Richard Munden (c. 25 June 1680 – 19 December 1725) 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. T ...

from 1708 to 1710. He served in the

War of 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, Phili ...

and in the Jacobite rebellion.

Early life

Munden was the posthumous son of Sir Richard Munden of Bromley St Leonard's, a captain in the Royal Navy, and his wife Susanna Gore. He broke with the family's naval tradition and was commissioned as a captain in the 1st Foot Guards in 1702. He served at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, and after obtaining promotion to colonel in 1706, he fought later that year at the

Battle of Ramillies The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon a ...

. In 1708, he was given his own regiment. Eveline Cruickshanks
MUNDEN, Richard (c.1680-1725), of Bromley St. Leonard’s, Chelsea, Mdx.
in ''

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

: the House of Commons 1690-1715'', 2002.

Career

In the spring of 1708, Munden was ordered with his troops to England and at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

he was returned 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 o ...

for

Camelford Camelford ( kw, Reskammel) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Bodmin and is governed ...

. He was absent from Parliament on military service for much of the time and he did not stand at the 1710 British general election. Munden was taken prisoner at the

Battle of Brihuega The Battle of Brihuega took place on 8 December 1710 in the War of the Spanish Succession, during the allied retreat from Madrid to Barcelona. The British rearguard under Lord Stanhope was cut off within the town of Brihuega and overwhel ...

in December 1710,and remained in Spain until the peace negotiations. Although promoted to brigadier-general in 1712, his regiment was disbanded and he was placed on half-pay in that year. In 1715 he raised a regiment of horse and became colonel of the

13th Light Dragoons The 13th Hussars (previously the 13th Light Dragoons) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War and the First World War but then amalgamated wi ...

. He fought at the Battle of Preston against the Jacobite rebels. In 1716, he received arrears for his service in the Iberian Peninsula and was placed on the general staff of the Irish establishment. He served from 1722 as Colonel of the 8th Dragoons from 1722 and took part in the funeral procession of the Duke of Marlborough in August 1722.

Death and legacy

Munder died in service in Dublin, on 19 September 1725.

References

Richard Cannon Richard Cannon (1779–1865) was a compiler of regimental records for the British Army. Career On 1 January 1802 Cannon was appointed to a clerkship at the Horse Guards, and attained the grade of first-clerk in 1803. Under a Horse Guards order ...

, ''Historical Record of the 13th Dragoons'', 1842
page 82
* Eveline Cruickshanks
MUNDEN, Richard (c.1680-1725), of Bromley St. Leonard’s, Chelsea, Mdx.
in ''

: the House of Commons 1690-1715'', 2002. 1680 births 1725 deaths British Army generals Grenadier Guards officers 13th Hussars officers 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars officers Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub