The Memoirs of Admiral Lord Beresford
The "Peerage of Ireland" of 1768 urbanely observes: "It is very
remarkable, that in so long a succession in this family, and in a
country continually disturbed and torn by rebellion and civil wars,
that not one of this family was ever engaged in any rebellion against
the crown of England, nor was there ever a forfeiture in the family
during the space of six hundred years that they have been planted in
Ireland; and they at this day enjoy the family lands, and reside at the
same place they were originally settled in, in the county of Waterford.
In a grant of letters patent from King Charles II. to this Richard,
Lord la Poer, bearing date the 9th May, the twenty-third year of his
reign, there is this recital. That the ancestors of the said Richard,
Lord la Poer, from their first planting in Ireland, for above four
hundred years, had entirely preserved their faith and loyalty to the
crown of England, in consideration therefore," etc.
Sir Tristram Beresford, up in the North, fought against King James
Second; but the De la Poers harboured that monarch; who in the course
of his retreat from Ireland, {xxvi} slept a night at Curraghmore, and
departing thence took ship at Waterford, and was no more seen in Erin.
Sir Marcus, the son of Sir Tristram, as above recited, united the two
houses by marrying the Lady Katherine le Poer; and their descendants,
as in 1768, "at this day enjoy the family lands and reside at the same
place they were originally settled in." The earldom of Tyrone, which
was extinguished by the death of Lady Katherine's father, the third
Earl, was revived in Sir Marcus Beresford. Tracing back the direct
line of the De la Poers of Curraghmore, we find that Nicholas de la
Poer was summoned to Parliament in 1375, in 1378, and in 1383, by the
most ancient writs contained in the Rolls Office in Ireland. This Sir
Nicholas of Curraghmore traced his descent from Brian Boru, King of
Erin, who died in 1014. The line of Irish Kings (as recorded in
_Whitaker's Almanack_) goes back to A.D. 4; and some say much further.
A collateral branch of the De Pohers, or Powers, was the Barons of
Donoyle, or Dunhill, the ruins of whose castle remain to this day. It
was stoutly defended against Cromwell by the Baroness; and, according
to tradition, was betrayed into the hands of the enemy by the
lieutenant of her garrison. These Powers were then transplanted to
Connaught, and their estates were forfeited. Another collateral branch
was the Powers of Knockbrit, county Tipperary. In the year 1789, to
Edmund Power and his wife, who was a daughter of "Buck" Sheehy, was
born Marguerite, who became Lady Blessington. It seems that her
father, "Buck" Power, dissipated his fortune, as the mode was in those
days; that he compelled his daughter to marry one Captain Farmer, who
ill-treated her; that Mrs. Farmer left her husband, came to London with
her brother, was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence, and, after Farmer's
death, married Lord Blessington. Here is a link with my Lord Byron.
The relation of the De la Poer Beresfords with the Delavals of
Seaton-Delaval in Northumberland, consists in the marriage of Sir Henry
de la Poer, second Marquess {xxvii} (1772-1826), with Lady Susanna
Carpenter, who was the granddaughter of Lord Delaval. Her mother,
daughter of Lord Delaval, married George, second Earl of Tyrconnel.
The Lady Tyrconnel was famed for her beauty. The portrait of her
daughter, Lady Susanna, now at Curraghmore, represents a singularly
beautiful, fair-haired creature, delicately featured, blue-eyed. The
Delavals would seem to have been a high-spirited, reckless, and
spendthrift race. Extravagant entertainments were devised at their
house of Seaton-Delaval, which was built by Sir John Vanbrugh,
playwright and architect. The actor Foote was a friend of the family;
they were devoted to amateur theatricals; and Garrick once lent Drury
Lane Theatre to them. The Delavals were singularly addicted to
practical jokes; a tendency to the same diversion has reappeared in
later generations. Lord Delaval's only son died young, and the title
expired. There is a picture of the sturdy, brown-haired lad at
Curraghmore. It is worth noting that an ancestor of Lady Susanna, and,
therefore, of Lord Charles Beresford, was a naval officer of some
distinction. George Delaval, vice-admiral of the Red, was present at
the action fought off Cape Barfleur in May 1692.
The generation of the second Marquess, he who married the Lady Susanna,
produced an Archbishop: even the Right Honourable and Most Reverend
Lord John George de la Poer Beresford, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate
of all Ireland. He was born in 1773, and died in 1862. Possessing
great wealth, he was known for his immense benefactions. He gave
largely to Dublin University, and to the College of Saint Columba;
restored the Cathedral at Armagh at a cost of £30,000; and augmented
the salaries of his clergy. The bust of this magnificent prelate
stands in the private chapel at Curraghmore. His body is interred in
Armagh Cathedral. The Archbishop bequeathed his Property in county
Cavan to Lord Charles Beresford; the townlands on the estate bearing
such euphonious names as Ballyheady, Corraleehan Beg, Crockawaddy,
{xxviii} Kiltynaskeelan, Derrynacrieve, Gubnagree, Scrabby,
Tullynamoultra.
The third Marquess, Sir Henry de la Poer, having met his death in the
hunting-field, was succeeded in 1859 by his brother, Sir John, who was
Dean and Prebendary of Mullaghbrack, in the Arch-diocese of Armagh. He
married, in 1843, Christina Leslie, daughter of Charles Powell-Leslie.
