William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford
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| William Beresford | |
|---|---|
| October 2, 1768 – January 8, 1854 | |
| Image:Marechal Beresford-Coudelaria de Alter (Pt.).jpg Field-marshall Beresford - Coudelaria de Alter, Portugal | |
| Allegiance | England, Portugal |
| Service/branch | Army |
| Unit | General, Field-marshall |
| Battles/wars | Peninsular War |
| Other work | Governor of Jersey |
William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford GCB GCH (October 2, 1768 – January 8, 1854), British soldier and politician.
A general in the British Army and a marshal in the Portuguese army, who fought with the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War and in 1828 held the office of master-general of the ordnance in Wellington's first ministry.
He was sent across the South Atlantic to invade the Plata region, with a smaller British force of 1,500 men, departing on 14 April 1806. In the British invasions of the Río de la Plata, when the British Crown attempted to take control of Buenos Aires and thus, over the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, he was defeated and had to surrender.
The most notable action in which Beresford held independent command, during the Peninsular War, occurred in 1811 when a combined Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army under his command as a Portuguese field-marshal, intercepted a French army commanded by Marshal Nicolas Soult who had been ordered by Marshal Auguste Marmont to move to protect Badajoz. After the bloody Battle of Albuera the French were forced to retreat.
He was the last titular Governor of Jersey; since his death the Crown has been represented in Jersey by the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.
[edit] References
- ISBN 0-9522930-7-2, The Fatal Hill: The Allied Campaign under Beresford in Southern Spain in 1811, Mark Sunderland, Thompson Publishing, London 2002, Long Review
in 1806, after taking over the South African city of Capetown, Beresford, spured by Sir Home Popham decided -without authorization from the Crown- to attack Buenos Aires.
[edit] External links
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Hildebrand Oakes, Bt | Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance 1823–1824 | Succeeded by Sir George Murray |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Marquess of Anglesey | Master-General of the Ordnance 1828–1830 | Succeeded by Sir James Kempt |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by New Creation | Viscount Beresford 1823–1854 | Succeeded by Extinct |
es:William Carr Beresford fr:William Carr Beresford pl:William Beresford, 1. wicehrabia Beresford pt:William Carr Beresford
Categories: 1768 births | 1854 deaths | Field Marshals of Portugal | British Army generals | British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars | British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars | Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath | Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order | Viscounts in the Peerage of Great Britain | Governors of Jersey | British politician stubs
