1. Joseph Bampfield was an English soldier and spy, who served with the Royalist army in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, then became an intelligence agent for The Protectorate.
10 Facts About Joseph Bampfield
1. 2.
Joseph Bampfield clearly possessed the ability to impress his superiors, successively acting as a trusted messenger between Charles I of England and the Scots, an agent for Oliver Cromwell and expert advisor to Dutch Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt.
3.
Joseph Bampfield was born in 1622; his parentage is obscure and details are lacking but he is generally assumed to come from Devon, despite later claims by Clarendon he was Irish.
4.
Joseph Bampfield married Catherine Sydenham in 1643; they separated in 1646, but remained legally married until her death.
5.
The primary sources for Bampfield's career in this period include Clarendon's History of the Rebellion and his 1685 autobiography Colonel Joseph Bampfield's apology; written as a "justification", parts of it should be treated with care.
6.
Joseph Bampfield acted as his agent in discussions with English and Scottish Presbyterians, the basis of the Royalist coalition during the 1648 Second English Civil War.
7.
Joseph Bampfield spent the next six months hiding in London with Anne, whom he apparently married before leaving the Netherlands, after being been told his first wife had died.
8.
Joseph Bampfield was part of the "Presbyterian interest" headed by Lord Balcarres, whose feud with Glencairn was viewed as contributing to the failure of the 1653 rising.
9.
Joseph Bampfield's actions were not unusual for the period and why he was singled out unclear; most 17th century armies were multinational, while the Scots Brigade continued in Dutch service throughout.
10.
Joseph Bampfield retired to Leeuwarden where he died in 1685.