Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway (1721 – 9 July 1795) was a British

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

and statesman. A brother of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, and cousin of Horace Walpole, he began his military career in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

. He held various political offices including Chief Secretary for Ireland, Secretary of State for the Southern Department,

Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of t ...

and Secretary of State for the Northern Department. He eventually rose to the position of

Commander-in-Chief of the Forces The Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, later Commander-in-Chief, British Army, or just the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), was (intermittently) the professional head of the English Army from 1660 to 1707 (the English Army, founded in 1645, was succ ...

Family and education

Conway was the second son of

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Ragley, 1st Baron Conway of Killultagh, MP, PC (Ire) (28 May 1679 – 3 February 1731/1732), was a British politician, born Francis Seymour. Background Born Francis Seymour, he was the second s ...

(whose elder brother

Popham Seymour-Conway Popham Seymour-Conway (1675 – 18 June 1699), born Popham Seymour, was an Anglo-Irish landowner and rake who served as Member of the Irish Parliament for Lisburn in 1697. Origins He was the 3rd son of Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet (d.1708) ...

had inherited the Conway estates) by his third wife, Charlotte Seymour-Conway (née Shorter). He entered

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

in 1732 and from that time enjoyed a close friendship with his cousin Horace Walpole.

Early army career

Conway joined the Molesworth's Regiment of Dragoons on 27 June 1737 as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

.Heathcote p.92 He was transferred to the 1st Foot Guards and was promoted to captain on 14 February 1741 and to captain-lieutenant (the equivalent of lieutenant colonel) on 10 May 1742. During the

War of Austrian Succession War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

he served on the staff of Field Marshal

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 ...

at Dettingen in June 1743 and on the staff of the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom ...

at the Fontenoy in May 1745.Heathcote p.93 Appointed colonel of the

48th Foot The 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Northamptonshire Regiment in 1881. History Early ...

on 6 April 1746, he took part in Culloden later that month during the

Jacobite Rebellion , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

. His next battle, in July 1747, was at Lauffeld, in which he narrowly escaped death, being captured by the French but released on parole a few days later. In July 1749, he transferred from the 48th Foot to the 34th Foot, and served with his regiment in the garrison of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

in 1751.

Early political career

Conway was elected unopposed to the Irish Parliament in 1741 for Antrim County, and to the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

for

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and has an estimated popula ...

in December 1741 on the recommendation of

Sir Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leade ...

. He was elected in 1747 for Penryn and for St Mawes in 1754, both in the Boscawen interest. He was promoted to

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 12 March 1755. In April 1755, he was unexpectedly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland by

William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington William John Robert Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (10 December 1917 – 9 September 1944) was a British politician and British Army officer. He was the elder son of Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire, and therefore the heir to the du ...

, the new Lord Lieutenant. He then finally took his seat for County Antrim in the Irish House of Commons in October 1755. It was hoped that he would resolve the conflict in Irish politics between the Speaker, Henry Boyle on the one side and George Stone, Archbishop of Armagh and John Ponsonby: ultimately, he reached a compromise, acceptable to the British Ministry, in which Boyle was bought off with an earldom and John Ponsonby became Speaker. He became a Groom of the Bedchamber in April 1757 to both George II and George III (until 1764).

Seven Years' War

Conway was the British military second in command on the Rochefort expedition in 1757, and repeatedly advocated an attack on Fort Fouras, but his colleagues would only agree a night attack (which failed). Ultimately the expedition returned to Portsmouth having achieved nothing. Though Mordaunt (the commander in chief) was acquitted by his court-martial, the affair damaged both their reputations. In his displeasure,

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...

refused to employ Conway on the 1758 campaigns. He was not employed again until the next reign, except that he was sent to sign a cartel for an exchange of prisoners at Sluys in 1759. On 21 April 1759 he became colonel of the

1st The Royal Dragoons The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) was a heavy cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1661 as the Tangier Horse. It served for three centuries and was in action during the First and the Second World Wars. It was amalgam ...

and on 25 August 1759 he was promoted to

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 ...