She was born in 1820, and lived until 1905. The Marchioness learned to
ride when she was between forty and fifty years of age, and speedily
became a noted rider to hounds. Their sons, as before recited, were
Sir John-Henry de la Poer, fifth Marquess of Waterford; Lord Charles,
Lord William, Lord Marcus, and Lord Delaval; of whom Lord Charles and
Lord Marcus survive at the time of writing. Lord Charles was born on
10th February 1846 at Philipstown Glebe, Louth. It was the year of the
great famine; and at Curraghmore, half a regiment was then quartered in
the house.
The fifth Marquess, elder brother of Lord Charles, was succeeded in
1895 by his son, nephew to Lord Charles. The sixth Marquess lost his
life by a sad accident in 1911. The present heir is a minor.
In this chronicle, brief as it is, three notable figures cannot be
omitted: Mr. Commissioner John Beresford, Admiral Sir John Poo
Beresford, and the Marshal. (For information concerning these
worthies, I have drawn upon the _Dictionary of National Biography_.)
John Beresford, whose name is even yet occasionally reproached by the
descendants of his political opponents, was born in 1738, and died in
1805. He was the second son of Marcus, Earl of Tyrone (brother of the
first Marquess) and Lady Katherine, Baroness de la Poer. Appointed
First Commissioner of Revenue in 1780, John Beresford became in fact
ruler of Ireland. He was entrusted by Pitt with the management of all
Irish affairs. Viceroys came and viceroys went, but Beresford
continued to hold a position "greater than that of the Lord Lieutenant
{xxix} himself"; much to the indignation of Lord Fitzwilliam, who, when
he was appointed Lord Lieutenant, permitted himself to address the
First Commissioner in terms so indigestible that Beresford promptly
challenged him. The duel, however, was prevented. John Beresford took
a great part in the preparation and passing of the Act of Union; was
M.P. for Waterford and a Privy Councillor; and did much to improve the
city of Dublin, the fine Custom-house being built under his auspices.
He married Barbara Montgomery, who was one of the "Three Graces" in the
painting done by Sir Joshua Reynolds, now in the National Gallery. The
other two Graces were her sister, Lady Mountjoy, and the Marchioness of
Townshend.
Admiral Sir John Poo Beresford (1768 (?)-1884) was a natural son of the
first Marquess of Waterford. He entered the Royal Navy in 1782; fought
a smart action in the capture of the French store-ships in Hampton
Roads on 17th May 1795; and performed distinguished service in the West
Indies. He took part in the famous eight months' blockade off Ferrol
in 1808, and in the blockade of Lorient, commanding one of those
"weather-beaten ships upon which the Grand Army never looked." In 1810
he was co-operating off Lisbon with Wellington's army, with which his
younger brother the Marshal, in command of the Portuguese Army, was
also co-operating. He represented in Parliament, in succession,
Coleraine, Berwick, Northallerton, and Chatham. In 1835 he was Junior
Lord of the Admiralty. His career, a combination of fighting seaman,
member of Parliament, and Junior Lord, presents a singular resemblance
to the career of his relative, Lord Charles Beresford.
Marshal Beresford, or, more precisely, General Viscount William Carr
Beresford, was born in 1768 and died, full of years and honours, in
1854. Son of the first Marquess, he also, like the Admiral, bore the
bar sinister on his escutcheon. As captain of the 69th Regiment, he
was with Lord Hood at Toulon in 1793, and commanded the storming party
at the tower of Martello. He was present at the {xxx} captures of
Bastia, Calvi, and San Fiorenzo. After service in India, Beresford's
brigade led the march across the desert in the Egyptian campaign of
1801. Eighty-four years later, his relative, Captain Lord Charles
Beresford, took his Naval Brigade across the desert with Sir Herbert
Stewart's forlorn hope.
Beresford was present at the capture of Cape Colony under Baird in
1805. Then he went up to Buenos Ayres, and with 1200 men took that
place from the Spanish. After three days' hard fighting, Beresford was
driven out of Buenos Ayres by an overwhelming force. Then he went with
Sir Arthur Wellesley to Portugal; where he commanded two brigades under
Sir John Moore. In the terrible winter retreat to Corunna, Beresford's
brigade, told off to assist the rescue, was constantly engaged with the
French vanguard. At Corunna, Beresford fought on the English left,
achieving the greatest distinction.
In 1809, at the request of the Portuguese Government, Beresford was
appointed to reorganise the Portuguese Army. Gifted with that
marvellous capacity for handling men and for organisation, which
Irishmen of English descent sometimes combine with a reckless
gallantry, Beresford speedily transformed an ill-found, insubordinate
mob into an efficient, well-fed, fighting force. He knew how to
establish obedience to discipline, together with the confidence that
good conduct would be rewarded; or, in Lord Charles Beresford's phrase,
he coupled "commendation with condemnation." The Portuguese Government
made him marshal in the Portuguese Army while he was lieutenant-general
in the British Army; nor did the annoyance discovered by British
officers at the double rank, which gave Wellington trouble, perturb the
Marshal in the least. His Portuguese fought well alongside the English
at Busaco, an action which earned Beresford the K.C.B. and other
decorations.
He won the battle of Albuera, defeating Soult, though not without heavy
losses. The victory was said to be due {xxxi} to the action of one of
his Staff, rather than to Beresford's tactics; a good deal of
controversy was waged on the subject, in which the Marshal, after his
retirement, took a vigorous part; but the fact remains that Albuera was
won.
Beresford was present at the tremendous siege of Badajoz and at the
battle of Salamanca, at which he was severely wounded. He speedily
recovered, and fought at Vittoria in 1813, in the battles of the
Pyrenees, and in the battles of Nivelle, Nive, and Arthez. He then