Thomas Fowke
Lieutenant General Thomas Fowke | |
---|---|
Lieutenant General | |
Commands held | Governor of Gibraltar 1753–1756 |
Battles/wars | |
Relations | Sir Frederick Fowke George Mason |
Lieutenant General Thomas Fowke, also spelt Foulks, circa 1690 to 29 March 1765, was a British military officer from South Staffordshire, who was Governor of Gibraltar from 1753 to 1756, and twice court-martialled during his service. The first followed defeat at Prestonpans in the 1745 Jacobite Rising, when he was acquitted. As Governor, he was tried again for his part in the 1756 Battle of Minorca, a defeat that led to the execution of Admiral Byng.
Despite limited responsibility for the defeat, Fowke was originally sentenced to nine months suspension, but
Fowke's great-uncle emigrated to Virginia in 1651, and was closely related to George Mason, 1725 to 1792, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Mason built Gunston Hall, named after the family home in Gunstone, South Staffordshire; it is now an historic monument.
Personal details
Thomas Fowke was the elder son of Thomas Fowke (ca 1645–1708) of Gunstone,[1] South Staffordshire and his second wife Mary (ca 1650–1705). He had two sisters, Mary and Martha and his younger brother was Rear-admiral Edmund Thorpe Fowke (1704–1784).[2]
He married twice, first to Elizabeth Ingoldsby (ca 1705–1735), with whom he had a daughter, Theophila Lucy (1724–1734). In 1747, he married Dorothea Randall (ca 1732–1788); they had two children, another Theophila (ca 1745–1756), and Sir Thomas Fowke (1744–1786). His grandson was Sir Frederick Fowke (1782–1856).[3]
Career
Fowke began his military career during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1702 as an Ensign in Nicholas Lepell's Regiment of Foot, his father being a captain in the same unit.[4] Until the late 19th century, commissions could be purchased or sold; in June 1707, he became captain after exchanging positions with his father, who died in June 1708.[5]
Peregrine Lascelles, who later served with Fowke in the 1745 Rising, was a captain in the same regiment. In 1710, the unit served in Spain, a last effort to win the Spanish throne for Archduke Charles of Austria.[6] Despite victories at Almanara and Saragossa, the Allies were defeated at Villaviciosa in December. The regiment suffered heavy losses; Lepell, by then the senior British officer in Catalonia, reported losses of 107 men after the battle.[7]
Villaviciosa ended the campaign in Spain, and Lepells was disbanded in November 1712 as the army was reduced prior to the 1713 Peace of Utrecht.[8] Fowke managed to retain his commission, transferring into Whetham's, later 27th Foot, before joining Cotton's Foot, later Somerset Light Infantry in 1716, as a Major. In June 1722, he was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel Kerr's Dragoons, later 11th Hussars, a position he retained until late 1740.[9]
The period of comparative peace after 1713 ended with the outbreak of the
Fowke was posted to
This ended Fowke's career, although
Legacy
In 1651, Thomas Fowke's great-uncle Gerard moved to Virginia, along with his cousin, Philip Mason; one of their descendants was George Mason (1725–1792), a US Founding Father. In 1755, he commemorated his family roots by building a new house in Virginia named Gunston Hall; in 1923, another Mason built a second Gunston Hall, in North Carolina.[15]
Fowke kept a personal journal and record of correspondence; his papers for the period 1752 to 1755, including his time as Governor of Gibraltar, were acquired by in 2015 by the Lewis Walpole Library, part of Yale University.[16]
After his retirement, he lived near Park Hill, Yorkshire, now the site of the Park Hill estate, Sheffield, which was given listed building status in 1998.[17]
References
- ^ The manor of Gunstone had been inherited by the Fowke family by marriage to the heiress of the Newman family
- ^ "Rear-Admiral Edmund Thorpe Fowke". The Peerage. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ "Lt.-Gen. Thomas Fowke". The Peerage. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ Dalton 1903, p. 269.
- ^ Dalton 1904, p. 189.
- ^ Dalton 1904, p. 243.
- ^ Tumath 2013, p. 185.
- ^ Adjutant General's Office 1842, p. 84.
- ^ Leslie 1916, p. 123.
- ^ Cannon 1837, p. 31.
- ^ Blaikie 1916, p. 434.
- ^ Regan 2000, p. 35.
- ^ Debrett 1792, p. 295.
- ^ Dalton 1904, p. 269.
- ^ La Raia 2013.
- ^ "Papers of Lieutenant-General Thomas Fowke". Lewis Walpole Library. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ Historic England, "Park Hill (Grade II) (1246881)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 June 2020
Sources
- Adjutant General's Office (1842). Historical Records of the British Army; History of the 13th Light Dragoons. John W Parker.
- Blaikie, Walter Biggar, ed. (1916). Publications of the Scottish History Society (Volume Series 2, Volume 2 (March, 1916) 1737–1746). Scottish History Society.
- Cannon, Richard (1837). Historical Record of the Second, Or Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot. William Clowes.
- Dalton, Charles (1903). English army lists and commission registers, 1661–1714 Volume V. Eyre and Spottiswood.
- Dalton, Charles (1904). English army lists and commission registers, 1661–1714 Volume VI. Eyre and Spottiswood.
- Debrett (1792). History, Debates & Proceedings of Parliament 1743–1774; Volume III. Debrett.
- "Fowke". The Peerage. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- La Raia, Jackie (12 September 2013). "George Mason's Gunston Hall". Gunston Hall Blog (Virginia). Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- Leslie, JH (1916). Notes and Queries, 12th Series, Volume II. Frank Chance.
- "Papers of Lieutenant-General Thomas Fowke". Lewis Walpole Library. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- "Rear-Admiral Edmund Thorpe Fowke". The Peerage. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- "Lt.-Gen. Thomas Fowke". The Peerage. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- Regan, Geoffrey (2000). Brassey's Book of Naval Blunders. Brassey's.
- Tumath, Andrew (2013). "The British Army in Catalonia after the Battle of Brihuega 1710–1712". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 91 (367): 182–205. JSTOR 44232207.