The Memoirs of Admiral Lord BeresfordBeresford, Charles William De la Poer Beresford, Baron
History
The Memoirs of Admiral Lord Beresford
Beresford, Charles William De la Poer Beresford, Baron
Admirals -- Great Britain -- Biography; Great Britain -- History, Naval -- 19th century
John Beresford, whose name is even yet occasionally reproached by the
descendants of his political opponents, was born in 1738, and died in
1805. He was the second son of Marcus, Earl of Tyrone (brother of the
first Marquess) and Lady Katherine, Baroness de la Poer. Appointed
First Commissioner of Revenue in 1780, John Beresford became in fact
ruler of Ireland. He was entrusted by Pitt with the management of all
Irish affairs. Viceroys came and viceroys went, but Beresford
continued to hold a position "greater than that of the Lord Lieutenant
{xxix} himself"; much to the indignation of Lord Fitzwilliam, who, when
he was appointed Lord Lieutenant, permitted himself to address the
First Commissioner in terms so indigestible that Beresford promptly
challenged him. The duel, however, was prevented. John Beresford took
a great part in the preparation and passing of the Act of Union; was
M.P. for Waterford and a Privy Councillor; and did much to improve the
city of Dublin, the fine Custom-house being built under his auspices.
He married Barbara Montgomery, who was one of the "Three Graces" in the
painting done by Sir Joshua Reynolds, now in the National Gallery. The
other two Graces were her sister, Lady Mountjoy, and the Marchioness of
Townshend.
Admiral Sir John Poo Beresford (1768 (?)-1884) was a natural son of the
first Marquess of Waterford. He entered the Royal Navy in 1782; fought
a smart action in the capture of the French store-ships in Hampton
Roads on 17th May 1795; and performed distinguished service in the West
Indies. He took part in the famous eight months' blockade off Ferrol
in 1808, and in the blockade of Lorient, commanding one of those
"weather-beaten ships upon which the Grand Army never looked." In 1810
he was co-operating off Lisbon with Wellington's army, with which his
younger brother the Marshal, in command of the Portuguese Army, was
also co-operating. He represented in Parliament, in succession,
Coleraine, Berwick, Northallerton, and Chatham. In 1835 he was Junior
Lord of the Admiralty. His career, a combination of fighting seaman,
member of Parliament, and Junior Lord, presents a singular resemblance
to the career of his relative, Lord Charles Beresford.
Marshal Beresford, or, more precisely, General Viscount William Carr
Beresford, was born in 1768 and died, full of years and honours, in
1854. Son of the first Marquess, he also, like the Admiral, bore the
bar sinister on his escutcheon. As captain of the 69th Regiment, he
was with Lord Hood at Toulon in 1793, and commanded the storming party
at the tower of Martello. He was present at the {xxx} captures of
Bastia, Calvi, and San Fiorenzo. After service in India, Beresford's
brigade led the march across the desert in the Egyptian campaign of
1801. Eighty-four years later, his relative, Captain Lord Charles
Beresford, took his Naval Brigade across the desert with Sir Herbert
Stewart's forlorn hope.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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