Regency Personalities Series-Thomas Fortescue Kennedy

Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

Thomas Fortescue Kennedy
9 November 1774 – 15 May 1846

Kennedy was born into a family with a history of military service, and entered the navy shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. After some service on frigates during the various armament crises, in which Kennedy saw service on foreign stations, he was actively involved in the Siege of Toulon, and afterwards was promoted to lieutenant.

He spent some time in the East Indies, distinguishing himself in action, before returning to British waters and serving under a number of prominent naval officers aboard ships of the line. One such officer was Eliab Harvey, who later asked for him to become first-lieutenant on his ship, the 98-gun HMS Temeraire.

Aboard Temeraire Kennedy fought at Trafalgar and played a key role in the capture of the French Fougueux. Promoted to commander for his services, Kennedy captained a ship during the Walcheren Campaign, before being promoted to post-captain shortly before the end of the Napoleonic Wars. His last posting was in 1834, as Captain-Superintendent at Sheerness Dockyard.

For the last two years of his commission he commanded his old ship, HMS Temeraire, which was at Sheerness, serving as a guardship. He was required to arrange and oversee the sale and disposal of the Trafalgar veteran in 1838, one of his last duties before his own commission ended later that year. Kennedy subsequently went into retirement and died in 1846.

Kennedy was born on 9 November 1774, the son of Dr Kennedy, the Inspector-General of Army Hospitals and physician to thePrince of Wales. One of several brothers, Thomas was not alone in choosing a military career. At least two brothers joined the army, one became a captain in the 19th Foot and died in Ceylon in 1801. Another, Sir Robert Hugh Kennedy, served as head of the Army Commissariat under the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsular War.

Thomas Kennedy differed from his brothers in embarking on a career in the navy, joining up on 12 August 1789 as a volunteer first class, under the patronage of Admiral Lord Hood. He was assigned to serve aboard the 74-gun HMS Colossus, which at the time was the guardship at Portsmouth, successively under the commands of Captains Hugh Cloberry Christian and Henry Harvey.

He was then assigned to the 28-gun HMS Pomona, under Captain Henry Savage, and sailed with her to Africa and the West Indies. His service here lasted until September 1790, after which he served as a midshipman on the Home and Newfoundland stations. He was first aboard the 36-gun HMS Crescent, under Captain William Young, before moving to the 74-gun HMS Alcide, under Captain Sir Andrew Snape Douglas, and finally to the sloop HMS Bonetta, successively under Captains William Elliot and Graham Moore.

Kennedy then served aboard the 74-gun HMS Terrible, at first under Captain Skeffington Lutwidge, and then Captain George Campbell. With Terrible Kennedy went out to join the Mediterranean Fleet, and saw service ashore during the Siege of Toulon. He earned particular praise from Hyde Parker, the captain of the fleet under Admiral Lord Hood, for his role in bringing off 60 French civilians, mostly women, as the city fell to the republicans.

Kennedy returned to Britain in 1794 aboard the frigate HMS Sybille, under Captain Edward Cooke, and afterwards transferred to the 36-gun HMS Lively. Kennedy served under two of her captains, Lord Garlies and George Burlton, before returning to HMS Sybille. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1796, while serving aboard Sybille, and went on to distinguish himself in January 1798 in an attack on a gunboat armed with five guns and carrying 50 men in the Bay of Manilla. Despite having only the ships’ barge and 13 men, Kennedy nevertheless captured the gunboat and took possession of it. He was appointed to command his prize during an attack on Samboangon, on Maguindanao, carried out by Lively and HMS Fox.

Kennedy rejoined Lively after this, and continued in her until April 1798. His next appointment was to the 74-gun HMS Triumph, serving at first under Captain William Essington, and later under captains Thomas Seacombe, Eliab Harvey and Sir Robert Barlow. Terrible spent some time during this period as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, and Kennedy served in the English Channel and in the Mediterranean.

After leaving Triumph in 1803, Kennedy took command of the small tender Eliza and Jane in 5 October until 15 November. His role was to convey impressed men from Dublin to Plymouth.

He was then asked by his former commander, Eliab Harvey, to join him as his first-lieutenant aboard the 98-gun HMS Temeraire. Both Kennedy and Harvey fought at the Battle of Trafalgar in which Temeraire was second in line behind Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory.

During the battle Temeraire was engaged in close action with two French warships, Redoutable and Fougueux. After firing several broadsides into Fougueux, Harvey ordered Kennedy to take command of a party of boarders and lead them onto Fougueux.

Kennedy’s party entered the French ship via her main deck ports and chains. The French tried to defend the decks port by port, but were steadily overwhelmed. Fougueux‘s captain, Louis Alexis Baudoin, had suffered a fatal wound earlier in the fighting, leaving Commander Francois Bazin in charge. On learning that nearly all of the officers were dead or wounded and that most of the guns were out of action, Bazin surrendered the ship to Kennedy.

Following the decisive victory at Trafalgar, a round of promotions were made to a number of the officers and men who had fought in the battle. Most of the first-lieutenants present at the battle were promoted to commander, and Kennedy duly received his promotion, dated 24 December 1805. The shortage of ships available for officers of his rank meant that it was not until 1808 that he received a posting, to the 10-gun HMS Cordelia. He commissioned her for service in the North Sea and in 1809 served in the Walcheren Campaign.

While in command he took part in the capture of three privateers and a number of merchantmen, and later commanded a squadron of eight brigs tasked with blockading two 40-gun French frigates at Dunkirk. His blockade was successful, and being unable to escape, the frigates were eventually laid up. He was eventually promoted to post-captain in 1813, but did not receive another ship before the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

The draw-down of the navy in peacetime offered few opportunities for further service, but in 1834 Kennedy received a posting as Captain-Superintendent at Sheerness Dockyard. At Sheerness at this time was the ship Kennedy had served on at Trafalgar, HMS Temeraire, now reduced to serving as a victualling hulk.

Her final role was as a guardship at Sheerness, under the title ‘Guardship of the Ordinary and Captain-Superintendent’s ship of the Fleet Reserve in the Medway’. For the last two years of her service, from 1836 to 1838 she was under the nominal command of Captain Kennedy, in his post as Captain-Superintendent of Sheerness. Kennedy was now commander of the ship he had been first-lieutenant of at Trafalgar, and would be her last commander before her sale and disposal.

Kennedy received orders from the Admiralty in 1838 to have Temeraire valued in preparation for her sale out of the service, and work began on dismantling her that July. Kennedy delegated this task to Captain Sir John Hill, commander of HMS Ocean. Temeraire was sold by Dutch auction on 16 August 1838 to John Beatson, a shipbreaker based at Rotherhithe, for £5,530. She was then towed up the Thames to his yard, a voyage that J. M. W. Turner depicted in his painting The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last Berth to be broken up, 1838. Kennedy’s commission did not long outlive Temeraire‘s. He left his post at Sheerness in 1838 and went into retirement, dying on 15 May 1846.

Kennedy married twice. His first marriage took place in 1806 to Louisa Adlam. The marriage produced two sons who survived him, both of whom entered the military and became officers: George Kennedy served in the Royal Artillery, and his brother Hugh Kennedy served in the Royal Marines.

Kennedy remarried in 1834 to Hannah Kennedy, the widow of a Dr Kennedy, but no children are reported.

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Regency Personalities Series-Thomas Picton

Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

Thomas Picton
24 August 1758 – 18 June 1815

Thomas Picton was a British Army officer who fought in a number of campaigns for Britain, and rose to the rank of lieutenant general. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was “respected for his courage and feared for his irascible temperament.” He is chiefly remembered for his exploits under the Duke of Wellington in the Iberian Peninsular War and at the Battle of Waterloo, where he was mortally wounded while his division stopped d’Erlon’s corps attack against the allied centre left, and as a result became the most senior officer to die at Waterloo.

Thomas Picton was the seventh of twelve children of Thomas Picton (1723–1790) of Poyston, Pembrokeshire, Wales, and his wife, Cecil née Powell (1728–1806). He was born in Haverfordwest. In 1771 he obtained an ensign’s commission in the 12th Regiment of Foot, but he did not join until two years later. The regiment was then stationed at Gibraltar, where he remained until he was made captain in the 75th in 1778, at which point he then returned to Britain.

The regiment was disbanded five years later, and Picton quelled a mutiny amongst the men by his prompt personal action and courage, and was promised the rank of major as a reward. He did not receive it, and after living in retirement on his father’s estate for nearly twelve years, he went out to the West Indies in 1794 on the strength of a slight acquaintance with Sir John Vaughan, the commander-in-chief, who made him his aide-de-camp and gave him a captaincy in the 17th foot. Shortly afterwards he was promoted major in the 58th foot.

Under Sir Ralph Abercromby, who succeeded Vaughan in 1795, he was present at the capture of St Lucia (after which he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 56th Foot) and then that of St Vincent.
After the reduction of Trinidad, Abercromby made Picton governor of the island. For the next 5 years he held the island with a garrison he considered inadequate against the threats of internal unrest and of reconquest by the Spanish. He ensured order by vigorous action, viewed variously as rough and ready justice or as arbitrary brutality. In 1801 he was gazetted brigadier-general. During the negotiations leading to the Peace of Amiens, many of the British inhabitants petitioned against the return of the island to Spain; this together with Picton’s and Abercromby’s representations, ensured the retention of Trinidad as a British possession.

By then, reports of arbitrariness and brutality associated with his governorship had led to a demand at home for his removal. (Picton was also making money from speculation in land and slaves and his mulatto mistress was believed to be corruptly influencing his decisions.) Furthermore, Trinidad no longer faced any external threat, the Pitt ministry had fallen and the new Addington administration did not want Trinidad to develop the plantation economy Picton favoured. In 1802, William Fullarton was appointed as the Senior Member of a commission to govern the island, Samuel Hood became the second member, and Picton himself the junior.

Picton’s policy with respect to various sections of the island population had effectively been “let them hate so long as they fear” and he and Fullarton rapidly fell out. Fullarton commenced a series of open enquiries on allegations against Picton and reported his unfavourable views on Picton’s past actions at length to meetings of the commission. Picton thereupon tendered his resignation and was soon followed by Hood (1803).

Picton joined Hood in military operations in St Lucia and Tobago, before returning to Britain to face charges brought by Fullarton. In December 1803 he was arrested by order of the Privy Council and promptly released on bail set at £40,000 (Picton was able to give surety for half of this; two West Indies plantation owners covered the remainder).

