Architects of Empire: The Duke of Wellington and His Brothers

617 Pages·2007·2.81 MB·English

by  John Severn

generous and supportive, then insensi- S e v e r n A SOLDIER AND STATESMAN
tive and cruel. And as the brothers for the ages, the Duke of Wellington is
found themselves on opposing sides of a towering figure in world history. John
national issues—Catholic Emancipation Severn now offers a reconsideration of
and Parliamentary Reform—they knew T A the man born Arthur Wellesley to show
“A fresh look at the first Duke of Wellington. John Severn places H
antipathy that was to be tempered only E R that his career was very much a family
by old age. him in the midst of a great family drama and argues successfully D affair, a lifelong series of interactions
C
Whereas other historians have mini- U with his brothers and their common
K
mized the importance of family ties, that the duke’s career owed as much to fraternal prompting and E H Anglo-Irish heritage. The untold story of
Severn provides an unusually nuanced O a great family drama, Architects of Empire
largesse as it did to inspired talent. Severn reveals a fascinating I
understanding of the Duke of Welling- F T paints a new picture of the era through
W
ton. Architects of Empire casts his career in the collective biography of Wellesley
family of five brothers who both engage and repel with their mix-
E
a new light—one that will surprise those E and his siblings.
L
who believe they already know the man. ture of virtues and vices. This is humanity in full.” L C Severn takes readers from the British
I
N
JOHN SEVERN, Associate Professor G T Raj in India to the battlefields of the
of History and Associate Provost at the BERNARD CORNWE LL T Napoleonic Wars to the halls of Parlia-
S
O
University of Alabama in Huntsville, is author of Sharpe’s Fury N ment as he traces the rise of the five
the author of A Wellesley Affair: Richard A o brothers from obscurity to prominence.
Marquess Wellesley and the Conduct of Anglo- N f Severn covers both the imperial Indian
D
Spanish Diplomacy, 1809–1812. E period before 1800 and the domestic
H
political period after 1820, describing

On the front: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, I M
S A R C H I T E C T S the wide range of experiences Arthur
by Alfred D’Orsay. Courtesy of the National
B and his brothers lived through.
P
Portrait Gallery, London. R
O I Architects of Empire brings together in a
Jacket design by Tony Roberts T o f E M P I R E
R single volume a grand story that before
H
E now was discernible only through
R E
S political or military analysis. Weaving
the personal history of the brothers into
T D W a captivating narrative, it tells of sibling
HE UKE OF ELLINGTON
rivalry among men who were by turns
ISBN-13: 978-0-8061-3810-7 H B
ISBN-10: 0-8061-3810-6 AND IS ROTHERS
(continued on back flap)
J o h n S e v e r n
9 780806 138107
Architects of Empire

Architects of Empire
The Duke of Wellington
and His Brothers
John Severn
University of Oklahoma Press : Norman
Also by John Severn
A Wellesley Affair: Richard Marquess Wellesley and the Conduct of
Anglo-Spanish Diplomacy, 1809–1812(Tallahassee, 1981)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Severn, John Kenneth, 1948–
Architects of empire : the Duke of Wellington and his brothers / John Severn.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8061-3810-7 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8061-3810-6 (alk. paper)
1. Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of, 1769–1852—Family. 2. Wellesley
family. 3. Great Britain—History—18th century. 4. Great Britain—History—
19th century. 5. Politicians—Great Britain—Biography. 6. Gentry—Ireland—
Biography. I. Title. II. Title: Duke of Wellington and his brothers.
DA68.12.W4S48 2007
941.07'0922—dc22
2006028181
Text Design by CF Graphics
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of
the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council
on LibraryResources, Inc. ∞
Copyright © 2007 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing
Division of the University. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the U.S.A.
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For Debbie

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
1. The Wellesleys of County Meath 3
2. RichardTakes Charge 24
3. The India AdventureBegins 65
4. Tiger Hunt 92
5. Arthur: From Mysore to the Maratha War 119
6. Henry Steps Forward 138
7. End of the First Act: The Maratha War 160
8. Entr’acte I 195
9. Toil and Trouble 223
10. The Wellesleys in Spain: The First Phase 252
11. The Wellesleys at War 291
12. Reversal of Fortunes 328
13. Waterloo 359
14. Entr’acte II 384
15. Encore for the Wellesleys 404
16. Irreconcilable Differences 435
17. View from Across the Aisle 464
18. The Final Years 502
Notes 541
Bibliography 577
Index 589
vii

Illustrations
Plates
Modern Ruins of Dangan Castle, County Meath 275
Anne, Countess of Mornington 276
Richard Colley, Marquess Wellesley 277
The Hon. William Wellesley-Pole 278
Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. Arthur Wellesley 279
Rev. the Hon. Gerald Valerian Wellesley 280
The Hon. Henry Wellesley 281
William Pitt Speaking Before the House of Commons 282
William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville 283
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth 283
Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst 284
George Canning 285
RobertBanks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool 286
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of
Londonderry 287
Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey 287
The Duchess of Wellington 288
The Duke of Wellington Looking Over the Field of Waterloo 289
The Countess of Mornington surrounded by her sons 289
The Duke of Wellington in Old Age 290
ix