11 Facts About Henry Hawley

Henry Hawley was a British army officer who served in the wars of the first half of the 18th century.

Henry Hawley fought in a number of significant battles, including the Capture of Vigo in 1719, Dettingen, Fontenoy and Culloden.

Henry Hawley never married but had a long-term relationship with Elizabeth Toovey, mentioned in his will as being 'for many years my friend, companion, and often my careful nurse.

Francis Henry Hawley had been Lieutenant-Colonel of the 4th Dragoons, a regiment commanded by Queen Anne's husband, Prince George of Denmark.

In 1710, Henry Hawley quarrelled with a fellow officer and killed him in a duel, a common practice in this period; he was pardoned by Queen Anne, who helped him purchase a commission as lieutenant-colonel in 1712.

In 1717, Henry Hawley became Colonel of the 33rd Foot; during the War of the Quadruple Alliance in 1719, his regiment was part of the expeditionary force that captured the Spanish port of Vigo.

Britain was at peace for the next 20 years; in 1730, Henry Hawley became Colonel of 13th Dragoons and promoted major general in 1739.

Henry Hawley's artillery became stuck in the mud and were abandoned by their gunners, while his dragoons charged the Jacobite right.

Unlike Cope, Henry Hawley never faced a court-martial for Falkirk, although the writer Horace Walpole argued he was 'fifty times more culpable, since Cope miscarried by incapacity, Henry Hawley by insolence and carelessness.

Henry Hawley took part in the 1747 Battle of Lauffeld, a decisive French victory where only cavalry charges led by Lord Ligonier saved the Allied infantry from annihilation.

Henry Hawley was buried in St Mary's Church, Hartley Wintney despite his will containing several comments antipathetic to religion, notably 'I hate priests of all professions.