General Thomas Wentworth (1747) by Ramsay and Van Haecken

Lieutenant-General Thomas Wentworth (c. 1693–1747), of Sunninghill, Berkshire, 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 1743 to 1747. He served in the

War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear, or , was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and the Spanish Empire. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It is con ...

and the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

Early life

Wentworth was the third, but second surviving son of Sir Mathew Wentworth, 3rd Baronet, of Bretton, Yorkshire and his wife Elizabeth Osbaldeston, daughter of William Osbaldeston of Hunmanby, Yorkshire. He was the younger brother of

Sir William Wentworth, 4th Baronet Sir William Wentworth, 4th Baronet (1686–1763), of Bretton Hall, West Yorkshire, was a British landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1731 to 1741. Origins Wentworth was baptized at York Minster on 29 October 1686, the se ...

. He matriculated at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

on 28 January 1710, aged 16. He married Elizabeth Lord, daughter of Robert Lord of London on 3 July 1720.WENTWORTH, Thomas (?1693-1747), of Sunninghill, Berks.
at

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 ...

Online

Career

From 1737 to 1745 Wentworth was Colonel of what would soon become the 24th Regiment of Foot. He became commander of the land troops in the amphibious expedition against

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...

following the deaths of the original commander, Lord Cathcart, and his second-in-command, General Spotswood, during the

. He and his troops arrived there in 1741 in a fleet led by Rear-Admiral Sir

Chaloner Ogle Admiral of the Fleet Sir Chaloner Ogle KB (1681 – 11 April 1750) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer during the Nine Years' War, a ship he was commanding was captured by three French ships off Ostend in ...

to reinforce Vice-admiral

Edward Vernon Admiral Edward Vernon (12 November 1684 – 30 October 1757) was an English naval officer. He had a long and distinguished career, rising to the rank of admiral after 46 years service. As a vice admiral during the War of Jenkins' Ear, in 1 ...

, but the British forces still failed to take the town and the land forces suffered catastrophic losses of nearly ninety percent over the course of two years campaigning, mostly from disease. Wentworth was returned as Member of Parliament for Whitchurch at a by-election in 1743. He voted with the Administration in 1744, and then served in Flanders. In 1745, he was with

George Wade Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Alliance before leading the construction of bar ...

, during the

. He did not vote on the Hanoverians in 1746.

Death

Wentworth died without issue in November 1747.

References

External links

Jeremy Black, Britain as a Military Power, 1688-1815
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wentworth, Thomas 1747 deaths 39th Regiment of Foot officers 5th Dragoon Guards officers British Army generals South Wales Borderers officers British MPs 1741–1747 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain British Army personnel of the War of Jenkins' Ear British Army personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745