The majority of the charges against Picton were dealt with by the Privy Council. They related principally to excessive cruelty in the detection and punishment of practitioners of obeah, severity to slaves, and of execution of suspects out of hand without due process. Only the latter class of charge seems to have seriously worried the Privy Council, and here Picton’s argument that either the laws of Trinidad, then still the laws of the former Spanish colonial power, or ‘the state of the garrison’ justified the immediate execution in the cases specified eventually carried the day.

He was, however, tried in the court of King’s Bench before Lord Ellenborough in 1806 on a single charge; the misdemeanor of having in 1801 caused torture to be unlawfully inflicted to extract a confession from Luisa Calderon, a young free mulatto girl suspected of assisting one of her lovers to burgle the house of the man with whom she was living, making off with about £500. Torture (but not the specific form) had been requested in writing by a local magistrate and approved in writing by Picton. The torture applied (“picketing”) was a version of a British military punishment and consisted in principle of compelling the trussed up suspect to stand on one toe on a flat-headed peg for one hour on many occasions within a span of a few days. In fact Luisa was subjected to one session of 55 minutes, and a second of 25 minutes the following day.

The period between Picton’s return and the trial had seen a pamphlet war between the rival camps, and the widespread sale of engravings showing a curious British public what a personable 14-year-old mulatto girl being trussed up and tortured in a state of semi-undress might look like. The legal arguments, however, revolved on whether Spanish law permitted torture of suspects: on the evidence given, the jury decided that it did not and Picton was found guilty.

Picton promptly sought a retrial, which he got in 1808. At this, other credible witnesses were brought forward by Picton’s supporters to testify to the (Spanish) legality of torture, its application in the recent past, and that Luisa Calderon had been old enough to be legally tortured. The jury reversed the verdict of the earlier trial but asked for the full court to consider the further argument of the prosecution that torture of a free person was so repugnant to the laws of England that Picton must have known he could not permit it,whatever Spanish law authorised. (The full court never reached a decision on this; there were legal precedents to this general effect from the British occupation of Minorca—and a practical precedent from the British seizure of the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch, but it remained to demonstrate that Picton should have known this, and by now Fullarton was dead and Picton a war hero.)

Friends of Picton in the military and among slave owners subscribed towards his legal expenses. Picton contributed the same sum to a relief fund after a widespread fire in Port of Spain. He had meanwhile been promoted major-general, and in 1809 he had been governor of Flushing in the Netherlands during the Walcheren expedition.

In 1810, at Wellington’s request, he was appointed to command a division in Spain. For the remaining years of the Peninsular War, Picton was one of Wellington’s principal subordinates. In the resolute, thorough and punctual execution of a well-defined task Picton had no superior in the army. His debut, owing partly to his naturally stern and now embittered temper, and partly to the difficult position in which he was placed, was unfortunate. On the River Coa in July 1810 Craufurd’s division became involved in an action, and Picton, his nearest neighbour, refused to support him, as Wellington’s direct orders were to avoid an engagement. Shortly after this, however, at Busaco, Picton found and used his first great opportunity for distinction. Here he had a plain duty, that of repulsing the French attack, and he performed that duty with a skill and resolution, which indicated his great powers as a troop-leader.
After the winter in the lines of Torres Vedras, he added to his reputation and to that of his division, the ‘Fighting’ 3rd, at the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro. In September he was given the local rank of lieutenant-general, and in the same month the division won great glory by its rapid and orderly retirement under severe pressure from the French cavalry at the engagement at El Bodon. In October Picton was appointed to the colonelcy of the 77th Regiment of Foot.

In the first operations of 1812 Picton and Craufurd, side by side for the last time, stormed the two breaches of Ciudad Rodrigo, Craufurd and Picton’s second in command, Major-General Henry Mackinnon, being mortally wounded. At Badajoz, a month later, the successful storming of the fortress was due to his daring self-reliance and penetration in converting the secondary attack on the castle, delivered by the 3rd Division, into a real one. He was himself wounded in this terrible engagement, but would not leave the ramparts, and the day after, having recently inherited a fortune, he gave every survivor of his command a guinea. His wound, and an attack of fever, compelled him to return to Britain to recoup his health, but he reappeared at the front in April 1813. While in Britain he was invested with the collar and badge of a Knight of the Order of the Bath by the Prince Regent George, and in June he was made a lieutenant-general in the army.

At the Battle of Vitoria, Picton led his division across a key bridge under heavy fire. According to Picton, the enemy responded by pummeling the 3rd with 40 to 50 cannon and a counter-attack on their right flank (which was still open because they had captured the bridge so quickly) causing the 3rd to lose 1,800 men (over one third of all Allied losses at the battle) as they held their ground. The conduct of the 3rd division under his leadership at the battle of Vittoria and in the engagements in the Pyrenees raised his reputation as a resolute and skilful fighting general to a still higher point. Early in 1814 he was offered, but after consulting Wellington declined, the command of the British forces operating on the side of Catalonia. He thus bore his share in the Orthez campaign and in the final victory before Toulouse.

On the break-up of the division the officers presented Picton with a valuable service of plate, and on 24 June 1814 he received for the seventh time the thanks of the House of Commons for his great services. Somewhat to his disappointment he was not included amongst the generals who were raised to the peerage, but early in 1815 he was made a G.C.B.

When Napoleon returned from Elba, Picton, at Wellington’s request, accepted a high command in the Anglo-Dutch army. He was severely wounded at Quatre Bras on 16 June, but concealed his wound and retained command of his troops. His name stands in the list of invited characters to the Duchess of Richmond’s Ball that was held on June 15th, the eve of the Battle of Quatre Bras.

At Waterloo two days later, while in command of the 5th Infantry Division, while repulsing with impetuous valour “one of the most serious attacks made by the enemy on our position”, he was shot through the temple by a musket ball, making him the highest ranking victim of the battle on the allied side. Since his luggage had not arrived in time, he had fought the battle wearing civilian clothes and a top hat. Welsh folklore says that his top hat was shot off by a cannon-ball moments before his death. Family folklore contends that he did not ride out in tails but in his night shirt and top hat because he had overslept, and he died at the hands of one of his own men who shot him in the back of the head because they hated him so much.

Announcing his death in his typically laconic style, Wellington wrote to Minister of War, Lord Bathurst:

Your lordship will observe, that such a desperate action could not be fought, and such advantages could not be gained, without great loss; and, I am sorry to add, that ours has been immense. In Lieutenant-general Sir Thomas Picton, his majesty has sustained the loss of an officer who has frequently distinguished himself in his service; and he fell, gloriously leading his division to a charge with bayonets, by which one of the most serious attacks made by the enemy of our position was defeated.

His body was brought home to London, and buried in the family vault at St George’s, Hanover Square. A public monument was erected to his memory in St Paul’s Cathedral, by order of parliament, and in 1823 another was erected at Carmarthen by subscription, the king contributing a hundred guineas.

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Regency Personalities Series-William Wellesley Pole 3rd Earl of Mornington

Regency Personalities Series

In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

William Wellesley Pole 3rd Earl of Mornington
May 20-1763-February 22 1845

Another less famous brother. William was the older brother of Arthur, who would become the Duke of Wellington. Born a Dangan Castle he was the second the son of the 1st Earl, Garret Wesley, and his older brother Richard was the 1st Marquess Wellesley. Another younger brother was the 1st Baron Cowley. He was educated at Eton and entered the Royal Navy where he served aboard the HMS Lion and fought at the Battle of Grenada.

The young William Wesley aged 14, painted in 1777 by Benjamin West

The 1st Earl had debts and the family became cost conscious. Then in 1781 William Pole, William’s godfather and the husband of his great-aunt Ann Colley died and bequeathed his estates on Wesley. But they had to adopt the name Pole. William changed his name to Wesley-Pole.

William Pole (d. 1781) who at his death bequeathed his estate to William Wesley

William was a Tory and became a member of the Irish Parliament for Trim between 1783 to 1790 and then of the British House of Commons for East Looe from 1790 to 1795 and Queen’s County from 1801 to 1821. He served as Secretary of the Admiralty under the Duke of Portland from 1807 to 1809 and as Chief Secretary for Ireland under Spencer Perceval from 1809 to 1812. He was also Lord of the Irish Treasury and Chancellor of he Irish Exchequer. He was part of the British Privy Council and Irish Privy Council and served as Master of the Mint under Lord Liverpool. (DWW-All this while Wellington was not in politics so much, but in the Army. And Richard was also a member of the government. Either this was a talented or well connected family.)

In 1821 he was elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron Maryborough. He was also Master of the Buckhounds and Postmaster-General. Then in 1842 when Richard died he became 3rd Earl of Mornington.

In 1784 he married Katherine Elizabeth Forbes, daughter of Admiral Forbes and the granddaughter of the 3rd Earl of Granard and 3rd Earl of Essex. THey had one son and 3 daughters. The son became the 4th Earl, one daughter married Sir Charles Bagot who became Governor General of British North America, one daughter married the man who became the 1st Baron Raglan, and one married the man who became the 11th Earl of Westmorland.

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Regency Personalities Series-Charles Culling Smith

Regency Personalities Series

In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

Charles Culling Smith
1775-May 26 1853

The son of Charles Smith who was Governor of Madras and nephew of Sir Culling Smith, the 1st Baronet. His biggest claim to fame is that his daughter and step-daughter married Henry Somerset, the Marquess of Worcester and later the 7th Duke of Beaufort. He married Lady Anne Fitzroy, the widow of Henry Fitzroy who was the fourth son of the 1st Baron Southampton and the only daughter of Garret Wesley, the 1st Earl of Mornington. Anne had two daughters already, one was Georgiana Frederica Fitzroy who first married the future Duke, and then Smith’s daughter with Lady Anne, Emily Frances Smith married the future Duke when her step-sister died.

Lady Anne maiden name was Lady Anne Wesley which was changed to Wellesley. She was thus the sister of the 1st Marquess of Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, the 1st Baron of Maryborough, and the 1st Baron Cowley. (DWW-Four brothers who were first to these titles, though 2 brothers also took their father’s title of Mornington, being the 2nd and 3rd Earls as well.)

Smith and Lady Anne lived in a Grace and Favor apartment at #8 at Hampton Court Palace.

