George Wade
George Wade | |
---|---|
Born | 1673 Killavally, Westmeath, Ireland |
Died | 14 March 1748 |
Allegiance | |
Service/ |
|
Years of service | 1690–1748 |
Rank | Field Marshal |
Battles/wars | |
Signature |
Early career
Born the son of Jerome Wade in
During the
He served as second in command to
Wade returned home to join in the suppression of the Jacobite rising of 1715 and undertook security duties in Bath, where he unearthed a haul of Jacobite weapons.[3] He entered politics as MP for Hindon in 1715.[5] On 19 March 1717, he became colonel of the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse.[3]
In 1719, he served as second-in-command to
He became MP for Bath in 1722,[8] retaining the seat for 25 years.[4] His house, built around 1700, is situated next to Bath Abbey and is now a Grade I listed building.[9][10]
Scotland
The government of
A reference in verse is said to be inscribed on a stone at the start of one of his military roads in Scotland:
If you had seen this road before it was made,
You would lift up your hands and bless General Wade.[4]
Wade also organised a militia, "Highland Watches", and called on members of the landed gentry to sign up[13] and raised the first six companies in 1725 (three of Campbells and one each of Frasers, Grants, and Munros).[14] Also in 1725, Wade put down an insurrection after the government attempted to extend the "malt tax" to Scotland, and enraged citizens in Glasgow drove out the military and destroyed the home of their representative in Parliament.[15] He was promoted to lieutenant general on 15 April 1727.[16]
On 1 June 1732, he became
He raised four more "Highland Watch" companies in 1739, which were subsequently reorganized as the
War of the Austrian Succession
On 17 December 1743 he became a field marshal[23] with his appointment to the joint command of the Anglo-Austrian force in Flanders against the French in the War of the Austrian Succession.[4] Wade organised an advance towards Lille in July 1744, but the action became stalled in the face of logistical problems.[3] He resigned from his command in March 1745 and returned home to become Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.[4]
Jacobite rising
In October 1745, during the
It was because of the difficulties Wade encountered marching his troops cross-country from Newcastle to Carlisle that he built his Military Road west of Newcastle in 1746, entailing such destruction of Hadrian's Wall. Wade helped plan the road but had died before construction began in 1751.[25] His Military Road is still in use today as the B6318; it should not be confused with the Military Way built by the Romans immediately south of Hadrian's Wall.[26]
Wade received mention in a verse sung as part of God Save the King around 1745:[4]
Lord, grant that Marshal Wade
May, by thy mighty aid,
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush
And, like a torrent, rush
Rebellious Scots to crush.
God save the King.
Family life
Wade died unmarried on 14 March 1748 and is buried at Westminster Abbey, where his life is recognised by a monument created by Louis-François Roubiliac.[27]
Wade left two natural (illegitimate) sons, Captains William and John Wade, and two natural daughters, Jane Erle and Emilia. Wade left most of his estate to his natural children although he provided generously for the widow and children of his brother William, Canon of Windsor, Berkshire. Wade had a second natural daughter named Emilia, who was married first in 1728 to a Mr John Mason and then to a Mr Jebb.[28]
References
- ^ Salmond, James Bell. Wade in Scotland. Moray Press, 1938 p.29
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Heathcote, p. 285
- ^ required.)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Heathcote, p. 286
- ^ "No. 5360". The London Gazette. 30 August 1715. p. 2.
- ^ Rodger p. 229
- ^ Thomas McGeary. The Politics of Opera in Handel's Britain. Cambridge University Press, 2013. p. 254
- ^ "No. 6045". The London Gazette. 24 March 1722. p. 4.
- ^ "Marshal Wade's House". Images of England. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ISBN 9781445659640.
- ^ "No. 6371". The London Gazette. 8 May 1725. p. 1.
- ^ Mackenzie, Sir Kenneth (13 April 1897). Paper entitled General Wade & his Roads. Inverness Scientific Society.
- ^ "Highlander: The History of the Legendary Highland Soldier" (PDF). British Commission for Military History. Autumn 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "The Black Watch Regiment (1739-2006)". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
- ^ Chalmers, p.871
- ^ "No. 6572". The London Gazette. 11 April 1727. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 7097". The London Gazette. 3 June 1732. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 7205". The London Gazette. 16 June 1733. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 7823". The London Gazette. 14 July 1739. p. 1.
- ^ Royal Charter, p.10
- ^ "No. 8129". The London Gazette. 19 June 1742. p. 2.
- ^ "No. 8130". The London Gazette. 22 June 1742. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 8284". The London Gazette. 13 December 1743. p. 5.
- ^ Pollard p. 41–42
- ^ Spain, GRB. "The original survey for the Newcastle-Carlisle military road". Archaelogica Aeliana. Series 4 xiv: 17.
- ^ "Hadrian's Wall". Heddon on the Wall Local History Society. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
- ^ Hiatt, p.4
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Sources
- Chalmers, George (1887). Caledonia, or, A historical and topographical account of North Britain, vol. 2.
- Heathcote, Tony (1999). The British Field Marshals 1736-1997. Pen & Sword Books Ltd. ISBN 0-85052-696-5.
- Hiatt, Charles (2009). Westminster Abbey : a short history and description of the church and conventual buildings with notes on the monuments. Forgotten Books. ISBN 978-1-4400-3478-7.
- Pollard, Tony (2009). Culloden: The History and Archaeology of the last Clan Battle. Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-84884-020-1.
- Rodger, Nicholas (2006). Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-102690-9.
- A copy of the Royal Charter establishing a hospital for the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted children. 1739.
External links
- Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .