Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was normall ...

Cadwallader Blayney, 9th Baron Blayney (2 May 1720 – 21 November 1775) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. Having fought during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

, he became

colonel of the regiment Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below Brigadier (United Kingdom), brigadier, and above Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom), lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically ...

to the 38th Regiment of Foot in 1766. He served as Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England between 1764 and 1767.

Early life

Cadwallader Blayney was born on 2 May 1720, the son of Cadwallader Blayney, 7th Baron Blayney, an Irish peer.

Military career

Blayney served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Pepperrell's Regiment The 51st, or Pepperrell's Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment first raised in 1745. History The regiment was first raised by Sir William Pepperrell in Massachusetts as Sir William Pepperell's Regiment of Foot and ranked as the 66th Regi ...

during the

. He fought at the Siege of Louisbourg in 1745 and continued on in North America, commanding the regiment in 1747 when the commanding officer was

cashiered Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline. Etymology From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard ...

. Blayney was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 25 February 1747, joining

Shirley's Regiment The 50th, or Shirley's Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment first raised in 1745. History The regiment was first raised by William Shirley in New England as William Shirley's Regiment of Foot and ranked as the 65th Regiment of Foot in S ...

, and then transferred to the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

upon promotion to lieutenant-colonel on 26 June 1753. Blayney raised the 91st Regiment of Foot in Ireland in 1759, becoming its first and only lieutenant-colonel-commandant. He was then advanced to brevet

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1761. On 29 September the same year he inherited the family title as Baron Blayney on the death of his older brother Charles Blayney, 8th Baron Blayney. Continuing in the army, Blayney was promoted to major-general in 1765 and in the following year was appointed colonel of the regiment to the 38th Regiment of Foot. Blayney was subsequently promoted to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was normall ...

on 26 May 1772 and held command at

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

until his death on 21 November 1775. He was buried at

Castleblayney Castleblayney (; ) is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town had a population of 3,926 as of the 2022 census. Castleblayney is near the border with County Armagh in Northern Ireland, and lies on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and L ...

Freemasonry

Blayney was appointed Grand Master of the

Premier Grand Lodge of England The organisation now known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. Originally concerned with the practice of Freemasonry in London and Westminster, it soon became known as ...

in 1764. He had probably been part of a military lodge prior to this, having been initiated into freemasonry when young. Supportive of the ritualistic traditions of the freemasons, Blayney constituted seventy-four new lodges before he relinquished his role in 1767.

Personal life

Blayney married Elizabeth Eloise Tipping on 20 December 1767. She died on 17 May 1775. They had four children: * Cadwallader Blayney, 10th Baron Blayney *

Andrew Blayney, 11th Baron Blayney Lieutenant General Andrew Thomas Blayney, 11th Baron Blayney (30 November 1770 – 8 April 1834), was an Anglo-Irish peer. He ruled the Blayney estate at Castleblayney, County Monaghan, for fifty years from 1784 to 1834. As commanding officer o ...

*Sophia Blayney *Mary Blayney

Citations

References

* * * * {{end box 1720 births 1775 deaths British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession British Army lieutenant generals Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Grand masters of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Barons Blayney