When the eldest brother of Lady Anne, the Marquess of Wellesley became Foreign Secretary under Spencer Perceval in 1809, Smith became the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and served for a little over two months. He served as an Esquire when Arthur Wellesley who was the Earl of Wellington in 1812 was made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath. (By proxy as Wellington was fighting the war)

Smith was an equerry to the Duke of York and was present at the funeral of Queen Charlotte in that role. His son was a Page of Honour at that service. He and his family were amongst the mourners for the Duchess of York in 1820, and his last service as an equerry was for the Duke of York in 1827 at the Duke’s funeral. Then he was made a commissioner of the Board of Customs attending the funerals of the Duke of Gloucester in 1834 and the Duke of Wellington in 1852.

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Regency Personalties Series-Sir David Baird

Regency Personalities Series

In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

Sir David Baird, Baronet

December 6 1757 to August 18 1829

Sir David was born at Newbyth House in Scotland, into a merchant family. He entered the British Army in 1772 and was sent to India in 1779 with the 73rd Highlanders as a Captain. He was instantly attached to the force commanded by Sir Hector Munro. That force went to assist Colonel William Baillie who was being threatened by Hyder Ali. In that action the whole force was destroyed and Baird was severely wounded and captured. He remained a prisoner for over four years and the bullet that had wounded him not removed until his release.

Baird was promoted to Major in 1787, and purchased his lieutenant-colonelcy in 1790, then returned to India in 1791. He held a brigade command in the war against Tippoo Sultan and served under Lord Cornwallis in the Seringapatam operations in 1792. He captured Pondicherry and was promoted to colonel in 1795. He was appointed to senior brigade command in the war against Tippoo in 1799. Here he led the storming party at Seringapatam and took the stronghold that he had been a prisoner at.

The command of a large contingent was now given to Colonel Arthur Wellesley (DWW-Nepotism has something to do with that) Baird felt he had been treated with injustice and disrespect. (DWW-Highly likely, Wellesley would not appreciate a man from money and not from the aristocracy, especially one who had an equal or greater career than he had.) Later Baird received the thanks of Parliament and the East India Company, and a pension was offered to him, which he declined hoping to be given the Order of the Bath. Baird commanded the army that was sent to expel the French from Egypt, Wellesley appointed second in command, but ill health kept the Iron Duke (DWW-Wellesley later was known by this) from going. (DWW–Seems there is a rivalry between the two.) Baird was successful in Egypt and returned to India in 1802.

Once again Baird and Wellington were trading plum appointments, and Baird was out of sorts that Wellington received one. In 1804 he was knighted and in 1805-1806 after the victory of Trafalgar commanded he expedition to seize the Cape of Good Hope. After the success here, Commodore Sir Home Popham convinced Baird to lend troops against Buenos Aires, which failed. He was recalled to England in 1807. But then he was employed in the campaign against Copenhagen where he was wounded.

He was not placed as second in command to Sir John Moore. He succeeded to command at Corunna when Moore died but shortly after his arm was shattered. Command passed to another. He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath and a baronet for his services, but this was effectively the end of his military career. He was made governor of Kinsale and appointed commander-in-chief in Ireland in 1820.

He marred in 1810, in his fifties, but did not have any children and so his title passed to his nephew.

Previous Notables (Click to see the Blog):

George III	George IV	Georgiana Cavendish
William IV	Lady Hester Stanhope	Lady Caroline Lamb
Princess Charlotte	Queen Charlotte	Charles James Fox
Queen Adelaide	Dorothea Jordan	Jane Austen
Maria Fitzherbert	Lord Byron	John Keats
Princess Caroline	Percy Bysshe Shelley	Cassandra Austen
Edmund Kean	Thomas Clarkson	Sir John Moore
John Burgoyne	William Wilberforce	Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Sarah Siddons	Josiah Wedgwood	Emma Hamilton
Hannah More	John Phillip Kemble	John Jervis, Earl St. Vincent
Ann Hatton	Stephen Kemble	Mary Robinson
Harriet Mellon	Zachary Macaulay	George Elphinstone
Thomas Babington	George Romney	Mary Moser
Ozias Humphry	William Hayley	Daniel Mendoza
Edward Pellew	Angelica Kauffman	Sir William Hamilton
David Garrick	Pownoll Bastard Pellew	Charles Arbuthnot
William Upcott	William Huskisson	Dominic Serres
Sir George Barlow	Scrope Davies	Charles Francis Greville
George Stubbs	Fanny Kemble	Thomas Warton
William Mason	Thomas Troubridge	Charles Stanhope
Robert Fulke Greville	Gentleman John Jackson	Ann Radcliffe
Edward ‘Golden Ball’ Hughes	John Opie	Adam Walker
John Ireland	Henry Pierrepoint	Robert Stephenson
Mary Shelley	Sir Joshua Reynolds	Francis Place
Richard Harding Evans	Lord Thomas Foley	Francis Burdett
John Gale Jones	George Parker Bidder	Sir George Warren
Edward Eliot	William Beechey	Eva Marie Veigel
Hugh Percy-Northumberland	Charles Philip Yorke	Lord Palmerston
Samuel Romilly	John Petty 2nd Marquess Lansdowne	Henry Herbert Southey
Stapleton Cotton	Colin Macaulay	Amelia Opie
Sir James Hall	Henry Thomas Colebrooke	Maria Foote

There will be many other notables coming, a full and changing list can be found here on the blog as I keep adding to it. The list so far is:

Home Popham

Colonel William Baillie
Sir Ralph Abercromby
Sir Hector Munro

James Kenney

Elizabeth Inchbald

George Colman the Younger

Thomas Morton

John Liston

Tyrone Power

Colonel William Berkeley

Barry Proctor

William Henry West Betty

Sir George Colebrooke

Joseph John Gurney

John Playfair

James Hutton

Robert Emmet

William Taylor of Norwich

Sir William Knighton

Dr. Robert Gooch

John Romilly

Sir John Herschel

John Horne Tooke

James Mill

Edward Hall Alderson

Henry Perronet Briggs

Robert Owen

Jeremy Bentham

Joseph Hume

Sir Walter Scott

Charles Lamb

John Stuart Mill

Thomas Cochrane

James Paull

Claire Clairmont

William Lovett

Sir John Vaughan

Fanny Imlay

William Godwin

Mary Wollstonecraft

General Sir Robert Arbuthnot

Harriet Fane Arbuthnot

Joseph Antonio Emidy
James Edwards (Bookseller)
William Gifford
John Wolcot (Peter Pindar)
Sir Joseph Banks
Richard Porson
Edward Gibbon
James Smithson
William Cowper
Richard Cumberland
Richard Cosway
Jacob Phillipp Hackert
John Thomas Serres
Wellington (the Military man)
Horatio Nelson
William Vincent
Cuthbert Collingwood
Admiral Sir Graham Moore
Admiral Sir William Sydney Smith
Admiral Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville, 1st Lord of the Admiralty
Howe
Viscount Hood
Thomas Hope
Baroness de Calabrella
Thomas Babington Macaulay
Harriet Martineau
Napoleon Bonaparte
Packenham
Admiral Israel Pellew
General Banastre Tarleton
Henry Paget
Francis Leggatt Chantrey
Sir Charles Grey
Thomas Picton
Constable
Thomas Lawrence
James Northcote
Cruikshank
Thomas Gainsborough
James Gillray
George Stubbs
Joseph Priestley
William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk 9th Duke of St. Albans
Horace Walpole
John Thomas ‘Antiquity’ Smith
Thomas Coutts
Angela Burdett-Coutts
Sir Anthony Carlisle
Rowlandson
William Blake
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Sir Marc Brunel
Marquis of Stafford Granville Leveson-Gower
Marquis of Stafford George Leveson-Gower
George Stephenson
Nicholas Wood
Edward Pease
Thomas Telford
Joseph Locke
Paul III Anton, Prince Esterházy
Thomas Egerton, 2nd Earl of Wilton
John Nash
Matthew Gregory Lewis
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Robert Southey
Thomas Hope
Henry Holland
Sir Walter Scott
Lord Elgin
Henry Moyes
Jeffery Wyatville
Hester Thrale
William Windham
Madame de Stael
Joseph Black
John Walker
James Boswell
Edward John Eliot
Edward James Eliot
Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough
George Combe
William Harrison Ainsworth
Sir Harry Smith
Thomas Cochrane
Warren Hastings
Edmund Burke
William Petty
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice
Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond
Juana Maria de Los Dolores de Leon (Lady Smith)
Duke of Argyll, George William Campbell (1766-1839)
Lord Barrymore, Richard Barry (1769-1794)
Lord Bedford, Francis Russell (1765-1802)
Mr. G. Dawson Damer (1788-1856)
Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish (1748-1811)
Colonel George Hanger (c.1751-1824)
Lord Hertford, Francis Seymour-Ingram (1743-1822)
Lord Yarmouth, Francis Charles Seymour-Ingram (1777-1842)
Earl of Jersey, George Bussey Villiers (1735-1805)
Sir John , John Lade (1759-1838)
Duke of Norfolk, Charles Howard (1746-1815)
Duke of York , Frederick Augustus Hanover (1763-1827)
Louis Philippe Joseph, Duc de Chartres, acceded 1785 as Duc d’ Orleans (1747-1793)
Louis Philippe, Duc de Chartres, acceded 1793 as Duc d’ Orleans (1773-1850)
Captain John (Jack) Willett Payne (1752-1803)
Duke of Queensberry, William Douglas (1724-1810)
Duke of Rutland, John Henry Manners(1778-1857)
Lord Sefton, William Philip Molyneux (1772-1838)
Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour (1759-1801)
Sir Lumley St. George Skeffington Baronet (1771 – 1850)
Lord Worcester, Henry Somerset (1766-1835)
Lord Worcester, Henry Somerset (1792-1853)
Hon. Frederick Gerald aka “Poodle” Byng

The Dandy Club
        Beau Brummell
        William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley
        Henry Mildmay

Patronesses of Almacks
        Emily Lamb, Lady Cowper
        Amelia Stewart, Viscountess Castlereagh
        Sarah Villiers, Countess of Jersey
        Maria Molyneux, Countess of Sefton
        Mrs. Drummond Burrell
        Dorothea Lieven, Countess de Lieven, wife of the Russian Ambassador
        Countess Esterhazy, wife of the Austrian Ambassador

If there are any requests for personalities to be added tot he list, just let us know in the comments section

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Regency Personalities Series-Colin Macaulay

Regency Personalities Series

In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

Colin Macaulay
1760 to February 20 1836

The son of Reverend John Macaulay, and brother of Zachary Macaulay.

