General. The second son of another successful soldier, Sir Ralph Abercromby (1734 - 1801), he joined the army in 1786 aged only fourteen. He was quickly promoted and served as aide-de-camp to his father in Flanders (1793-94), following his Sir Ralph to the West Indies (1796-97). He distinguished himself in the Egyptian campaign in which his father was killed. While travelling in France he was taken prisoner and held for five years by Napoleon at Verdun. He was promoted to Major-General in his absence (1805) and finally released through exchange for a French general in 1808. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief in India in 1809 and led the capture of Mauritius the same year. His health failing, he returned to Britain was promoted to Lieutenant-General (1812) and knighted (1815).
He succeeded his brother George (1770 - 1843) as Member of Parliament for Clackmannanshire, but his health continued to decline and he died in Marseille (France).
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