Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

John Mordaunt, Viscount Mordaunt (c. 1681 – 5 April 1710) was an English soldier and politician. The eldest son of

Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough and 1st Earl of Monmouth, (1658 – 25 October 1735) was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the son of John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt, and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter and sole h ...

, he was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, after travelling in Holland in 1699. He was elected, as a Whig Member of Parliament for

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

in 1701 despite a petition alleging, among other things, he was still a minor. (That year he was aged about 20.) He was a political ally of his father's and managed the attempt to impeach

Lord Somers Baron Somers, of Evesham in the County of Worcester, is a title that has been created twice. The title was first created in the Peerage of England in 1697 for Sir John Somers, so that he could sit in the House of Lords and serve as Lord Chancell ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in the same year. At the General Election of 1705 he vacated his seat to unsuccessfully contest

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

but returned to Chippenham later that year in a by-election caused by the death of a newly returned Whig member, and sat until 1708. He saw distinguished service during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. As a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, he led the

forlorn hope A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the kill zone of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defende ...

of the

1st Foot Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

at the

Battle of Schellenberg The Battle of Schellenberg, also known as the Battle of Donauwörth, was fought on 2 July 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement was part of the Duke of Marlborough's campaign to save the Habsburg capital of Vienna from a ...

in 1704, and was one of the few to survive that bloody assault. Shortly thereafter, he helped lead another furious assault at the

Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (german: Zweite Schlacht bei Höchstädt, link=no; french: Bataille de Höchstädt, link=no; nl, Slag bij Blenheim, link=no) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied v ...

and lost his left arm. On 25 August 1704, he was made colonel of the

Scots Fuzileers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

in place of Brigadier

Archibald Rowe Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic name, Germanic elements '':wikt:erchan, erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and '':wikt:bold, bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German ...

, killed in the attack at Blenheim. On 26 June 1706 he exchanged regiments with Sampson de Lalo, then colonel of the 28th regiment, but resumed the colonelcy of the Scots Fuzileers in 1709 when de Lalo was killed at the

Battle of Malplaquet The Battle of Malplaquet took place on 11 September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession and was fought between a French army commanded by the Duke of Villars and a Grand Alliance force under the Duke of Marlborough. In one of the blo ...

. In 1708, he married Lady Frances Powlett (d. 1715), daughter of

Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton (1661 – 21 January 1722) was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Member of Parliament for Hampshire and a supporter of William III of Orange. Life He was the son of Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, and Mary S ...

. They had two sons: *

Charles Mordaunt, 4th Earl of Peterborough Charles Mordaunt, 4th Earl of Peterborough, 2nd Earl of Monmouth (1708 – 1 August 1779) was a British peer and Member of Parliament, styled Viscount Mordaunt from 1710 to 1735. He was the son of John Mordaunt, Viscount Mordaunt and Lady France ...

(1708–1779) *Lt.-Col.

John Mordaunt John Mordaunt may refer to: *John Mordaunt (speaker) (d. 1504), Tudor politician and Speaker of the House of Commons *John Mordaunt, 1st Baron Mordaunt (d. 1562) *John Mordaunt, 2nd Baron Mordaunt (1508–1571) *John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborou ...

(c. 1709–1767) He died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

on 5 April 1710, and was buried at Turvey on 13 April.

References

* Grenadier Guards officers Deaths from smallpox 1680s births 1710 deaths Infectious disease deaths in England British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Heirs apparent who never acceded British courtesy viscounts English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 {{18thC-England-MP-stub