Colin served for 30 years in India. He was present at Seringapatam and was one of Sir David Bird’s companions in the two years imprisonment under Tipu Sultan. Colin was for years an intimate with the Duke of Wellington.

Colin served as resident for the East India Company for Travancore and Cochin during 1800 to 1810. He was subject of an attack by Chempil Arayan. In 1811 he returned to England. He sat in Parliament for Saltash from 1826 to 1830 but did not take part in any debate. He supported the British Bible Society and also worked towards the Abolition of Slavery as did his brother Zachary.

He accompanied the Duke of Wellington to the Congress of Verona in 1822. In 1820 he visited Zante in Greece and brought one of the most famous palimpsests, the Codex Zacynthius to England.

Previous Notables (Click to see the Blog):

George III	George IV	Georgiana Cavendish
William IV	Lady Hester Stanhope	Lady Caroline Lamb
Princess Charlotte	Queen Charlotte	Charles James Fox
Queen Adelaide	Dorothea Jordan	Jane Austen
Maria Fitzherbert	Lord Byron	John Keats
Princess Caroline	Percy Bysshe Shelley	Cassandra Austen
Edmund Kean	Thomas Clarkson	Sir John Moore
John Burgoyne	William Wilberforce	Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Sarah Siddons	Josiah Wedgwood	Emma Hamilton
Hannah More	John Phillip Kemble	John Jervis, Earl St. Vincent
Ann Hatton	Stephen Kemble	Mary Robinson
Harriet Mellon	Zachary Macaulay	George Elphinstone
Thomas Babington	George Romney	Mary Moser
Ozias Humphry	William Hayley	Daniel Mendoza
Edward Pellew	Angelica Kauffman	Sir William Hamilton
David Garrick	Pownoll Bastard Pellew	Charles Arbuthnot
William Upcott	William Huskisson	Dominic Serres
Sir George Barlow	Scrope Davies	Charles Francis Greville
George Stubbs	Fanny Kemble	Thomas Warton
William Mason	Thomas Troubridge	Charles Stanhope
Robert Fulke Greville	Gentleman John Jackson	Ann Radcliffe
Edward ‘Golden Ball’ Hughes	John Opie	Adam Walker
John Ireland	Henry Pierrepoint	Robert Stephenson
Mary Shelley	Sir Joshua Reynolds	Francis Place
Richard Harding Evans	Lord Thomas Foley	Francis Burdett
John Gale Jones	George Parker Bidder	Sir George Warren
Edward Eliot	William Beechey	Eva Marie Veigel
Hugh Percy-Northumberland	Charles Philip Yorke	Lord Palmerston
Samuel Romilly	John Petty 2nd Marquess Lansdowne	Henry Herbert Southey
Stapleton Cotton

There will be many other notables coming, a full and changing list can be found here on the blog as I keep adding to it. The list so far is:

Robert Emmet

William Taylor of Norwich

Sir William Knighton

Dr. Robert Gooch

John Romilly

Sir John Herschel

John Horne Tooke

William Godwin

James Mill

Robert Owen

Jeremy Bentham

Joseph Hume

Henry Thomas Colebrooke

Charles Lamb

John Stuart Mill

Thomas Cochrane

James Paull

Claire Clairmont

William Lovett

Sir James Hall

Sir John Vaughan

Fanny Imlay

William Godwin

Mary Wollstonecraft

General Sir Robert Arbuthnot

Harriet Fane Arbuthnot

Joseph Antonio Emidy
James Edwards (Bookseller)
William Gifford
John Wolcot (Peter Pindar)
Amelia Opie
Sir Joseph Banks
Richard Porson
Edward Gibbon
James Smithson
William Cowper
Richard Cumberland
Richard Cosway
Jacob Phillipp Hackert
Maria Foote
John Thomas Serres
Wellington (the Military man)
Horatio Nelson
William Vincent
Cuthbert Collingwood
Admiral Sir Graham Moore
Admiral Sir William Sydney Smith
Admiral Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
Howe
Viscount Hood
Thomas Hope
Baroness de Calabrella
Thomas Babington Macaulay
Harriet Martineau
Napoleon Bonaparte
Packenham
Admiral Israel Pellew
General Banastre Tarleton
Henry Paget
Francis Leggatt Chantrey
Sir Charles Grey
Thomas Picton
Constable
Thomas Lawrence
James Northcote
Cruikshank
Thomas Gainsborough
James Gillray
George Stubbs
Joseph Priestley
William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk 9th Duke of St. Albans
Horace Walpole
John Thomas ‘Antiquity’ Smith
Thomas Coutts
Angela Burdett-Coutts
Sir Anthony Carlisle
Rowlandson
William Blake
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Sir Marc Brunel
Marquis of Stafford Granville Leveson-Gower
Marquis of Stafford George Leveson-Gower
George Stephenson
Nicholas Wood
Edward Pease
Thomas Telford
Joseph Locke
Paul III Anton, Prince Esterházy
Thomas Egerton, 2nd Earl of Wilton
John Nash
Matthew Gregory Lewis
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Robert Southey
Thomas Hope
Henry Holland
Sir Walter Scott
Lord Elgin
Henry Moyes
Jeffery Wyatville
Hester Thrale
William Windham
Madame de Stael
James Boswell
Edward John Eliot
Edward James Eliot
Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough
George Combe
William Harrison Ainsworth
Sir Harry Smith
Thomas Cochrane
Warren Hastings
Edmund Burke
William Petty
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice
Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond
Juana Maria de Los Dolores de Leon (Lady Smith)
Duke of Argyll, George William Campbell (1766-1839)
Lord Barrymore, Richard Barry (1769-1794)
Lord Bedford, Francis Russell (1765-1802)
Mr. G. Dawson Damer (1788-1856)
Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish (1748-1811)
Colonel George Hanger (c.1751-1824)
Lord Hertford, Francis Seymour-Ingram (1743-1822)
Lord Yarmouth, Francis Charles Seymour-Ingram (1777-1842)
Earl of Jersey, George Bussey Villiers (1735-1805)
Sir John , John Lade (1759-1838)
Duke of Norfolk, Charles Howard (1746-1815)
Duke of York , Frederick Augustus Hanover (1763-1827)
Louis Philippe Joseph, Duc de Chartres, acceded 1785 as Duc d’ Orleans (1747-1793)
Louis Philippe, Duc de Chartres, acceded 1793 as Duc d’ Orleans (1773-1850)
Captain John (Jack) Willett Payne (1752-1803)
Duke of Queensberry, William Douglas (1724-1810)
Duke of Rutland, John Henry Manners(1778-1857)
Lord Sefton, William Philip Molyneux (1772-1838)
Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour (1759-1801)
Sir Lumley St. George Skeffington Baronet (1771 – 1850)
Lord Worcester, Henry Somerset (1766-1835)
Lord Worcester, Henry Somerset (1792-1853)
Hon. Frederick Gerald aka “Poodle” Byng

The Dandy Club
        Beau Brummell
        William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley
        Henry Mildmay

Patronesses of Almacks
        Emily Lamb, Lady Cowper
        Amelia Stewart, Viscountess Castlereagh
        Sarah Villiers, Countess of Jersey
        Maria Molyneux, Countess of Sefton
        Mrs. Drummond Burrell
        Dorothea Lieven, Countess de Lieven, wife of the Russian Ambassador
        Countess Esterhazy, wife of the Austrian Ambassador

If there are any requests for personalities to be added tot he list, just let us know in the comments section

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Regency Personalities Series-Palmerston

Regency Personalities Series

In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

Henry John Temple
October 20 1784 to October 18 1865
This is just an overview from what I previously wrote up.

Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount of Plamerston would become Prime Minister in the Victorian Age, after the Regency Era, but most men who do become Prime Minister surely impact the world well before they rise to that office.

During the period when the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was launched he is also Foreign Secretary in the Cabinet of the Duke of Wellington. Palmerston was also the Foreign Secretary for Lord Melbourne, who preceded and succeeded Duke Arthur as Prime Minister. Viscount Melbourne’s sister, Lady Emily Cowper married Palmerston.

We should look into Lady Emily because she was a Patroness of Almacks. She also had a 20 year love affair with Palmerston before they married. Palmerston in his young days, well before anyone saw him as a future Prime Minister during the reign of Victoria, was known as Cupid in the inner circles of Regency society. In government he was known as ‘Pam.’

Palmerston was in office from 1807, when he was 23 until he died in 1865. Pam studied at Harrow School and the University of Edinburgh, then finished at St. John’s College, Cambridge. As a nobleman he did not have to take an examination to get his degree, he did however take the exams and passed with first-class honors.

(Their home-Broadlands)

We often discuss pocket boroughs, and Palmerston finally got into the house of Commons as a Tory MP in June of 1807 after twice not getting in. From 1809-1828 he served as Secretary of War, so that was his position during the heart of the Regency era.

On April Fools 1818, he was shot by a retired officer on half pay, but the wound was just a graze. Palmerston found that his assailant was mad, and so he paid the legal defense of the man who attacked him.

