Lieutenant-General James Hay CB (1780 – 25 February 1854) was a British Army officer who saw service during the Peninsular War and the Waterloo Campaign.

He was born in Braco, Scotland the son of John Hay[1] and joined the 16th Light Dragoons as a cornet on 10 June 1795.

[2] During the Peninsular War, Hay was present at the battles of Vittoria and the Nive for which he received the Army Gold Medal with one clasp.

[1] On 22  June 1815, on the recommendation of Wellington, he was appointed a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB) for his services at Quatre Bras and Waterloo.

It is far more likely that he had acquired it in Spain after the Battle of Vitoria, when a coach loaded with treasures from the Spanish royal collection by Joseph Bonaparte was captured and looted by British soldiers.