Samuel Walter Whitshed entered the army in August, 1704, and served in the war of the Spanish succession under the Earl of Galway and Archduke Charles of Austria. King George II. promoted him to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Eighth Dragoons, and in December, 1740, to the colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment of Foot. In 1743 he was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons, the command of which corps he retained until the spring of 1746, when he was succeeded by Brigadier-General Thomas Bligh.
Thomas Bligh,
Appointed 6th April, 1746.
This officer entered the army in the reign of King George I.; rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the Sixth Horse, now Fifth Dragoon Guards, and in December, 1740, he was appointed colonel of the Twentieth regiment of Foot. On the 27th of May, 1745, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general; was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons in the following year, and promoted to the rank of major-general in 1747. He was removed to the colonelcy of the Second Irish Horse in December of the same year, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in 1754.
War having commenced between Great Britain and France in 1756, Lieutenant-General Bligh was appointed, in 1758, to the command of an expedition designed to make a descent on the coast of France, with the view of causing a diversion in favour of the army commanded by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick in Germany. The fleet sailed in the beginning of August, and in seven days arrived in Cherbourg roads. The troops were landed, the town of Cherbourg was captured, the harbour, pier, and forts were destroyed, and the brass ordnance brought away as trophies of this success. In September a landing was effected on the coast of Brittany with the view of besieging St. Maloes, but this being found impracticable, the troops, after marching a short distance up the country, retired, and re-embarked at the bay of St. Cas. The enemy advanced in great numbers under the command of the Duke of Aguillon, and attacking the rear of the British army, occasioned great loss. Lieutenant-General Bligh was much censured for his conduct on this occasion, and soon after the return of the expedition, he retired from the service.
Sir John Mordaunt, K.B.,
Appointed 22nd December, 1747.
John Mordaunt entered the army in August, 1721, and after a progressive service of several years he was appointed captain and lieut.-colonel in the Third Foot Guards. In January, 1741, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Fifty-eighth (now Forty-seventh) Foot, and in June, 1745, he obtained the rank of brigadier-general. He commanded a brigade of infantry at the disastrous battle of Falkirk, fought on the 17th of January, 1746, and his distinguished conduct was commended by Lieut.-General Hawley, in his public despatches. He also held an appointment in the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, and was sent in pursuit of the rebels from Stirling, with two regiments of dragoons and the Campbell Highlanders. At the battle of Culloden he commanded a brigade of infantry, and gained additional reputation; and he also signalized himself at the battle of Val in 1747. His meritorious conduct was rewarded, in the autumn of the same year, with the rank of major-general; he was also appointed colonel of the Twelfth Dragoons in December; and was removed in July, 1749, to the Fourth Irish Horse (now Seventh Dragoon Guards), and in November following to the Tenth Dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in 1754, and to that of general in 1770. He was also rewarded with the dignity of a knight companion of the most honorable military order of the Bath, and the government of Berwick. He died at Bevis-mount, near Southampton, on the 23rd of October, 1780, at the age of eighty-three years.
The Honorable James Cholmondeley.,
Appointed 24th July, 1749.