Phineas Bowles (died 1722) was an English army major-general.

Life

The subject's father was Valentine, his uncle was Colonel John Seymour, Governor of Maryland , and a brother named Tobias, a London merchant, was nominated to succeed his uncle as Royal Governor of Maryland. Bowles served in the Admiralty as a secretary from 6 March 1689 until 15 January 1690. Bowles is first mentioned in the '' Military Entry Books'' in January 1692, when he was appointed captain-lieutenant in the regiment of Colonel W. Selwyn, later the 2nd Queen's, then just arrived in Holland from Ireland. In July 1705 he succeeded Colonel Caulfield in command of a regiment of foot in Ireland, with which he went to Spain and served at the Siege of Barcelona. According to the memoranda of General Erie, Bowles's was one of the regiments broken at the bloody

battle of Almanza The Battle of Almansa took place on 25 April 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was fought between an army loyal to Philip V of Spain, Bourbon claimant to the Spanish throne, and one supporting his Habsburg rival, Archduke Charle ...

. It appears to have been reorganised in England, as

Narcissus Luttrell Narcissus Luttrell (1657–1732) was an English historian, diarist, and bibliographer, and briefly Member of Parliament for two different Cornish boroughs. His ''Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs from September 1678 to April 1714'', a ch ...

mentions Bowles's arrival in England on parole, and afterwards that he was at Portsmouth with his regiment, awaiting embarkation with some troops supposed to be destined for

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Instead, he again went with his Regiment to Spain, where it was distinguished at the battle of Saragossa in 1710, and was one of the regiments surrounded in the mountains of Castile, and made prisoners, in December of the same year. After this Bowles's regiment disappeared from the rolls, and its colonel remained unemployed until 1715, when, as a

brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, he was commissioned to raise a corps of dragoons, of six troops, in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, Hampshire, and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, to rendezvous at Reading. This corps became the

12th Royal 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 1719 Bowles was transferred to the colonelcy of a Regiment of Dragoons. Brigadier General Bowles was replaced in 1721 at Dublin Castle by Philip Honywood, Esq."Volume 235: August 2-December 27, 1721." ''Calendar of Treasury Papers'', Volume 6, 1720-1728. Ed. Joseph Redington. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1889. 70-96
British History Online website
Retrieved 11 March 2019. He died in 1722. His cousin's son Phineas Bowles (1690–1749) was a

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 ...

References

Sources

* Luttrell's Relation of State Affairs, 1857, vi. 213, 427 * Home Office Mil. Entry Books, vols. iii. and viii. * Treasury Papers, cvi. 57, cxvi. 32 * Cannon's Hist. Records, 6th Dragoon Guards, 8th Hussars, 12th Lancers. 17th-century births 1722 deaths 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars officers 12th Royal Lancers officers British Army major generals British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession {{UK-army-bio-stub