Brent Spencer

GCB
GCB
	General Brent Spencer (only known portrait)
Member of Parliament; for Sligo Borough
	In office; 27 March 1815 – 1818
Preceded by	Joshua Spencer
Succeeded by	John Bent
Personal details
Born	1760
Died	29 December 1828 (aged 67–68)
Military service
Allegiance	Second Siege of Badajoz

Fuentes de Onoro. After the latter action, he had an independent command in northern Portugal. Wellesley, now Lord Wellington, was not satisfied that Spencer was up to the responsibilities of second-in-command and he was replaced by Thomas Graham

. Miffed, Spencer left Portugal and never returned. He became a full general in 1825.

He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sligo Borough from 1815 to 1818.^[1]

Early life and family

Spencer was born circa 1760, the second son of Conway Spencer of Tremary and his wife, Mary.^[2] His brother was politician Joshua Spencer,^[2] and their nephew was politician George Canning II (who married Lady Georgiana Stewart, daughter of the 1st Marquess of Londonderry).^[2]^[3]

Early career

Spencer became a commissioned officer in 1778.

40th Foot during the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. This campaign included the battles of Bergen and Castricum.^[5]

In 1801, Spencer served with General Sir Ralph Abercromby's army in Egypt at the Battle of Alexandria. He fought in the Copenhagen campaign in late 1807.

The Peninsula

The

82nd Foot, and 245 artillerists. All infantry units consisted of 1st Battalions, except the 29th which was not organized into battalions. At Mondego Bay he joined his force to the 8,123 troops that General Arthur Wellesley brought from Cork in Ireland.^[6]

At the

Battle of Fuentes de Onoro

in 1811, Spencer, now a lieutenant-general, temporarily led both the 1st and 3rd Divisions.

After Fuentes, Wellington went south to participate in the

province of Beira in the north.^[7]

Later that year, he was replaced by Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch because of pessimistic letters which he had sent back to England. In 1825, Spencer was promoted to full general.

Wellington wrote of Spencer, "He was exceedingly puzzle headed. He would talk of the Thames for the Tagus."^[4]

Later career

After having been in succession Colonel of the 9th Garrison Battalion (1806–08) and the

40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot

, which he held until his death in 1828.

Romance with Princess Augusta

Spencer met

King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

, about 1800, and a romantic friendship had developed by about 1803.

In 1805, Spencer was appointed as an equerry to the king. According to Augusta, the couple conducted their relationship with great discretion as they were not of equal rank; news of such an attachment was feared to disturb the King's precarious mental health.

In 1812, Augusta sent a long letter to her brother the

Prince Regent to ask for his consent to her marrying Spencer, but it is unknown whether she did so. It is believed the couple remained together until Spencer's death in 1828.^[8]^[9]

Notes

^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 3)
^ ^a ^b ^c "SPENCER, Sir Brent (c.1760-1828), of Tremary, co. Antrim. | History of Parliament Online". historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
^ "CANNING, George II (1778-1840), of Garvagh, co. Londonderry. | History of Parliament Online". historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b Glover (2001), 355
^ Chandler (1979), 418-419
^ Oman (2010), I, 230
^ Gates (2002), 270
^ Dorothy Margaret Stuart, The Daughters of George III (Fonthill Media, 2017) pp 110–120
^ Hadlow, Janice. A Royal Experiment.

References

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Brent Spencer

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Joshua Spencer	Member of Parliament for Sligo Borough 27 March 1815 – 1818	Succeeded by John Bent
Military offices
New regiment	Colonel of the 103rd Regiment of Foot 1806–1808	Succeeded by Samuel Auchmuty
Preceded by Eyre Power Trench	Colonel of the 2nd West India Regiment 1808–1809	Succeeded by Sir George Beckwith
New regiment	Colonel-Commandant of the 2nd Battalion, 95th Regiment of Foot 1809–1816	Succeeded by Sir William Stewart
Preceded by Forbes Champagné	Colonel-Commandant of the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade 1816–1818	Succeeded by Sir William Stewart
Preceded by Sir George Osborn	Colonel of the 40th Regiment of Foot 1818–1829	Succeeded by Sir James Kempt

[1] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 3)

[histparbrent-2] "SPENCER, Sir Brent (c.1760-1828), of Tremary, co. Antrim. | History of Parliament Online". historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 6 April 2020.

[3] "CANNING, George II (1778-1840), of Garvagh, co. Londonderry. | History of Parliament Online". historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 6 April 2020.

[Glover-4] Glover (2001), 355

[5] Chandler (1979), 418-419

[6] Oman (2010), I, 230

[7] Gates (2002), 270

[8] Dorothy Margaret Stuart, The Daughters of George III (Fonthill Media, 2017) pp 110–120

[9] Hadlow, Janice. A Royal Experiment.

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