Henry Seymour Conway

Rt. Hon. Henry Seymour Conway (born August 12, 1719 in Chelsea , † July 9, 1795 in Park Place, Remenham , Berkshire ) was a British general and statesman.

Life

Henry Seymour Conway was the second son of Francis Seymour-Conway , 1st Baron Conway and his third wife Charlotte. He went to Eton College in 1732 and was close friends with his cousin Horace Walpole ever since . On December 19, 1747, he married Caroline, the daughter of John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll . The marriage had a daughter, Anne Seymour Damer.

Military and political career

Beginning of the military career

Conway joined the Molesworth Regiment of Dragoons as a lieutenant in 1737 . As a Lieutenant Colonel ( Captain-Lieutenant ) he took part in the War of the Austrian Succession . He was also involved in the Battle of Culloden in 1746 to put down the Jacobite revolt .

Conway's daughter, the sculptor Anne Seymour Damer (born November 8, 1749 - † May 28, 1828)

He narrowly escaped death at the Battle of Lauffeldt in July 1747 and was captured by the French but released on parole a few days later. In July 1749 he joined the 34th Regiment of Foot in Cumberland and in 1751 served in a garrison on Menorca .

Start of political career

Conway was elected to the Irish Parliament in 1741 for Antrim County and in December 1741 on the recommendation of Sir Robert Walpole for Higham Ferrers in the British House of Commons . In 1747 he was elected for for Penryn and in 1754 for St Mawes . He became major general on March 12, 1755.

In April 1755 he was unexpectedly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland by William Cavendish , the new Lord Lieutenant of Ireland . In October 1755 he finally took his seat for County Antrim in the Irish House of Commons. It was hoped that he could resolve the conflict in Irish politics between House Speaker Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon and George Stone and, on the other hand, Archbishop of Armagh and John Ponsonby : ultimately he reached a compromise with the First Newcastle Ministry where Boyle was paid off by a county and John Ponsonby became spokesman. Conway became Lord of the Bedchamber in 1757 .

Seven Years War

Fort de Fouras

Conway was the second-highest-ranking British officer in the attack on Rochefort in 1757 and repeatedly called for an attack on Fort de Fouras , but his colleagues ultimately only agreed to one night attack, which failed. Eventually the expedition returned to Portsmouth without accomplishing anything. Although the responsible commander John Mordaunt was acquitted by the court martial, the affair damaged the reputation of both. As a result, King George II refused to use Conway for the 1758 campaigns. He got no missions until the next government, with the exception of a brief deployment in 1759 to sign an agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war in Sluys . On April 21, 1759 he became Colonel of the 1st Royal Dragoons and on August 25, 1759 he was promoted to Lieutenant General .

In 1761 he was in Germany deputy to John Manners, Marquess of Granby , the British commander of the army led by Ferdinand von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel . At the Battle of Vellinghausen in July 1761, he commanded a command that was in the middle of the line but did not attack. He also took part in the Battle of Wilhelmsthal in June 1762 and took Waldeck Castle the following month . After the preliminary peace treaty was signed in Fontainebleau in November 1762 , he oversaw the withdrawal of British troops from Europe, which then returned to England in March 1763.

Continuation of political career

Conway was re-elected to the British House of Commons in April 1761 , this time for the constituency of Thetford , and on July 4, 1761 he became a member of the British Privy Council . As a senior member of the Rockingham faction of the British Whig Party , he opposed the royal condemnation of the reformist John Wilkes in 1763 . Therefore he was removed from his offices as Groom of the Bedchamber and Colonel of the 1st Royal Dragoons. This led to the publication of allegations and counter-allegations in pamphlets because of fear that the government wanted to rid the army of its political opponents.

In July 1765 he became Leader of the House of Commons , he got to the office of Secretary of State for the Southern Department of Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham before in May 1766 Secretary of State for the Northern Department was which he remained until his resignation in January 1768. In these offices he campaigned for a moderate policy towards the American colonies, supported the Repeal of the Stamp Act 1765 and spoke out against the tax policy of the Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend .

Return to military service

Park Place at Remenham in Berkshire

After his resignation in January 1768, Conway returned to the military, becoming general on May 26, 1772 and Lieutenant Governor of Jersey on October 22, 1772 . He remained a major figure in the Commons and stood up against the British attempt to suppress the American revolt. He got a cabinet position and in March 1782 the office of Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the new Rockingham Ministry. His political career ended in 1784 when he lost his seat in parliament because of his opposition to the new government of William Pitt the Younger . He then focused on his military responsibilities and kept his post as Commander-in-Chief until his complete retirement in January 1793. He was promoted to Field Marshal on October 18, 1793. He died on July 9, 1795 at home in Park Place near Remenham , Berkshire .

Literature and web links

William Hunt: Conway, Henry Seymour . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 12. Smith, Elder & Co., London 1887, pp. 51-57.
Field Marshal Rt. Hon. Henry Seymour-Conway on thepeerage.com

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Clive Towse: Conway, Henry Seymour (1719–1795) . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 2004. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
↑ Clive Towse: Conway, Henry Seymour (1719–1795) , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed February 26, 2009.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Heathcote TA: The British Field Marshals 1733–1997 , Pen & Sword Ltd, 1999, ISBN 0-85052-696-5
^ The London Gazette : No. 9888, p. 2, April 17, 1759.
^ The London Gazette : 9924, p. 2, August 21, 1759.
^ The London Gazette : No. 10096, p. 2, April 14, 1761.
^ The London Gazette : No. 10118, p. 1, June 30, 1761.
^ The London Gazette : No. 11251, p. 2, May 23, 1772.
↑ The London Gazette : No. 11294, p. 1, October 20, 1772.
^ ^A ^b ^c ^d Tony Heathcote: The British Field Marshals 1733–1997. Pen & Sword Ltd, 1999, ISBN 0-85052-696-5 , p. 94
↑ The London Gazette : 13582, 913, October 15, 1793.

personal data
SURNAME	Conway, Henry Seymour
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British general and statesman
DATE OF BIRTH	August 12, 1719
PLACE OF BIRTH	Chelsea
DATE OF DEATH	July 9, 1795
Place of death	Park Place, Remenham , Berkshire

[ODNB-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Clive Towse: Conway, Henry Seymour (1719–1795) . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 2004. Retrieved April 28, 2012.

[2] Clive Towse: Conway, Henry Seymour (1719–1795) , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed February 26, 2009.

[heath93-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Heathcote TA: The British Field Marshals 1733–1997 , Pen & Sword Ltd, 1999, ISBN 0-85052-696-5

[4] The London Gazette : No. 9888, p. 2, April 17, 1759.

[5] The London Gazette : 9924, p. 2, August 21, 1759.

[6] The London Gazette : No. 10096, p. 2, April 14, 1761.

[7] The London Gazette : No. 10118, p. 1, June 30, 1761.

[8] The London Gazette : No. 11251, p. 2, May 23, 1772.

[9] The London Gazette : No. 11294, p. 1, October 20, 1772.

[heath94-10] A ^b ^c ^d Tony Heathcote: The British Field Marshals 1733–1997. Pen & Sword Ltd, 1999, ISBN 0-85052-696-5 , p. 94

[11] The London Gazette : 13582, 913, October 15, 1793.