General William Beckwith, KCH (1795 – 23 February 1871) was a general in the British Army. He was the eldest son of William Beckwith of Trimdon, County Durham.

Career

In 1813 he enlisted as a cornet in the

16th Light Dragoons The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. History Early war ...

and served with the regiment in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, where he was involved in the battles of Nivelle,

Nive The Nive (; eu, Errobi; oc, Niva) is a French river that flows through the French Basque Country. It is a left tributary of the river Adour. It is long. The river's source in the Pyrenees in Lower Navarre. The river Nive was made famous by th ...

and

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

. In 1815 he was present at the battles of Quatre Bras and

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

and in December of that year was promoted lieutenant. In 1822 he transferred to the 14th Kings Dragoons as a captain, rising to major in 1828. The regiment was posted to India in 1822 and took part in the Siege of Bharatpur. Back in England he was responsible for the quelling of reform riots in Bristol in 1831. In 1833 he was retired on half pay with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, rising to the rank of colonel in 1846, major general in 1854, lieutenant-general in 1861 and general in 1869. He was given in 1860 the colonelcy of the

14th King's Hussars The 14th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 20th Hussars to form the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 19 ...

, previously the 14th Kings Dragoons, which he held until his death.

Private life

He married the heiress Priscilla Maria Hopper of Silksworth, Co. Durham in 1821, who went on to inherit Silksworth House from her father. Beckwith was appointed

High Sheriff of Durham This is a list of the High Sheriffs of County Durham, England. In most counties the High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. In the Palatinate of Durham the officeholder was appointed by and was accountable to the Bishop of D ...

for 1857. On his death in 1871 he was buried in Houghton Hillside Cemetery, Houghton Le Spring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckwith, William 1795 births 1871 deaths People from Trimdon British Army generals High Sheriffs of Durham 14th King's Hussars officers 16th The Queen's Lancers officers