Previous Notables (Click to see the Blog):

George III	George IV	Georgiana Cavendish
William IV	Lady Hester Stanhope	Lady Caroline Lamb
Princess Charlotte	Queen Charlotte	Charles James Fox
Queen Adelaide	Dorothea Jordan	Jane Austen
Maria Fitzherbert	Lord Byron	John Keats
Princess Caroline	Percy Bysshe Shelley	Cassandra Austen
Edmund Kean	Thomas Clarkson	Sir John Moore
John Burgoyne	William Wilberforce	Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Sarah Siddons	Josiah Wedgwood	Emma Hamilton
Hannah More	John Phillip Kemble	John Jervis, Earl St. Vincent
Ann Hatton	Stephen Kemble	Mary Robinson
Harriet Mellon	Zachary Macaulay	George Elphinstone
Thomas Babington	George Romney	Mary Moser
Ozias Humphry	William Hayley	Daniel Mendoza
Edward Pellew	Angelica Kauffman	Sir William Hamilton
David Garrick	Pownoll Bastard Pellew	Charles Arbuthnot
William Upcott	William Huskisson	Dominic Serres
Sir George Barlow	Scrope Davies	Charles Francis Greville
George Stubbs	Fanny Kemble	Thomas Warton
William Mason	Thomas Troubridge	Charles Stanhope
Robert Fulke Greville	Gentleman John Jackson	Ann Radcliffe
Edward ‘Golden Ball’ Hughes	John Opie	Adam Walker
John Ireland	Henry Pierrepoint	Robert Stephenson
Mary Shelley	Sir Joshua Reynolds	Francis Place
Richard Harding Evans	Lord Thomas Foley	Francis Burdett
John Gale Jones	George Parker Bidder	Sir George Warren
Edward Eliot	William Beechey	Eva Marie Veigel
Hugh Percy-Northumberland	Charles Philip Yorke

There will be many other notables coming, a full and changing list can be found here on the blog as I keep adding to it. The list so far is:

Sir John Herschel

John Horne Tooke

William Godwin

James Mill

Robert Owen

Jeremy Bentham

Joseph Hume

Henry Thomas Colebrooke

Charles Lamb

John Stuart Mill

Thomas Cochrane

James Paull

Claire Clairmont

William Lovett

Samuel Romilly

Sir James Hall

Sir John Vaughan

Fanny Imlay

William Godwin

Mary Wollstonecraft

General Sir Robert Arbuthnot

Harriet Fane Arbuthnot

Joseph Antonio Emidy
James Edwards (Bookseller)
William Gifford
John Wolcot (Peter Pindar)
Amelia Opie
Sir Joseph Banks
Richard Porson
Edward Gibbon
James Smithson
William Cowper
Richard Cumberland
Richard Cosway
Jacob Phillipp Hackert
Maria Foote
John Thomas Serres
Wellington (the Military man)
Horatio Nelson
William Vincent
Cuthbert Collingwood
Admiral Sir Graham Moore
Admiral Sir William Sydney Smith
Admiral Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
Howe
Viscount Hood
Thomas Hope
Colin Mccaulay
Baroness de Calabrella
Thomas Babington Macaulay
Napoleon Bonaparte
Packenham
Admiral Israel Pellew
General Banastre Tarleton
Henry Paget
Francis Leggatt Chantrey
Stapleton Cotton
Sir Charles Grey
Thomas Picton
Constable
Thomas Lawrence
James Northcote
Cruikshank
Thomas Gainsborough
James Gillray
George Stubbs
Joseph Priestley
William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk 9th Duke of St. Albans
Horace Walpole
John Thomas ‘Antiquity’ Smith
Thomas Coutts
Angela Burdett-Coutts
Rowlandson
William Blake
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Sir Marc Brunel
Marquis of Stafford Granville Leveson-Gower
Marquis of Stafford George Leveson-Gower
George Stephenson
Nicholas Wood
Edward Pease
Thomas Telford
Joseph Locke
Paul III Anton, Prince Esterházy
Thomas Egerton, 2nd Earl of Wilton
Henry Herbert Southey
John Nash
Matthew Gregory Lewis
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Thomas Hope
Henry Holland
Sir Walter Scott
Lord Elgin
Henry Moyes
Jeffery Wyatville
Hester Thrale
William Windham
Madame de Stael
James Boswell
Edward John Eliot
Edward James Eliot
George Combe
William Harrison Ainsworth
Sir Harry Smith
Thomas Cochrane
Warren Hastings
Edmund Burke
Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond
Juana Maria de Los Dolores de Leon (Lady Smith)
Duke of Argyll, George William Campbell (1766-1839)
Lord Barrymore, Richard Barry (1769-1794)
Lord Bedford, Francis Russell (1765-1802)
Mr. G. Dawson Damer (1788-1856)
Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish (1748-1811)
Colonel George Hanger (c.1751-1824)
Lord Hertford, Francis Seymour-Ingram (1743-1822)
Lord Yarmouth, Francis Charles Seymour-Ingram (1777-1842)
Earl of Jersey, George Bussey Villiers (1735-1805)
Sir John , John Lade (1759-1838)
Duke of Norfolk, Charles Howard (1746-1815)
Duke of York , Frederick Augustus Hanover (1763-1827)
Louis Philippe Joseph, Duc de Chartres, acceded 1785 as Duc d’ Orleans (1747-1793)
Louis Philippe, Duc de Chartres, acceded 1793 as Duc d’ Orleans (1773-1850)
Captain John (Jack) Willett Payne (1752-1803)
Duke of Queensberry, William Douglas (1724-1810)
Duke of Rutland, John Henry Manners(1778-1857)
Lord Sefton, William Philip Molyneux (1772-1838)
Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour (1759-1801)
Sir Lumley St. George Skeffington Baronet (1771 – 1850)
Lord Worcester, Henry Somerset (1766-1835)
Lord Worcester, Henry Somerset (1792-1853)
Hon. Frederick Gerald aka “Poodle” Byng

The Dandy Club
        Beau Brummell
        William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley
        Henry Mildmay

Patronesses of Almacks
        Emily Lamb, Lady Cowper
        Amelia Stewart, Viscountess Castlereagh
        Sarah Villiers, Countess of Jersey
        Maria Molyneux, Countess of Sefton
        Mrs. Drummond Burrell
        Dorothea Lieven, Countess de Lieven, wife of the Russian Ambassador
        Countess Esterhazy, wife of the Austrian Ambassador

If there are any requests for personalities to be added tot he list, just let us know in the comments section

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Regency Personalities Series-William Huskisson

Regency Personalities Series

In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

William Huskisson
March 11 1770-September 15 1830
(DWW-Before I began my deeper study of the birth of the locomotive era, and all that was part of modern transportation which has since changed the world so greatly, I had never heard of William Huskisson. Since, the tragic events of his death at the very birth of the era, has made him a name I am very familiar with.)

Huskisson was a Statesman, financier and Member of Parliament. But he is known as the first widely reported railway casualty on the very day that the first railway line was opened.

Born the son of William, and Elizabeth in Worcestershire, his mother died and his father remarried. His two half brothers were officers in military service, one in the Royal Navy, the other in the Royal Marines. Huskisson attended Appleby Grammar School which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren on the Derbyshire border. In 1783 he was sent to live in Paris with a great-uncle, Dr. Richard Gem. He stayed until 1792 and thus saw the fall of the Bastille as well as the beginning of the entire Revolution. He became interested in politics from his first hand experience. He became a member of the ‘Club of 1789.’ At this point the Marquess of Stafford (DWW-who was or would become in his lifetime, the world’s richest man) was the Ambassador to France and Huskisson became his protégé.

In London he became friends with two others, Henry Dundas, the Home Secretary and William Pitt the Younger, the Prime Minister. Huskisson, fluent in French, was appointed to oversee the Aliens Act in 1793. He was so well recognized for his skill that in 1795 he was appointed Under-Secretary at War (the deputy to the Secretary at War) In 1796 he was elected MP for Morpeth, though he was sick and could not debate in Parliament. In 1800 he inherited his great-uncle, Dr. Gem’s fortune. When Pitt resigned, Huskisson took time for his private ice but in 1804 he represented Liskeard and then when Pitt resumed duties as Prime Minister, Huskisson was named Secretary of the Treasury.

In 1807 he stood for Harwich, and was again Secretary of the Treasury under the Duke of Portland. But he withdrew in 1809 along with George Canning In 1810 Huskisson published a pamphlet on the currency which showed he was the ablest financier of his time. In 1812 he was returned for Chichester. And in 1814 he was appointed First Commissioner of Woods and Forests. In 1819 he proposed a method for the resumption of cash payments which was adopted the same year. In 1821 he was appointed to the committee looking into the agricultural distress of the nation and advocated the relaxation of the Corn Laws.

In 1823 he was appointed President of the Board of Trade and also Treasurer of the Navy. He was now returned as MP for Liverpool, the successor of Canning. Thought to be the only man who could reconcile the Tory merchants to a free trade policy. But Huskisson’s reforms were too much for the Duke of Wellington and he added to Huskisson’s work which caused the measures that were needed to fail. When Canning died, Goderich became Prime Minister and Huskisson became Secretary of the Colonies. Then when Wellington became Prime Minister, he still held the cabinet seat. There was a great compromise on the Corn Laws, after which Huskisson famously resigned his seat. Many other Tories resigned as well including Lord Palmerston, Charles Grant, Lord Dudley and Lord Melbourne.

Now, Wellington did his best to bring back Huskisson, one of the ablest men in England, back to the fold. They were set to shake hands on September 15th, 1830, at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. This was the last day that Huskisson was alive on this earth.

(DWW-I discuss at length the events of Huskisson’s death HERE. The Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The event that perhaps eclipses all he had down in life to make of the event of his death greater and more tied to the history of the modern era, than any other.)

Previous Notables (Click to see the Blog):

George III	George IV	Georgiana Cavendish
William IV	Lady Hester Stanhope	Lady Caroline Lamb
Princess Charlotte	Queen Charlotte	Charles James Fox
Queen Adelaide	Dorothea Jordan	Jane Austen
Maria Fitzherbert	Lord Byron	John Keats
Princess Caroline	Percy Bysshe Shelley	Cassandra Austen
Edmund Kean	Thomas Clarkson	Sir John Moore
John Burgoyne	William Wilberforce	Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Sarah Siddons	Josiah Wedgwood	Emma Hamilton
Hannah More	John Phillip Kemble	John Jervis, Earl St. Vincent
Ann Hatton	Stephen Kemble	Mary Robinson
Harriet Mellon	Zachary Macaulay	George Elphinstone
Thomas Babington	George Romney	Mary Moser
Ozias Humphry	William Hayley	Daniel Mendoza
Edward Pellew	Angelica Kauffman	Sir William Hamilton
David Garrick	Pownoll Bastard Pellew	Charles Arbuthnot
William Upcott

There will be many other notables coming, a full and changing list can be found here on the blog as I keep adding to it. The list so far is:

