Sir John Beresford, 1st Baronet
Admiral Sir John Beresford | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1766 |
| Died | 2 October 1844 |
| Allegiance | French Revolutionary War Order of the Tower and Sword |
Early life
Beresford was born in 1766 at Waterford.[1] He was an illegitimate son of George Beresford, 2nd Earl of Tyrone; as well as a number of legitimate half-siblings, Beresford was also brother to General William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, another illegitimate son. Beresford was educated at Catterick Bridge in Yorkshire before he joined the Royal Navy in 1782. He was taken on as a protégé by Captain Lord Longford in the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Alexander, as a captain's servant.[2][3]
Early career
In Alexander Beresford was employed for a year and a half, serving mostly on the
Command
In the following three months Beresford was able to demonstrate his naval abilities multiple times, first by protecting a convoy against two larger French warships, then by rescuing the grounded 38-gun frigate
Some time after this Beresford was sent in Raison to take £200,000 of
At the start of 1798 Beresford was given his next command, the 32-gun frigate
Senior command
Beresford was then sent to the North America Station again, where he took command of the 44-gun frigate
In summer 1809, he was called as a witness at the court-martial of James, Lord Gambier which assessed whether Admiral Lord Gambier had failed to support Captain Lord Cochrane at the Battle of Basque Roads. Gambier was controversially cleared of all charges.[5]
At the start of 1810 Theseus was paid off and Beresford was instead given command of the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Poictiers. He initially served as senior officer on the blockade of Brest but after four months he was sent to Lisbon where he worked in cooperation with the army of Lieutenant-General Lord Wellington. By 1811 he was serving at the blockade of the Texel in the North Sea, but in 1812 the War of 1812 broke out against America, and Beresford was sent there to assist in that war. He served off the coast of America for the duration of the war, for the last year of which he was made a commodore.[2]
During the war he ineptly bombarded Lewes in Delaware. The Beresford-led Poictiers-four hours after USS Wasp, commanded by Jacob Jones, captured HMS Frolic-captured Wasp, recaptured Frolic and brought both to Bermuda.[6] He saw little action in which to distinguish himself in the War of 1812, but in that same year was knighted on 22 May.[2] He returned home in November 1813.[4]
Later service
In 1814 Beresford was given command of one of the
Political career
He was MP for Coleraine 1809–12 & 1814–23, Berwick-upon-Tweed 1823–26, Northallerton 1826–32, and Chatham 1835–37.
Family
On 22 June 1809 in London, Beresford married Mary Molloy, the daughter of Captain Anthony James Pye Molloy; they had a son, George, before Mary's death in 1813.
On 17 August 1815, in London, Beresford was remarried to Harriet Elizabeth Peirse, daughter of Henry Peirse, and with her had two sons (Henry William and John George) and four daughters (Harriet Charlotte, Mary Anne Araminta [died 1818], Georgiana and Mary Anne Catherine). Harriet Peirse Beresford died in 1825. Her widower remarried, to Amelia Peach, widow of Samuel Peach and daughter of James Bailie, on 26 May 1836 in County Armagh, Ireland. They had no children, and Amelia outlived him. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son from the first marriage, George, who, as he had no surviving sons, was later succeeded by his half-nephew.[8]
Notes
- ^ Tracy (2006), p. 30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lambert (2004).
- ^ Tracy (2006), pp. 30–31.
- ^ a b c d e f Tracy (2006), p. 31.
- ^ Gurney, W. B. (1809). Minutes of a court-martial . . . on the trial of James Lord Gambier. Mottey, Harrison & Miller.
- ^ William Loney RN
- ^ Tracy (2006), p. 32.
- ^ "Beresford-Peirse, of Bagnall, Waterford". Cracroft's Peerage. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
References
- Laughton, John Knox (1885). . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 4. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- Lambert, Andrew (2004). "'Beresford, Sir John Poo, first baronet (1766–1844)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/2197. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Tracy, Nicholas (2006). Who's Who in Nelson's Navy. London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-86176-244-3.