. In 1761, he served in Germany as deputy to John Manners, Marquess of Granby, the British commander in the army led by

Ferdinand of Brunswick Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

. At the

Battle of Villinghausen The Battle of Villinghausen (or Vellinghausen, also known as the Battle of Kirchdenkern) was a battle in the Seven Years' War fought on the 15th and 16 July 1761 in the western area of present-day Germany, between a large French army and an An ...

in July 1761 he commanded a corps which was at the centre of the line and not attacked. He was also present at the

Battle of Wilhelmsthal The Battle of Wilhelmsthal (sometimes written as the Battle of Wilhelmstadt) was fought on 24 June 1762 during the Seven Years' War between the allied forces of Britain, Prussia, Hanover, Brunswick and Hesse under the command of the Duke of ...

in June 1762, and captured the castle of Waldeck the following month. After peace preliminaries were signed at Fontainebleau in November, he supervised the embarkation of British troops from Europe, returning to England in March.

Later political career

Conway was re-elected to 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 ...

in April 1761, this time for

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24, ...

and on 4 July 1761 he became a member of the Privy Council. As a senior member of the Rockingham faction of the Whigs, he opposed the King's legal actions against the reformist

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he f ...

in 1763 which resulted in his dismissal in 1764 as a Groom of the Bedchamber and as Colonel of the 1st Royal Dragoons. This led to the publication of accusation and counter-accusation in pamphlets, as it was feared that the government intended to purge the army of its political opponents. He entered office with

Lord Rockingham Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782; styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Marquess of Rocking ...

as Secretary of State for the Southern Department in July 1765 before switching to the Northern Department in May 1766, serving until January 1768, when he became a Minister without Portfolio. In these offices, Conway sought to urge a moderate policy towards the American colonies, being the principal supporter of the repeal of the Stamp Act, and opposing the taxation policies of Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend.

Return to the Army

Following his resignation in January 1768, Conway returned to the military, and was made a full

on 26 May 1772 and

Governor of Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

on 22 October 1772. He remained an important figure in the Commons, opposing the British attempt to suppress the American Revolt.Heathcote p.94 He was rewarded with a cabinet position and the office of

in the new Rockingham ministry in March 1782. His political career came to an end in 1784 when he lost his seat in parliament due to his opposition to the new government of William Pitt and he focused thereafter on his military responsibilities retaining his post as Commander-in Chief until his complete retirement in January 1793. He was promoted to field marshal on 18 October 1793 and died, at his home, Park Place at

Remenham Remenham is a village and civil parish on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames opposite Henley-on-Thames in southern England. It is particularly well known for the steep approach, known as Remenham Hill or White Hill (due to the chalky nature ...

in Berkshire, on 9 July 1795.

Family

On 19 December 1747 he married Caroline, the widow of Charles Bruce, 4th Earl of Elgin and 3rd Earl of Ailesbury, and daughter of Lieutenant-General John Campbell, later the 4th Duke of Argyll. They had one daughter, the sculptor

Anne Seymour Damer Anne Seymour Damer, ''née'' Conway, (26 October 1748 – 28 May 1828) was an English sculptor. Once described as a 'female genius' by Horace Walpole, she was trained in sculpture by Giuseppe Ceracchi and John Bacon. Influenced by the Enlighten ...

References

Sources

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Henry Seymour 1721 births 1795 deaths 1st The Royal Dragoons officers 4th Queen's Own Hussars officers 5th Royal Irish Lancers officers 7th Dragoon Guards officers 13th Hussars officers 34th Regiment of Foot officers 48th Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745 British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession British field marshals British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British Secretaries of State Governors of Jersey Grenadier Guards officers

Henry Seymour Conway Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway (1721 – 9 July 1795) was a British general and statesman. A brother of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, and cousin of Horace Walpole, he began his military career in the War of the Austrian Succession. He ...

Younger sons of barons Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People educated at Eton College People from Remenham Royal Horse Guards officers Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall Leaders of the House of Commons of Great Britain Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Chief Secretaries for Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Antrim constituencies