General Sir Robert Arbuthnot
Harriet Fane Arbuthnot
Richard Harding Evans
Sir George Barlow
Joseph Antonio Emidy
John Ireland
William Gifford
John Wolcot
Richard Porson
Eva Marie Veigel
‘Gentleman’ John Jackson
Edward Gibbon
William Mason
Thomas Warton
Adam Walker
John Opie
William Cowper
Richard Cumberland
Richard Cosway
Jacob Phillipp Hackert
Sir George Warren
Dominic Serres
Wellington (the Military man)
Horatio Nelson
Cuthbert Collingwood
Thomas Troubridge
Admiral Sir Graham Moore
Admiral Sir William Sydney Smith
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
Howe
Viscount Hood
Thomas Hope
Charles Greville
Colin Mccaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay
Napoleon Bonaparte
Packenham
Admiral Israel Pellew
General Banastre Tarleton
Henry Paget
Stapleton Cotton
Sir Charles Grey
Thomas Picton
Constable
Lawrence
Cruikshank
Thomas Gainsborough
Gillray
Sir Joshua Reynolds
George Stubbs
Joseph Priestley
William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk 9th Duke of St. Albans
Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland
Horace Walpole
John Thomas ‘Antiquity’ Smith
Thomas Coutts
Rowlandson
William Blake
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Sir Marc Brunel
Marquis of Stafford George Leveson-Gower
George Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Fanny Kemble
Mary Shelley
Ann Radcliffe
Paul III Anton, Prince Esterházy
Thomas Egerton, 2nd Earl of Wilton
Henry Herbert Southey
John Nash
Matthew Gregory Lewis
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Thomas Hope
William Beechey
Scrope Davies
Henry Holland
Sir Walter Scott
Lord Elgin
Jeffery Wyatville
Hester Thrale
William Windham
Madame de Stael
James Boswell
Edward Eliot
George Combe
Sir Harry Smith
Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond
Juana Maria de Los Dolores de Leon (Lady Smith)
Duke of Argyll, George William Campbell (1766-1839)
Lord Barrymore, Richard Barry (1769-1794)
Lord Bedford, Francis Russell (1765-1802)
Mr. G. Dawson Damer (1788-1856)
Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish (1748-1811)
Lord Foley, Thomas Foley (1780-1833)
Colonel George Hanger (c.1751-1824)
Lord Hertford, Francis Seymour-Ingram (1743-1822)
Lord Yarmouth, Francis Charles Seymour-Ingram (1777-1842)
Edward “Golden Ball” Hughes (1798-1863)
Earl of Jersey, George Bussey Villiers (1735-1805)
Sir John , John Lade (1759-1838)
Duke of Norfolk, Charles Howard (1746-1815)
Duke of York , Frederick Augustus Hanover (1763-1827)
Louis Philippe Joseph, Duc de Chartres, acceded 1785 as Duc d’ Orleans (1747-1793)
Louis Philippe, Duc de Chartres, acceded 1793 as Duc d’ Orleans (1773-1850)
Captain John (Jack) Willett Payne (1752-1803)
Viscount Petersham, Charles Stanhope(1780-1851)
Duke of Queensberry, William Douglas (1724-1810)
Duke of Rutland, John Henry Manners(1778-1857)
Lord Sefton, William Philip Molyneux (1772-1838)
Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour (1759-1801)
Sir Lumley St. George Skeffington Baronet (1771 – 1850)
Lord Worcester, Henry Somerset (1766-1835)
Lord Worcester, Henry Somerset (1792-1853)
Hon. Frederick Gerald aka “Poodle” Byng
Thomas Cochrane
Warren Hastings
Edmund Burke

The Dandy Club
        Beau Brummell
        William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley
        Henry Mildmay
        Henry Pierrepoint

Patronesses of Almacks
        Emily Lamb, Lady Cowper
        Amelia Stewart, Viscountess Castlereagh
        Sarah Villiers, Countess of Jersey
        Maria Molyneux, Countess of Sefton
        Mrs. Drummond Burrell
        Dorothea Lieven, Countess de Lieven, wife of the Russian Ambassador
        Countess Esterhazy, wife of the Austrian Ambassador

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A Regency Era Historical Event-The Opening of the Liverpool an Manchester Railway September 15th 1830

In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I am bringing back a favorite of mine whose research I shared at the English Historical Fiction authors site. I previously posted there. But as this had so many notables involved, who will be profiled in the upcoming months, I thought to add it here again. I am also swamped today preparing for NaNoWriMo, and helping on the EHFA book that is to be published this coming year.

If you are so inclined to friend me at NaNoWriMo, I shall help to encourage you to victory and hope you will do so for me as well.

Previous Notables (Click to see the Blog):
   George III
   George IV
   William IV
   Lady Hester Stanhope
   Princess Charlotte
   Queen Charlotte
   Princess Caroline
   Queen Adelaide
   Dorothea Jordan
   Maria Fitzherbert

There will be many other notables coming, a full and changing list can be found here on the blog as I keep adding to it. The list so far is:

Lord Byron
Shelley
Keats
Jane Austen
Lady Caroline Lamb
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
Charles James Fox
William Wilberforce
Thomas Clarkson
Hannah More
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Edmund Kean
John Phillip Kemble
John Burgoyne
Harriet Mellon
Mary Robinson
Wellington (the Military man)
Nelson
Howe
St. Vincent
Packenham
General Banastre Tarleton
Henry Paget
Stapleton Cotton
Thomas Picton
Constable
Lawrence
Cruikshank
Gillray
Rowlandson
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Marquis of Stafford  George Leveson-Gower
George Stephenson
William Huskisson
Robert Stephenson
Fanny Kemble
Paul III Anton, Prince Esterházy
Charles Arbuthnot
Thomas Egerton, 2nd Earl of Wilton
Henry Herbert Southey
John Nash
Thomas Hope
William Beechey
Beau Brummell
William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley
Henry Mildmay
Henry Pierrepoint
Scrope Davies
Hon. Frederick Gerald aka “Poodle” Byng
Edward Pellew
Thomas Cochrane
Warren Hastings

Patronesses of Almacks
   Emily Lamb, Lady Cowper
   Amelia Stewart, Viscountess Castlereagh
   Sarah Villiers, Countess of Jersey
   Maria Molyneux, Countess of Sefton
   Mrs. Drummond Burrell
   Dorothea Lieven, Countess de Lieven, wife of the Russian Ambassador
   Countess Esterhazy, wife of the Austrian Ambassador

The days the world’s most powerful man, the richest man and smartest man came together

While such an occurrence probably happens often enough these days, Warren Buffet in a room with Stephen Hawking and the US President, perhaps, before mass transportation, the airplane, and instant telecommunications, this event would have been hard put to have taken place.

I should hazard that in the time of the Regency era, it hardly ever happened.

While researching previous Regency era novels, I developed a fascination for the early introduction of trains and railways. In

The End of the World which is set in the exact area that rail tracks were laid down well ahead of train engines being invented, I had found that the practice was developed to haul copper from the mines to the coast. A theme shown in that book.

The research on early locomotion led me to learn of George Stephenson

and his son Robert. Prior to this I had heard of Stephenson’s Rocket. Now I learned more about the locomotive engine that won the Rainhill Time Trials for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway of 1829.

The day our three greatest titled men on earth met was for the opening of that very railway, and it turned out to be fateful in many ways.

It certainly would have taken men of vision to realize that the steam engine had so many uses, including the change of how we felt about distance. That is a societal change that I would argue, though not here, altered the world. Prior to this event, the use of steam engines to power a means of transport, we were reliant on our feet, horses (camels, elephants, etc.) and shipping either by rowing, or wind powered. (Of course that last mode required water as well.)

The advent of steam which leads to the use of railways, I thought to make a centerpiece of a Regency story, but the events of September 15th, 1830 were so momentous that I had written three chapters in The Fastest Love on Earth before I realized that it was the predominant opening theme that brought my hero and heroine together.

Not only they, did I have attend this event, but in reality so too did the Prime Minister of England, Arthur Wellesley the Duke of Wellington.

One of the few investors, or owners if you will, of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the friend of the Duke and also the wealthiest man of the 19th century. The Marquess of Stafford, or George Granville Leveson-Gower was thus there with the most powerful man, Wellington.

With Wellington as the world’s most powerful man, Leveson-Gower as its richest, and Stephenson whose inventions fundamentally change the world as its smartest man, none could see that what they were doing that day would bring such a great change to all mankind, or the fall of the very government that had backed it within a matter of weeks.

While the government of Great Britain understood the event to be momentous enough that the Duke travelled north to participate, the success that railway travel became was not anticipated by the company at the time.

This new form of transport proved so successful that in the first six months of 1831, over 188 thousand passengers were carried on the trains. By the end of one full year from the start, September of 1831, nearly half a million travelled on the railway.

But the first day when these great men came together is what is important. The key additional personality that would cause the fall of Wellington’s government was that of William Husskisson.

On this momentous day, there were several political realities also taking place. The North was much different from London and the South and Wellington’s presence was not only to praise the achievement of the railway, but also to show that he was concerned with the people of the North.

Husskisson was the MP for Liverpool and had been a member of Wellington’s Cabinet. He had been Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. He resigned over the lack of representation for Manchester. He was thus very much involved in the political life of the North, representing one end of the railway, and concerned with the other end.

Now at this juncture, it was thought that Huskisson and Wellington would make amends and they would shake hands while the events of the day played out.

There were so many special attendees on the day of the event that several locomotives were put into service. There was also so much to do that things got started late. By 11, the trains were rolling.

All seemed as it should, a band had been playing and was on one of the cars pulled by the Northumbrian locomotive to continue playing. Behind the car with the band was a special car that Wellington and the most important of those invited that day were on. Not Husskisson, though.

After the late start the next thing to go wrong was a collision. The first day of rail travel on Earth (aside from some small time freight hauling) there was a crash. Two lines were being used that day and one train had a wheel jump the track. The train following, not able to fully determine that this one had stopped hit it, but no one was injured as the trains were not traveling very fast.

This was minor. A few miles later though, at Parkside, things turned the day of triumph into one mixed with tragedy.

Recognizing that people would not be used to any sort of vehicle moving so fast, speeds of 10 and fifteen miles an hour, the Liverpool and Manchester had printed flyers advising the celebrants to not disembark from their train cars and visit with the other passengers. This though was ignored.

Mr. Husskisson especially had reason to leave his car and walk to that of the Duke’s carriage attached to the Northumbrian. Should the two find common ground, it would mean much for both. Husskisson might return to the cabinet, while Wellington would get support in the North.

