Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Phineas Bowles (24 January 1690 – 22 October 1749) of Beaulieu, Dublin, was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and politician who sat 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. ...

from 1735 to 1741. Bowles was a younger son of Phineas Bowles of St. Michael's, Crooked Lane, London, and Loughborough House, Lambeth, and his wife Margaret Dockwra, daughter of William Dockwra, merchant of London. He joined the army and was a Captain in the

Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

in 1710, taking part in the campaigns of 1710 to 1711 under the

Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an Engl ...

. He became captain and lieutenant-colonel of the

3rd Foot Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

in 1713. In 1719 he succeeded his cousin, Major-General Phineas Bowles, as colonel of the

12th Lancers The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...

in Ireland and commanded the regiment in Ireland until 1740. He married Alethea Maria Hill, daughter and heiress of Samuel Hill of

Kilmainham Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. The area was once known as Kilmanum. History In th ...

, Dublin under a settlement dated 7 and 8 June 1724. He became a brigadier-general in 1735. Bowles was returned unopposed as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Bewdley Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley west of Kidderminster and southwest of Birmingham. It lies on the River Sev ...

at a by-election on 20 February 1735 to replace his elder brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, who chose to sit for

Bridport Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and withi ...

. He voted with the Administration and was promoted to major-general in 1739 and appointed Governor of Limerick. He became colonel of the

6th Dragoon Guards The Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1685 as the Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1740, the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabi ...

in 1740 and served with them for the rest of his life. He did not stand at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

when his brother took up the seat at Bewdley again. Bowles was promoted to lieutenant-general on 27 May 1745 and was appointed

Governor of Londonderry The Governor of Londonderry and Culmore was a British military appointment. The Governor was the officer who commanded the garrison and fortifications of the city of Derry and of Culmore fort. The Governor was paid by The Honourable The Irish Soc ...

. He died in Dublin on 22 October 1749, leaving two sons and a daughter. He left a fortune of over £200,000.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowles, Phineas 1690 births 1749 deaths British Army lieutenant generals Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1734–1741 Scots Guards officers 12th Royal Lancers officers Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers