Lieutenant General Sir Edward Barnes, GCB (28 October 1776 – 19 March 1838) was a British soldier who became governor of Ceylon.

Barnes served in the campaign of 1815 as adjutant-general, and was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo, where he was known as "our fire eating adjutant general".

He directed the construction of the great military road between Colombo and Kandy, and of many other lines of communication, made the first census of the population, and introduced coffee cultivation based on the West Indian system (1824).

[2] On his return home, he was appointed in 1834 Colonel of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, a post he held until his death.

At the 1835 general election, Barnes was narrowly defeated, but he finally became MP for Sudbury at the third attempt in 1837;[3] however, he died in the following year.

[2] Along with Admiral William Bowles, Barnes was responsible for the establishment of the Army and Navy Club in Pall Mall, London.