With an eye to reconciliation, Husskisson approached the Duke and the two shook hands. Even as this occurred, others saw that the Rocket locomotive was approaching on the parallel track. Soon the cry was taken up that an engine was coming and all needed to the clear the track. There were no steps up to the Duke’s car, as these were detachable and had not been deployed. When the oncoming train was within 80 feet all that remained on the tracks were William Holmes, The Prince Esterházy, and Husskisson.

All but Husskisson reached safety. The Member for Liverpool, and once again hopeful of joining the Wellington government was struck by the Rocket. His leg and thigh crushed. (The first day of passenger rail service, the first passenger rail accident.)

There were three doctors amidst the contingent of celebrants, one of whom was Henry Herbert Southey who most recent posting had been with the recently deceased King, George IV. One would believe the man to be a very accomplished doctor since he had been the physician to the king. Yet he and the other two, had no practical experience with such accidents.

As all became calm enough to think, George Stephenson proposed transporting the injured MP to Manchester as the trains were pointed that way. The cars behind the Northumbrian locomotive were detached, and Husskisson was placed on the band’s carriage, the band now turning to walk back to Liverpool. (As the day grew longer, a hard rain came as well and poured on these entertainers.)

The Northumbrian departed and worked up to speeds of 40 miles an hour, the fastest speed ever achieved. It did little to save Husskisson, who insisted to be carried to his friend’s home, Reverend Blackburne who lived at Eccles, 4 miles short of Manchester. While there, Husskisson became too traumatized to be operated on by the time competent surgeons arrived to assess the situation. He died sometime after nine PM.

During this time it took a while to have the trains with the celebrants continue their journey. The mobs of people began to get restless and remembered how much they disliked Wellington. They even pelted his car with vegetables.

The trains were to have made their round trip and finish by 4 PM, by 9 they still had not done so. The death of William Husskisson, and certainly the actions of the crowd that day would lead Wellington to decide that he could not return to the North for the funeral of the man. Husskisson was not only noted for his views in the North, but wanting to reconcile with Wellington. The Duke however, through his actions, or inactions after Husskisson’s death lost the support of those who were friends of the deceased lawmaker.

When Wellington decided not to attend the funeral of the man who had only moments before the cause of his demise, had shaken the Duke’s hand, it forced a breach in his support large enough that by two months from the opening of the railway and the fateful events of that day, there was a no confidence vote against him. He was replaced as Prime Minister by Earl Grey.

The beginning of modern transportation, the age of Steam, saw the end of Wellington’s government. If Husskisson had survived, or never been injured. If the trains had returned to course, or Wellington had journeyed back to the funeral. It is highly possible that the world would have known a different outcome, then what did occur.

What I see, when looking at the facts, and the ability to share them with my readers is that the truth is stranger than fiction. I don’t think it is possible to arrange for so much fodder for a good story, than what occurred on September 15th, 1830.

Research
Wolmar, Christian (2007). Fire & Steam
Garfield, Simon (2002). The Last Journey of William Huskisson

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Regency Era Prime Ministers-Arthur Wellesley and Born to Grace book III, Crown in Jeopardy

Regency History

Often in my research I keep needing to find who was leading the government and do this through every book. I thought that having the list handy would be good, and then turning it into a research webpage even better. Here is the list. After I post a few more Timeline years and write some more, I will work on the web page with notes about each PM.

The next PM I am doing is Arthur Wellesley, and I am hosting a page devoted to him and then all our period PMs at Regency Assembly Press. That page is here.

Prime Ministers of England

William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland	04/02/1783	12/19/1783	Whig
William Pitt the Younger	12/19/1783	03/14/1801	Tory
Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth, “The Doctor”	03/14/1801	05/10/1804	Tory
William Pitt the Younger	05/10/1804	01/23/1806	Tory
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville	02/11/1806	03/31/1807	Whig
William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland	03/31/1807	10/04/1809	Tory*
Spencer Perceval	10/04/1809	05/11/1812	Tory
Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool	06/08/1812	04/09/1827	Tory
George Canning	04/10/1827	08/08/1827	Tory
Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich	08/31/1827	01/21/1828	Tory
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington	01/22/1828	11/16/1830	Tory
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey	11/22/1830	07/16/1834	Whig
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne	07/16/1834	11/14/1834	Whig
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington	11/14/1834	12/10/1834	Tory
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet	12/10/1834	04/18/1835	Conservative
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne	04/18/1835	08/30/1841	Whig
Tory* (Tory government, PM a Whig)

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington,

“The Iron Duke”, “The Beau”, “The Peer”, “Beau Douro” “and “Beaky“

Born 05/01/1769 Dublin, Ireland

Died 09/14/1852 Walmer Castle, Kent

Major Acts:

Roman Catholic Relief Act-removed many of the restrictions on Catholics in the UK

The Duke of Wellington is today more famous as a soldier than as a politician. In fact, as the Prime Minister, he was known for his measures to repress reform, and his popularity sank a little during his time in office.

But he did succeed in passing the Catholic Emancipation Bill – something which caused the downfall of many earlier prime ministers – and he remains one of the best-known figures of British history.

Arthur Wellesley was born in Dublin to the Earl and Countess of Mornington.

Fatherless at an early age, and neglected by his mother, he was a reserved, withdrawn child. He failed to shine at Eton, and instead attended private classes in Brussels, followed by a military school in Angers.

Ironically, the young Wellesley had no desire for a military career. Instead he wished to pursue his love of music. Following his mother’s wishes, however, he joined a Highland regiment.

Wellesley fought at Flanders in 1794, (Age 25) and directed the campaign in India in 1796, (Age 27) where his elder brother was Governor General. Knighted for his efforts, he returned to England in 1805.

The following year he was elected Member of Parliament for Rye, and within a year was appointed Chief Secretary of Ireland by the Duke of Portland. He continued with his military career despite his parliamentary duties, fighting campaigns in Portugal and France, and being made commander of the British Army in the Peninsular War.

He was given the title Duke of Wellington in 1814, and went on to command his most celebrated campaigns in the Napoleonic Wars, with final victory at Waterloo in 1815.

On returning to Britain, Wellington was feted as a hero, formally honoured, and presented with both an estate in Hampshire and a fortune of £400,000.

After the Battle of Waterloo, Wellington became Commander in Chief of the army in occupied France until November 1818.

He later returned to England and Parliament, and joined Lord Liverpool’s government in 1819 as Master-General of the Ordnance. He undertook a number of diplomatic visits overseas, including a trip to Russia.

Heading for Parliament

In 1828, after twice being overlooked in favour of Canning and Goderich,

Wellington was finally invited by King George IV to form his own government and set about forming his Cabinet.

As prime minister, Wellington was very conservative, yet one of his first achievements was overseeing Catholic emancipation in 1829, the granting of almost full civil rights to Catholics in the United Kingdom.

Feelings ran very high on the issue. Wellington persuaded the King only by his threat of resignation. Lord Winchilsea, an opponent of the bill, claimed that by granting freedoms to Catholics Wellington “treacherously plotted the destruction of the Protestant constitution”.

As a result, Wellington and Winchilsea fought a duel in Battersea Park in March 1829. The two deliberately missed each other in firing, and honour was satisfied.

Wellington had a much less enlightened position on parliamentary reform. He defended rule by the elite and refused to expand the political franchise.

His fear of mob rule was strengthened by the riots and sabotage that followed rising rural unemployment. His opposition to reform caused his popularity to plummet to such an extent that crowds gathered to throw missiles at his London home.

Specifically his visit to the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway(see my article-ed) in September of 1830 where the death of Husskisson ensued, and then his refusal to attend the man’s funeral led to the fall of his government.

The Government was defeated in the Commons, and Wellington resigned, to be replaced by Earl Grey. Wellington continued to fight reform in opposition, though he finally consented to the Great Reform Bill in 1832.

Two years later he refused a second invitation to form a government, and instead joined Peel’s ministry as Foreign Secretary. He later became Leader of the House of Lords, and upon Peel’s resignation in 1846, retired from politics.

Marshalling the troops

But in 1848 he organised a military force to protect London against possible Chartist violence at the large meeting at Kennington Common.

‘The Iron Duke’ died in September 1852 after a series of seizures. After lying in state in London, he was buried in St Paul’s Cathedral, London.

The Wellington Arch still stands in London’s Hyde Park. He also gave his name to the humble Wellington boot. And of course we have Been Wellington to remember him by as well.

First Ministry

01/22/1828                        11/16/1830        

Office	Name	Term
First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	The Duke of Wellington	January 1828 – November 1830
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Lyndhust	January 1828 – November 1830
Lord President of the Council	The Earl Bathurst	January 1828 – November 1830
Lord Privy Seal	The Lord Ellenborough The Earl of Rosslyn	January 1828 – June 1829 June1829 – November 1830
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Henry Goulburn	January 1828 – November 1830
Home Secretary Leader of the House of Commons	Robert Peel	January 1828 – November 1830
Foreign Secretary	The Earl of Dudley The Earl of Aberdeen	January 1828 – June 1828 June 1828 – November 1830
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies	William Huskisson Sir George Murray	January 1828 – May 1828 May 1828 – November 18
First Lord of the Admiralty	The Viscount Melville	September 1828 – November 1830
Master-General of the Ordnance	Marquess of Anglesey The Viscount Beresford	January 1828 – April 1828 April 1828 – November 1830
President of the Board of Trade	Charles Grant          William Vesey-Fitzgerald          John Charles Herries	January 1828 – June 1828 June 1828 – February 1830 February 1830 – November 1830
President of the Board of Control	Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn The Viscount Melville          The Lord Ellenborough	January 1828 – July 1828 July 1828 – September 1828 September 1828 – November 1830
Master of the Mint	John Charles Herries	January 1828 – November 1830
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	The Earl of Aberdeen Charles Arbuthnot	January 1828 – June 1828 June 1828 – November 1830
First Commissioner of Woods and Forests	Charles Arbuthnot Viscount Lowther	February 1828 – June 1828 June 1828 – November 1830
Paymaster of the Forces	William Vesey-Fitzgerald          John Calcraft	January 1828 – July 1828 July 1828 – November 1830
Secretary at War	Viscount Palmerston Sir Henry Hardinge          Lord Francis Leveson-Gower	January 1828 – May 1828 May 1828 – July 1830 July 1830 – November 1830

Second Ministry

11/14/1834                        12/10/1834

Office	Name	Date
Prime Minister Secretary of State for the Home Department Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Leader of the House of Lords	The Duke of Wellington	17 November 1834 – 9 December 1834
Chancellor of the Exchequer	The Lord Denman	15 November 1834-9 December
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Lyndhurst	21 November 1834-9 December
Lords Commissioners of the Treasury	The Duke of Wellington The Earl of Rosslyn          The Lord Ellenborough Lord Maryborough Sir John Beckett Joseph Planta	21 November 1834-9 December

Family

Arthur and Kitty had two sons and adopted 4 children. (See below for more on Kitty)

After his first Cabinet meeting as PM; “An extraordinary affair. I gave them their orders and they wanted to stay and discuss them.”

