John Mordaunt (British Army officer)
General Sir John Mordaunt KB (1697 – 23 October 1780) was a British soldier and Whig politician, the son of Lieutenant-General Harry Mordaunt and Margaret Spencer. He was best known for his command of the Raid on Rochefort which ended in failure and his subsequent court-martial. Cleared on a technicality, he was nonetheless barred from holding further military command.
"General Mordaunt" redirects here. For other uses, see General Mordaunt (disambiguation).
John Mordaunt
1697
23 October 1780 (aged 82–83)
Early career[edit]
Mordaunt entered the army in 1721 and was promoted captain in George Wade's Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1726. He became a lieutenant-colonel in the 3rd Foot Guards in 1731.
He entered Parliament for Pontefract in 1730, for which he sat until 1734, and was then member for Whitchurch 1735–1741 and Cockermouth 1741–1768. In Parliament he was a steadfast Whig and supporter of Robert Walpole. In 1739 he became a founding governor of the Foundling Hospital.
On 18 December 1742 Mordaunt was promoted to the rank of full colonel of the Royal Regiment of Ireland, which was sent in 1744 to protect the Netherlands against French invasion. The regiment was recalled in November 1745 to put down the Jacobite rising of 1745, and Mordaunt was promoted brigadier-general. He was present for several engagements of that campaign, rallying and re-forming the beaten troops after the Battle of Falkirk. He commanded one of the two divisions of the army when it left Edinburgh under the command of the Duke of Cumberland. He commanded the third line (reserve) at the Battle of Culloden, and was detached after the battle to pursue the Highlanders. Cumberland presented him with the coach of Bonnie Prince Charlie as a mark of favour.
In 1747, he was promoted major-general and made colonel of a dragoon regiment (later the 12th Dragoons). He led a brigade of infantry at the Battle of Lauffeld, and was made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath at the end of the War of the Austrian Succession. He was appointed Governor of Sheerness in 1752. James Wolfe, who was his houseguest while courting his niece in 1754, remarked on his civility and pleasant manner.
Later career[edit]
Mordaunt retained his commission, but having earned the King's displeasure after Rochefort, he never again held a senior field command. He was promoted general in 1770, and was Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed from 1778 until 1780. He died in his home near Southampton in 1780. He never married and left no children.