Captain Richard Bertie (ca. 1635 – 19 January 1686) was an English soldier and Member of Parliament. Soon after serving in the royal forces that suppressed the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

, he was deprived of his commission for opposing James II's plan to commission Roman Catholic officers. Returned to Parliament for

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

in 1685 on the interest of his half-brother, Lord Abingdon, he died within a year. The third son of

Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey, Order of the Garter, KG, Privy Council of England, PC (1608 – 25 July 1666) was an English soldier, courtier, and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons between 1624 and 162 ...

, his father sent him out of the country after the

execution of Charles I The execution of Charles I by beheading occurred on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall. The execution was the culmination of political and military conflicts between the royalists and the parliamentarians in Eng ...

in 1649. Richard and his elder brother Peregrine traveled through Europe until September 1653, when he was commended by Charles II to his brother, the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

. Richard served under York in French military service, fighting at the sieges of Mouzon in 1653 and

Landrecies Landrecies (; nl, Landeschie) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. History In 1543, Landrecies was besieged by English and Imperial forces, who were repulsed by the French defenders. In 1794, it was besieged by Dutch forces, ...

in 1655. After the

English Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

, Bertie returned to England and was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, but did not pursue legal studies. Instead, he received a commission 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 ...

of horse in the Irish army from the

Duke of Ormond The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldom ...

in 1663, which he held until at least 1680. He was a commissioner for assessment in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, his family's traditional stronghold, from 1673 to 1680, and was appointed a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in Lincolnshire and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

in 1680. The interest of his half-brother Lord Abingdon, the

Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Oxfordshire. Deputy lieutenants A deputy lieutenant of Oxfordshire is commissioned by the Lord Lie ...

, procured his return as Member of Parliament for

in March 1685, where he had been created a freeman in 1680. He was also created a freeman of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1685. At the outbreak of the

in June 1685, Bertie served as captain of an independent troop of horse. His half-brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

remarked that Richard's old commander York, now King James II, "calls my brother Dick his old fellow-soldier, and intends him more than a troop". However, both Richard and his younger half-brother Captain Henry Bertie lost their commissions in December 1685 for failing to support the King's program of installing

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

army officers. He died on 19 January 1685/6, unmarried, and was buried at

Edenham Edenham ( ) is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately north-west of Bourne, and on the A151 road. While the civil parish is called 'Edenham', the parish council is called Edenham ...

References

1630s births 1686 deaths English army officers English MPs 1685–1687 Younger sons of earls

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

Members of the Middle Temple 17th-century English soldiers {{17thC-England-MP-stub