Catherine Sarah Dorothea “Kitty” Pakenham, the sister of one of his generals, Edward Pakenham. who died leading such famous units as the 95th Rifles (Sharp!) and 93rd Highlanders at the Battle of New Orleans in the American war of 1812 which was over by the time the battle had been fought in 1815, but because of communications then, they had not gotten the word.

Wellesley and Kitty might have been hot and heavy at first, but he was turned away when he did not have any prospects and she found another to love. Who, when he found that Wellesley was still interested bowed out. When Kitty and Wellesley did marry, their marriage was not one of love on his side. Though, Kitty did love the Duke. She died in 1831

GIVEAWAY

Do you know about our Giveaway this week? If you answer in the comments there, that you have an idea, or just comment (not just a HI, but which research track you like and why) I am giving away an eBook in your favorite format, ePub, Mobi, or PDF, etc. You can choose from The End of the World, The Shattered Mirror, Colonel Fitzwilliam’s Correspondence, or the one I think you will enjoy the most, Jane Austen and Ghosts. (And if you want to ready the Trolling books instead, just mention that.

The giveaway will last through Sunday the 8th, at which time I will pick a winner and announce your feedback and what it all means for future posting, as well as the winner on the following Monday.

And then,

Are you A RAPper or a RAPscallion?

The Writing Life

My current writing project, a Fantasy, the third part of my trilogy on the son of Duke. It is the third in what I started when I left college. I finished the second part about 2 years ago, and so now I will wrap it up and reedit it all. It is tentatively titles, Crown in Jeopardy, the third book in the Born to Grace tale.

It opens with our hero setting up a trap for the enemies.

Chapter 1: Bait (to the end)

“Caradoc, everyone is here.” Jamus said from outside the tent. Or at least the small portion of the tent where he rested. Enough room for his cot, and to swing his legs over the side of it.

Coming. His feet had been back in his boots since he had cooled them down with the water to wash them. He hoisted himself from the cot and getting his legs firmly under him, not instantly for he carried nearly two hundred pounds of armor, he then grabbed his sword and strode out of the tent.

His bodyguard awaited him and the commanders of all the troops were there as well. William and most of the Magus were to one side. William turned to Francis, his closest associate. “No enemies, or spies still, my lord.”

That had been a concern, since they had left the column of Northmarch, that their subterfuge would be found out. It still had not, so that was a blessing of Aer. “Now is the time to speak if you have questions. We think that tomorrow, first light, I should guess, will be when this is resolved.”

The other commanders nodded. No one should have a question. They had talked it through for days. And if what was to come did, it would be how they would proceed as well. The best time to attack a camp is at first light. Men are awake and want to piss, or want to eat and rub the sleep from their eyes. Start a fire and get something hot in them. Then there would be enough light, if you were an attacker, to see where your enemy was. Attack in the night, and you had to hope for a moon to see by.

William and the Magus had made sure that at night, it was as dark as if there had been no moon, no stars, and no torches to guide a man, each night. Cynwal’s commanders would have told him that it would be impossible to attack under such circumstances, and Pincus relayed that they had done so on one evening.

“Then to your beds and sleep and rest this night. Tomorrow we are sure to fight. Get your meals tonight as well, for there will likely be no food in the morning. William, the magus will have to be ready to deflect an archery attack, and General Frederick, the scouts, be sure that they do not get caught when the enemy attack. For as we would, the enemy would surely try to sneak upon them and cut their throats. They are not sacrifices and should they be wary, they should survive and can fight during the attack.” That was one of the most worrisome parts of the entire operation.

If he were going to attack a war camp, then he would send men to kill the sentries. That would mask the approach. Here the sentries knew that was something that might happen and the Magus were going to do their best to see that the sentries were not taken unawares. Also, Cynwal was certain that he outnumbered Caradoc’s force near five times. He would be pleased at the advantage that surprise gave him in attack, but it was not so needed.

Superiority of numbers would go a long way towards ensuring victory. That was always an advantage that a commander wished for. Again, Caradoc thought, it disvalued the worth of a man. When one thought in terms that having more men in your command than the enemy, and somehow that greater number meant that you would inflict more death and less would be caused to your own side, may have been a blessing for you, but it also meant that you just regarded your men as so many numbers. Did you care then about how happy there were in their marriage, or that they had a new born daughter? That there parents had been married thirty years? None of that mattered except that you had twice or more times the men to hand as your enemy did.

Caradoc hated this job more then he liked it. He was a well paid murderer. That had become the task of the lords of the land. Not overseeing their people in peace and battling a truer enemy, the weather. One less predictable than a man.

Caradoc shook his head and sent the men away. He might have thought to proceed about the camp and see how all were doing. Instead, he listened to reports to ensure that all were ready. He got his own hot meal and then once more, lay down on his cot. At least in the midst of his army, he did not have to stand a watch. He would be woken early though. He was to inspect the came and sure that the moments before dawn, when it was hoped they lured Cynwal to them, that the camp was perceived to hold only twelve hundred men.

When he had woken, relaxed he found from his sleep, he was joined by the Magus Francis. William was sleeping as much as he could. “We have cast our spells and done all we can think to confuse the enemy.”

“And they have given no indication that they have sussed us out. They think all is as it should be with twelve hundred men having invaded their country. We have done well. You the Magus, have done well.”

“Thank you lord. The ArchMagus has said you have always been generous with your praise, but that it is also well earned.” Francis said.

Caradoc smiled, “I hope so. I hope that is what is said of me. I think it, of course, but you are never sure that is what is said about you. Now, are you all rested. Much of our success when we are engaged will have those of us without magic relying on you with the power.”

“We are rested. Near every magus in the north that was with the Army is here with us. Lady Miriam and only two others remain with Prince Edward.”

Caradoc was aware of that as well. He knew the plan, and he knew where the players he had control of were. His side of the board. And with the aid of the spies of the Atorane who were a part of Cynwal’s army, he knew more about the enemy then hey did of him, he hoped.

“There is one of you maintaining the spell now?” They had an illusion cast about all of the camp, and they knew that it worked as what one saw from outside the camp was much different than what was inside the camp. And what one was able to have followed by watching the patrols that Caradoc had sent out as well.

“Two my lord. As we have gotten closer to when you think the attack will come, we have had much more work to do.”

“Show me.” Caradoc instructed. It was needful as he had to know where the efforts of the Magus were being utilized. He and his commanders needed to prepare for where they suspected the enemy would attack, and where he wanted his men to respond. They had a small wall erected about the camp. Since Landing, armies had made war camps with temporary defenses, and then there had been kingdoms that did not. Those kingdoms who did, seemed to have lasted longer than those that did not.

Northmarch was a kingdom that did erect such walls. But 1200 men did not make the walls as if they were full regiments. They were a raiding force. At least the illusion was such that they had weak points in their walls.

It did not take long for Francis to walk him through the camp and show him where the Magus were stationed, or anticipated that they would need to work their magic. After he had finished with Francis, then it was a chance to walk with Avram and Frederick. Both of whom were then awake. Both of whom had been leaders for far longer than he, but it had been Caradoc’s plan to travel north, and they had been deferential to him since Larsent Bridge.

“We are ready. You spend a great deal of time agonizing over whether we are ready before every battle.” Avram said.

“It is time for you to go back to the Atorane and start your family, or to show them that you are your own man and take a wife with you from here. I think perhaps as good as you are, you may need some new blood amongst you.” Caradoc teased, but there was some truth there. The Atorane was almost entirely comprised of the Hovite religion. They needed blood from elsewhere in the world. Just as the clans married amongst other clans, the Hovites did not need to trade their identity away, but they needed more genes in the mix. That was well thought amongst the tenets of the Captain. No marriage closer than that of a second cousin. And no community with fewer than 100 patriarchs.

“You comment on whether I do not worry enough? I worry, yet once I am sure that a thing is correct and well attended to, I put it from my mind. The men who have that responsibility will take care of it. As to my taking a wife with me back to the Atorane, I have thought that perhaps I might. There is a lady amongst the woman of Princess Sarah I think quite catching. She has been after me since we all returned to Luckston. I think you know her as well.”

Lady ### had been a lover of Caradoc’s once. But when he had returned to Luckston and Clarisse, he had not looked at the girl. She had looked to Caradoc a few times and that had been uncomfortable. But he kept his distance. Not because he was afraid of what Clarisse would do to him knowing that he had a former lover about. Because he was worried what Clarisse would do to the girl.

Clarisse said she bore no grudges, but that would not be the entire truth. Clarisse was a hellion when wronged. “I wish you well of that, my friend. She, I think, would shake things up in the Atorane. And then, you will have a very beautiful wife also. I can see her, the wife of a Medbar of the Atorane and a respected general. She will make quite an impression on Hovite society.”

Avram laughed. “You thought I was joking. Caradoc, I am serious. I have thought to wed her and take her to our homeland for just that reason. We need new perspective and most women of court would be overwhelmed by the Hovite woman back in the Atorane. Lady #### won’t.”

Well Caradoc could agree with that. She would not be shunted aside, but would be in the forefront of any decision or event. As the wife of Avram and the mother of his sons, she would be right in the middle of things, just as he would when he did return to the country.

“I have to marry her in any event. It would not be decent to let things proceed without doing so. Your Aer would think me churlish.” Alain laughed from where he walked.

“Oh, don’t mind me. Valens will take care of any child, whether a father claims him or not. But to have begotten a child on a lady of the court, and related to the king of Falchon. You, general just can not stop playing with hot water.”

Caradoc would have laughed but Francis stiffened. “They come! Less than ten minutes.”

That was all the leaders needed and they all began to hurry away quietly sounding the alarm, as the other Magus did as well. They would be ready much sooner than the ten minutes. Caradoc just mouthed as he went to mount his horse. “It begins. The end is now started.”

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