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The Marquess Townshend
George Townshend
Lord Townshend
Born (1724-02-28)February 28, 1724
Died September 14, 1807(1807-09-14) (aged 83)
Allegiance United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch Flag of the British Army British Army
Rank Field Marshal
Battles/wars Jacobite Rising
War of the Austrian Succession
Seven Years War

Field Marshal George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, PC (28 February 1724 – 14 September 1807), known as The Viscount Townshend from 1764 to 1787, was a British soldier who reached the rank of field marshal.

Early life[]

Townshend was the son of Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend,[1] and Audrey Ethelreda Harrison. Charles Townshend, the prominent British politician, was his younger brother, and Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, his first cousin.

Military career[]

Early years[]

Educated at St. John's College, Cambridge,[2] Townshend was commissioned into the Sir John Cope's Regiment in 1745.[1] He fought at the Battle of Culloden during the Jacobite Rising in 1745 and the Battle of Lauffeld during the War of the Austrian Succession in 1747.[1]

Seven Years War[]

He served as a brigadier in Quebec, under General James Wolfe; when the latter died, and his second-in-command (Robert Monckton) was wounded, Townshend took command of the British forces during the siege of Quebec.[3] He received Quebec City's surrender on 18 September 1759. However, he held General Wolfe in much contempt (drawing Wolfe in caricature he created Canada's first cartoon[4]), and was harshly criticized upon his return to Great Britain for that reason (Wolfe was a popular hero throughout the country).[3] Nonetheless, he was promoted major general on 6 March 1761[3] and fought at the Battle of Villinghausen.

In 1762 he took command of a division of the Anglo-Portuguese army with the local rank of lieutenant-general, against the Spanish invasion of Portugal.

Post-war[]

He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1767–1772.[3] In 1779, Fort Townshend, was begun by Governor Richard Edwards, naming it after Townshend, who was then Master-General of the Ordnance (1772–1782 and 1783–1784) and responsible for the construction of fortifications. The Fort includes the Government House of Newfoundland and Labrador.[5] On 2 February 1773 he fought a duel with Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont, badly wounding the Earl with a bullet in the groin.

Townshend was promoted to general in 1782,[3] and elevated to the marquessate in 1787.[3] He was Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea from 1795 until 1796.[6] He became a field marshal on 30 July 1796,[3] and was appointed Governor of Jersey until 1806.

A peculiar family tragedy befell him in May of that year: his son, Lord Charles, had just been elected MP for Great Yarmouth, and he took a carriage to London with his brother, Rev. Lord Frederick, the Rector of Stiffkey. During the journey, Lord Frederick inexplicably killed his brother with a pistol shot to the head, and was ultimately adjuged insane.

Family[]

On 19 December 1751, Townshend had married Charlotte Compton, 15th Baroness Ferrers of Chartley (d. 1770), daughter of James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton. They had eight children:[3]

Romney - Anne Townshend, Marchioness Townshend

His second wife, Anne Montgomery, in 1802 by George Romney

  • George Townshend, 2nd Marquess Townshend (1755–1811)
  • Lord John Townshend (19 January 1757 – 25 February 1833), married Georgiana Poyntz and had issue
  • Lady Elizabeth Townshend (d. 21 March 1811)
  • Rev. Lord Frederick Patrick Townshend (30 December 1767 – 18 January 1836)
  • Lord Charles Townshend (1768 – 27 May 1796)
  • Ladies Charlotte, Caroline and Frances Townshend died young

He married Anne Montgomery, the daughter of Sir William Montgomery, 1st Baronet on 19 May 1773. Anne was Mistress of the Robes to Caroline, Princess of Wales, from 1795 to 1820. They had six children:[3]

  • Lord William Townshend (1778–1794)
  • Captain Lord James Nugent Boyle Bernardo Townshend (11 September 1785 – 28 June 1842), married Elizabeth Wallis and had issue
  • Lady Anne Townshend (d. 29 November 1826), married Harrington Hudson
  • Lady Charlotte Townshend (16 March 1776 – 30 July 1856), married the Duke of Leeds and had three children.
  • Lady Honoria Townshend (1777–1826)
  • Lady Henrietta Townshend (d. 9 November 1848)

External links[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Heathcote, p. 277
  2. "Townshend, George (TWNT740G)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge. http://venn.lib.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search.pl?sur=&suro=c&fir=&firo=c&cit=&cito=c&c=all&tex=%22TWNT740G%22&sye=&eye=&col=all&maxcount=50. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Heathcote, p. 278
  4. Mosher, Terry. "Drawn and Quartered." Leader and Dreamers Commemorative Issue. Maclean's. 2004: 171. Print.
  5. Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, vol. 2, p. 327
  6. Survey of London, volume 11, edited by Walter H. Godfrey (editor), Published 1927
  • Heathcote, T. A., The British Field Marshals 1736 - 1997, Leo Cooper, 1999, ISBN 0-85052-696-5
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Armine Wodehouse
Viscount Coke
Member of Parliament for Norfolk
1747–1764
With: Armine Wodehouse
Succeeded by
Armine Wodehouse
Thomas de Grey
Political offices
Preceded by
The Earl of Bristol
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1767–1772
Succeeded by
The Earl Harcourt
Military offices
Preceded by
Marquess of Granby
Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance
1763–1767
Succeeded by
Hon. Henry Seymour Conway
Vacant
Title last held by
Marquess of Granby
Master-General of the Ordnance
1772–1782
Succeeded by
The Duke of Richmond
Preceded by
The Duke of Richmond
Master-General of the Ordnance
1783–1784
Preceded by
James Murray
Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull
1794–1795
Succeeded by
Hon. William Harcourt
Preceded by
Sir George Howard
Governor, Royal Hospital Chelsea
1795–1796
Succeeded by
Sir William Fawcett
Honorary titles
Preceded by
The Earl of Orford
Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk
1792–1807
Succeeded by
The Lord Suffield
Vice-Admiral of Norfolk
1792–1807
Vacant
Title next held by
The Lord Suffield
Peerage of Great Britain
New creation Marquess Townshend
1787–1807
Succeeded by
George Townshend
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Charles Townshend
Viscount Townshend
1764–1807
Succeeded by
George Townshend
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