Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Stedman, John Andrew
STEDMAN, JOHN ANDREW (1778–1833), general in the Dutch army, was the son of William George Stedman. Both his father and grandfather, who belonged to the same family as Charles Stedman [q. v.] and John Gabriel Stedman [q. v.], were officers in the Scots brigade in the service of the States-General of Holland—a corps whose history extends from 1570 to 1783. Both of them married Dutch wives of noble blood. In 1783, when the Scots brigade was formed into Dutch regiments, and most of the officers resigned their commissions, Captain William George Stedman elected to be naturalised in the country of his adoption. John Andrew, his only son, was born at Zutphen in 1778, and received a commission in the Dutch army when only a child. At the early age of sixteen he first saw service with the allied forces, under the Duke of York and the Prince of Orange, which were employed in 1794 on the northern frontier of France. His next service was in 1799, when the Batavian republic was in alliance with France, and the Duke of York commanded the opposing army at Bergen. At a later date he again served against the English at Walcheren. Meanwhile he had held important staff appointments, and, on the incorporation of Holland with France, he became general of brigade in the French army. In this capacity he served for two years in Italy, and was present at the battles of Bautzen and Dresden. In 1814 he attached himself to the Prince of Orange, afterwards King William of Holland, and commanded the Dutch troops in reserve at Waterloo, with the rank of lieutenant-general. He died at Nimeguen in 1833. He married Nicola Gertrude van de Poll, granddaughter of the last reigning burgomaster of Amsterdam. Their only son, Charles John William Stedman, became a Prussian subject, settling at Besselich Abbey, near Coblentz. He was a member of the national assemblies of Frankfort and Erfurt, and received the title of freiherr or baron. He had a large family, of which nearly all the sons entered the Queen Augusta regiment of guards; they have reverted to the original family name of Barton.
[John Stedman's Memoir of the Family of Barton, 1857.]