Beresford, William Carr

Born October 2, 1768 in Ireland . In 1785 he joined the British Army and served in the 6th Infantry Regiment. In 1786, due to careless handling of a gun, he lost his eye, but continued to serve and in 1791 was promoted to captain of the 69th Infantry Regiment. He took part in hostilities near Toulon in 1793 , in Egypt in 1799-1803 , and during the occupation of the Cape of Good Hope in 1805.

In 1806, Beresford fought in South America and, commanding a small detachment, took Buenos Aires , but was forced to surrender and after a six-month stay in captivity he managed to escape to England .

In 1807, Beresford, speaking on behalf of the Portuguese king, conquered the island of Madeira and was appointed its governor ^[1] . Since March 7, 1809, Beresford commanded the Portuguese army and made all campaigns with it on the Iberian Peninsula , including he commanded the Portuguese-English troops in the bloody battle of Albuer in 1811, where he managed to defeat Sult .

In July of that year, Beresford, while in Lisbon , experienced a severe nervous attack and was forced to leave the army for a while. Returning to the active forces in February 1812, he accompanied Wellington and was in the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz . In the battle of Salamanca on July 22, 1812, Beresford commanded the Portuguese units of Wellington's army and contributed to the victory over Marshal Marmont , while he was seriously injured. After spending six months on treatment in Lisbon, Beresford in early 1813 was promoted to marshal of Portugal and appointed Deputy Wellington; with the transfer of the war to the south of France , he acted there against the French. March 13, 1814 Beresford, along with the Duke of Angouleme, entered Bordeaux , where he proclaimed Louis XVIII king of France.

At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, made a peer and appointed British Commissioner in Brazil . Since 1815, Beresford commanded the Portuguese Armed Forces, but due to a conflict with the highest Portuguese officers in 1820 he was forced to leave this post.

Returning to England, Beresford was sharply attacked for his activities in Spain, in particular, military historian Colonel William Napier in his History of the Iberian War, he severely criticized Beresford's tactics in the battle of Albuer . However, Wellington praised Beresford as an organizer and, in the event of his death, recommended him to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. Beresford himself actively appeared in the press, describing in detail in articles and individual publications his activities on the Iberian Peninsula.

Beresford was also appointed Governor of Jersey and was the last to hold this position.

From 1811 to 1814, Beresford was a member of the British Parliament from County Waterford .

Among other awards, Beresford had the British Order of the Bath , Guelph, and the Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword . The Portuguese king at different times granted Beresford the titles of the Duke of Elvas, the Marquis of Campo Major and the Count of Trancoso.

The last years of his life, Beresford moved away from active work and spent them on his estate in Kildown ( Kent , England ), where he died on January 8, 1856.

• Beresford, William Charles, Viscount // B (Blanc) gunpowder - Bomb. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911. - S. 499. - ( Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / edited by V. F. Novitsky [and others ]; 1911-1915, v. 4).
• Military encyclopedic lexicon . Part two. SPb., 1838