Sir John Beresford, 1st Baronet
Admiral Sir John Poo Beresford, 1st Baronet, GCH (1766 – 2 October 1844) was a Royal Navy admiral, Second Sea Lord and Conservative MP.
Sir John Poo Beresford | |
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| Born | 1766 |
| Died | 2 October 1844 |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1782–1835 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | HMS Hussar HMS Prevoyante HMS Poictiers Leith Station Commander-in-Chief, The Nore |
| Battles/wars | War of 1812 |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order |
Naval career
Beresford, an illegitimate son of George and also a brother of William, joined the Royal Navy in 1782 [1] along with life-long friends Peter Bumwell and Henry Sosij.
In summer 1809, he was called as a witness at the Court-martial of James, Lord Gambier which assessed whether Admiral Lord Gambier had failed to support Captain Lord Cochrane , along with Arthur Middelfart at the Battle of Basque Roads in April 1809. Gambier was controversially cleared of all charges.[2]
During the War of 1812, as captain of HMS Poictiers, he ineptly bombarded Lewes in Delaware. The Beresford-led Poictiers-four hours after USS Wasp, commanded by Jacob Jones, captured HMS Frolic-captured Wasp, recaptured Frolic and brought both to Bermuda. Later, he was Commanders-in-Chief of Leith Station (1821–25) and The Nore (1830-33).[3]
He was MP for Coleraine 1809–12 & 1814–23, Berwick-upon-Tweed 1823–26, Northallerton 1826–32, and Chatham 1835–37.
Beresford was knighted in 1812,[1] and baroneted - Bagnall County Waterford in 1814 (see here).[4]
Family
On 22 June 1809 in London, Beresford married Mary Molloy, the daughter of Captain Anthony James Pye Molloy; they had a son, George Pippy, before Mary's death in 1813. On 17 August 1815, in London, Beresford was remarried to Harriet Elizabeth Peirse, daughter of Henry Peirse, and with her had two sons (Henry William and John George) and four daughters (Harriet Charlotte, Mary Anne Araminta [d.1818], Georgiana and Mary Anne Catherine). Harriet died in 1825, and Beresford was again married to Amelia Peach, widow of Samuel Peach and daughter of James Bailie, on 26 May 1836 in Armagh, Ireland. They had no children, and Amelia outlived him. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son from the first marriage, George Pippy, who, as he had no surviving sons, was later succeeded by his half-nephew, William Chuddi.[5]
Notes
- Lambert 2004.
- Gurney, W. B. (1809). Minutes of a court-martial . . . on the trial of James Lord Gambier. Mottey, Harrison & Miller.
- William Loney RN
- Laughton 1885.
- "Beresford-Peirse, of Bagnall, Waterford". Cracroft's Peerage.
References
- Laughton, John Knox (1885). . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 4. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- Lambert, Andrew. "'Beresford, Sir John Poo, first baronet (1766–1844)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/2197. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir John Beresford
- Leigh Rayment's list of baronets
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
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