour by sea, had to agree to evacuate the island. The terms in which Sir William Napier and others have referred to Lowe's defence of Capri are unfair. His garrison consisted of 1362 men, while the assailants numbered between 3000 and 4000. In the course of the year 1809 Lowe and his Corsicans helped in the capture of Ischia and Procida, as well as of Zante, Cephalonia and Cerigo. For some months he acted as governor of Cephalonia and Ithaca, and later on of Santa Maura. He returned to England in 1812, and in January 1813 was sent to inspect a Russo-German legion then being formed, and he accompanied the armies of the allies through the campaigns of 1813 and 1814, being present at thirteen important battles. He won praise from Blücher and Gneisenau for his gallantry and judgment. He was chosen to bear to London the news of the first abdication of Napoleon in April 1814. He was then knighted and became major-general; he also received decorations from the Russian and Prussian courts. Charged with the duties of quartermaster-general of the army in the Netherlands in 1814-1815, he was about to take part in the Belgian campaign when he was offered the command of the British troops at Genoa; but while still in the south of France he received (on the 1st of August 1815) news of his appointment to the position of custodian of Napoleon, who had surrendered to H.M.S. "Bellerophon" off Rochefort. Lowe was to be governor of St Helena, the place of the ex-emperor's exile.