Educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Warre was commissioned into the 54th Regiment of Foot in 1837.[5] He became aide-de-camp to Sir Richard Downes Jackson, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in British North America in 1839.[5] A staff appointment in Canada led to his official investigation of the river route from Montreal to the Red River Settlement, which he traversed by canoe a distance of 2,300 miles.[6]
Warre's Oregon City 1845
Subsequently, in 1845 he was sent on a military reconnaissance mission, riding through the Rockies, with Mervin Vavasour to the Oregon Country to prepare for a potential Anglo-American war over the territory.[5] During the trip he made paintings and sketches of the region, and reported on possible military preparations.[7]
A self portrait, his hut in the Crimea, before Sebastopol, July 1855.Camp before Fort Kinburn, Dnieper River, from the Cemetery - 26 October 1855. 9 days after the battle.
He served throughout the Crimean War, October 1853 to February 1856. Warre commanded the 57th Regiment of Foot in the Crimean War in 1855.[5]
Taking part in the Siege of Sebastopol, he did his part in the quelling of the Indian Mutiny. He then transferred from India to take part in the Māori war of 1861 to 1865. He led his regiment in the Second Taranaki War in New Zealand in Spring 1865, seizing Māori land on the north Taranaki coast and establishing posts from Pukearuhe, 50 km north of New Plymouth, to Ōpunake, 80 km south of the town.[8]
He became Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army in 1878 and served in that role during the Second Anglo-Afghan War,[9] going to the support of Sir Donald Stewart, holding the line of march from the Indus to Kandahar, enabled him to relieve Kabul. He retired in 1881.[10] He was awarded the K.C.B. on 29 May 1886.[11]
Warre was also a talented artist and published two books of sketches from his journeys: Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory (1848)[12] and Sketches in the Crimea (1856).[13]
The National Library of New Zealand has an extensive collection of 149 of his sketches covering the Crimean War, Europe, the United States, New Zealand, and some European items.[14]
^"Obituary". No. 3078. The Illustrated London News. 16 April 1898. p. 7. Retrieved 30 July 2024. Volume 112
^Joseph Schafer, "Documents Relative to Warre and Vavasour’s Military Reconnoissance in Oregon, 1845-6", Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, Vol. 10, No. 1 (March, 1909), pp. 1-99.
^"Warre, Henry James, 1819-1898". Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 29 July 2024. Army officer and artist. As an army officer in the Buckinghamshire Regiment, he served in British North America, including Canada, as ADC (Aide-de-camp) to his uncle, Sir R. D. Jackson, Commander-in-chief of the British forces. He travelled across country to Oregon and British Columbia in 1845-1846. He also served during the Crimean War. With the rank of Colonel, he served in New Zealand 1861-1865 as Commanding Officer of the 57th Regiment, based in the North Island. He also undertook a sea voyage to the South Island, including visits to Nelson, Lyttelton and Otago in 1865. Painted and drew in pencil and watercolours. His New Zealand drawings and watercolours are held in the Alexander Turnbull Library, Auckland Museum, Auckland Art Gallery, Christchurch Art Gallery, Hocken Library and the National Library of Australia. Canadian watercolours and drawings are held by the Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa.
