Born at Hawkstone Hall, near Hodnet, Shropshire, Hill was the seventh son of Sir John Hill, 3rd Baronet. He was brother to Robert, Clement and Rowland, who would go on to become Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. He entered the army on 25September 1801, at the age of seventeen, as a cornet in the 10th Regiment of Dragoons and purchased a lieutenancy the following year. In 1806, by now a captain, he exchanged to the 53rd Regiment of Foot and served as aide-de-camp to his brother Rowland in England and Ireland before accompanying him to Portugal in 1808. Hill was present at the subsequent battles of Roleia and Vimeiro, as well as during the retreat of Sir John Moore's army following the Battle of Corunna. When the Portuguese Army was created in 1809 under Lieutenant-General William Beresford, Hill was appointed to the command of the 1st Portuguese Regiment, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and made brevet Major in the British Army at the same time. Together with the Portuguese 16th Regiment and the 4th Regiment of Caçadores, Hill's unit completed the 1st Independent Brigade under the command of Sir Denis Pack, which subsequently took part in the Battle of Busaco on 27September 1810. In 1811, Hill was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel by brevet in the British army. For his role in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, Hill received an honorary distinction and he went on to fight in the battles of Salamanca, Vittoria and the siege of San Sebastián. Hill received a medal on each of those occasions. Having attained the rank of colonel in the Portuguese Army, he returned to England in 1814 having with permission received the Royal Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword on March11 1813. In July that year he was promoted to a company in the 1st Foot Guards then in January 1815 he was created a Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath. Hill was subsequently employed as an assistant in the Adjutant-General’s department, and for his services at the Battle of Waterloo received the Waterloo Medal and was nominated for a Knight's Cross of the Royal Bavarian Military Order of Max Joseph. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on the 25July 1814 and knighted on the 28th of the same month. Back in England he retired for a time on half-pay. In 1825 he was promoted to Colonel and in 1827, after applying to the then Commander-in-chief, the Duke of Wellington, he was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General in Canada.
