Sir John Burgoyne, 7th Baronet (1739–1785), general, seventh baronet, of Sutton, Bedfordshire, and cousin of Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne, was born in 1739, and entered the army at an early age. After serving in the 7th Fusiliers and other corps, he obtained the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 58th Foot in Ireland in 1764. Some years later he was transferred to that of the 14th Light Dragoons, then on the Irish establishment. The 'Calendar of Home Office Papers,' 1770-2, pars. 224, 639, shows these appointments to have been dictated by political as well as professional considerations. In 1781 Burgoyne was commissioned to raise a regiment of light dragoons for service in India, the first European cavalry sent out to that country. This corps, originally known as the 23rd light dragoons, was