James Skinner (East India Company officer)

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Colonel James Skinner, CB, in 1836

James Skinner CB (1778 – December 4, 1841) was an Anglo-Indian military adventurer in India.

Skinner was born in India, son of Lieutenant-Colonel Hercules Skinner and a Indian lady from Bhojpur. Because of his Indian heritage, Skinner was unable to serve as an officer in the East India Company army[1] and, at the age of eighteen, he entered the Mahratta army under Benoît de Boigne, where he soon showed military talent. He remained in the same service under Pierre Cuillier-Perron until 1803, when, on the outbreak of the second Anglo-Maratha War all Anglo-Indians were dismissed from Mahratta service.[1]

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Dalrymple, William (1993). City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi. HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 000215725X.