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.". O ...

Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington (17 March 17535 September 1829), styled Viscount Petersham until 1779, 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 Gurkha ...

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 ...

between 1774 and 1779 when he succeeded to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

Earl of Harrington Earl of Harrington is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created in 1742. History The earldom of Harrington was granted in 1742 to William Stanhope, 1st Baron Harrington, the former Secretary of State and then Lord President o ...

Early life

Stanhope was the son of

William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington General William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington (18 December 1719 – 1 April 1779) was a British politician and soldier. The son of William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, he took up a military career and joined the Foot Guards in 1741, and ...

, and Lady Caroline FitzRoy, daughter of

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, (25 October 1683 – 6 May 1757) was an Irish and English politician. Early life He was the only child and heir of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663–1690) (an illegitimate son of King Charles I ...

, and Lady Henrietta Somerset, daughter of Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, and Rebecca Child. He was educated at Eton.Charles Stanhope at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref>

Military career

Stanhope was commissioned into 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; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

in 1769. During the

Saratoga campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British high command for North America to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of the British ...

of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

as Viscount Petersham, he commanded the

29th Regiment of Foot The 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, the Worcestershire Re ...

Grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

company and was an aide-de-camp to General John Burgoyne. He was Colonel of the

85th Regiment of Foot The 85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881. H ...

(1778–1783), the 65th Regiment of Foot (1783–1788) and the

(1788–1792). He was finally Colonel of the

1st Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated wi ...

from 1792 to his death. He was promoted full general in 1803 and made GCH in 1821. From 1805 to 1812 he was

Commander-in-Chief, Ireland Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, was title of the commander of the British forces in Ireland before 1922. Until the Act of Union in 1800, the position involved command of the distinct Irish Army of the Kingdom of Ireland. History Marshal of Ireland ...

, and he was sent on diplomatic errands to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. Viscount Petersham can be seen in the famous painting "The Burial of General Fraser at Saratoga" standing above Simon Fraser.

Parliamentary career

He was briefly elected to serve 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

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, ...

in 1774 and then sat from 1776 to 1779 as one of the members for

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

Family

Elvaston Castle Derbyshire Morris edited

Lord Harrington was married to Jane Fleming, daughter of Sir John Fleming, 1st Baronet. She was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte. Lord and Lady Harrington had eleven children: *

Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl of Harrington Major-General Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl of Harrington (8 April 17803 March 1851), styled Viscount Petersham until 1829, was an English peer and man of fashion. Petersham, the 3rd Earl of Harrington's eldest son, was a Regency era buck. He was e ...

(8 April 17803 March 1851). He was married to

Maria Foote Maria Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (24 July 1797? - 27 December 1867), better known as Maria Foote, was a British actress and peeress in the nineteenth century. Early life Foote was born 24 July 1797(?) at Plymouth. Her father, Samuel T. Foot ...

, daughter of Samuel Foote. *Maj-Gen. Hon. Lincoln Edwin Robert Stanhope (26 November 178129 February 1840). * Anna Maria Stanhope, Duchess of Bedford (3 September 17833 July 1857). She was married to

Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural ...

. *

Leicester FitzGerald Charles Stanhope, 5th Earl of Harrington Leicester FitzGerald Charles Stanhope, 5th Earl of Harrington, CB (2 September 17847 September 1862), styled The Honourable Leicester Stanhope until 1851, was an English peer and soldier. Early life Leicester Stanhope was born in Dublin in 1784, ...

(2 September 17847 September 1862). He married Elizabeth Green, daughter of William Green and Ann Rose Hall. *Hon. William Sefton George Stanhope (29 December 1785February 1786) *Rev. Hon. FitzRoy Henry Richard Stanhope (24 April 178711 April 1864). Dean of

St Buryan St Buryan ( kw, Pluwveryan) is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of St Buryan, Lamorna and Paul in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village of St Buryan is situated approximately west of Penzance along the B3283 to ...

, Cornwall and

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Catton and of

Wressle Wressle (with spelling variations of ''Wressell'', and ''Wressel'', in Leland's ''Itinerary'' as ''Wreshil'', in the Domesday Book as ''Weresa'') is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, lying on the eastern bank ...

in Yorkshire. He married Caroline Wyndham, illegitimate daughter of the Hon. Charles Wyndham. They were parents of Charles Wyndham Stanhope, 7th Earl of Harrington, his younger brother Percy Stanhope and of several other children. *Maj. Hon. Sir Francis Charles Stanhope (29 September 17889 October 1862). He had three children by Hannah Wilson, daughter of James Wilson of Parsonstown Manor,

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

. *Rev. Hon. Henry William Stanhope (2 August 179021 June 1872). Rector of

Gawsworth Gawsworth is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,705. It is one of the eight ancient parishes of Macc ...

. *Lady Caroline Anne Stanhope (20 November 179125 November 1853), married Edward Ayshford Sanford on 21 June 1841. *Lady Charlotte Augusta Stanhope (15 February 179315 February 1859), married

Augustus Frederick FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster Augustus Frederick FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster, etc. (21 August 1791 – 10 February/October 1874) was an Anglo-Irish peer and freemason, styled Marquess of Kildare from birth until 1804. He was born and died in Carton House. FitzGeral ...

on 16 June 1818. They were parents to

Charles William FitzGerald, 4th Duke of Leinster Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

and another three children. *Hon. Augustus Henry Edward Stanhope (25 March 17948 December 1831). On 8 May 1813, he married Jane Baldwin in the Parish Church of St John, Hampstead, under the name "Edward Stanhope" and disguised as a groom or labourer. The marriage was annulled in 1822 by reason of undue publication of banns (26 Geo. 2 c. 33).
Dodsley's Annual Register
', Volume 64, by Edmund Burke

References

External links

*
Worcestershire Regiment website bio, with picture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Of 1753 births 1829 deaths People educated at Eton College British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War British Army generals British Life Guards officers Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland 3 Petersham, Charles Stanhope, Viscount British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Members of the Privy Council of Ireland 29th Regiment of Foot officers Worcestershire Regiment officers Charles Coldstream Guards officers