Henry Belasyse (died 1717)

For other people of the same name, see Henry Belasyse.

Sir Henry Belasyse
Born	1648
Died	14 December 1717
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Major-General
Battles/wars	Franco-Dutch War Monmouth Rebellion Williamite War in Ireland Nine Years' War

Major-General Sir Henry Belasyse (also spelled Bellasis; 1648 – 14 December 1717) was an English soldier.

Early life

He was educated in strict principles of loyalty and attachment to monarchical government, and, though but a youth at the time, he suffered in the royal cause during the usurpations of Cromwell. Soon after the Restoration he was appointed captain of an independent company of one hundred men in garrison at Hull, of which fortress the Lord Belasyse was appointed governor, but who resigned in 1673 in consequence of the Test Act, he being a Roman Catholic.

Dutch service

In the summer of 1674 Sir Henry Belasyse raised a company of musketeers and pikemen for the service of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and was engaged at the siege of Grave in the autumn of that year. He also served at the siege of Maestricht in 1676, at the battle of Mont Cassel in 1677, and on 3 April 1678 he succeeded Colonel Ashley in the command of the regiment that would later become the 6th Foot. At the battle of St Denis in 1678 he evinced signal valour and ability, vying in feats of gallantry with his commanders the Prince of Orange and the Earl of Ossory, and was wounded. During the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth in 1685, he accompanied his regiment to England, and in 1687 circumstances occurred which occasioned him to withdraw from the Dutch service, but he preserved his attachment to the Protestant interest and to the Prince of Orange.

War in Ireland

On 28 September 1689 Belasyse succeeded the Duke of Norfolk in the colonelcy of a newly raised regiment (later the 22nd Foot), which corps he served in Ireland under the Duke of Schomberg. He served as a brigadier-general under King William in 1690, was at the battle of the Boyne, and at the siege of Limerick, where he again distinguished himself. In 1691 he acquired new honours at the siege of Athlone; he also displayed bravery and judgment at the battle of Aughrim, and on the reduction of Galway he was appointed governor of that fortress, and took possession of the town on 26 July, with his own and two other regiments of foot.

Service on the Continent

The rank of major-general was conferred on this distinguished officer in April 1692, and he commanded a brigade under King William in Flanders in the autumn of that year. He acquired additional reputation at the battle of Landen in 1693, also in the command of a brigade under King William during the following campaign, and in October 1694 the King rewarded him with the rank of lieutenant-general. Belasyse's meritorious conduct procured him the favour and confidence of his sovereign, by whom he was employed on important services. He commanded the camp on the Bruges canal in May 1695, and a division of the covering army was placed under his orders during the siege of Namur. At the close of the campaign he was appointed president of the general court-martial which tried the officers who surrendered Dixmude and Deinse to the enemy, and sentenced Major-General Ellemberg to be shot. He continued to serve in the Netherlands until the peace of Ryswick.

Later life

On 28 June 1701 Belasyse obtained the colonelcy of the Queen Dowager's Regiment (later 2nd Foot) in exchange with General Selwyn. In 1702 he was second-in-command of the British troops in the expedition to Cadiz, and having been charged with participating in the plunder of Port St Mary, he was tried by a court-martial and dismissed the service. His reputation was thus unfortunately tarnished, but his crime does not appear to have been considered of a heinous nature, as he was subsequently elected a member of Parliament for the city of Durham, in 1711 was appointed by Queen Anne one of the commissioners to inquire into several particulars respecting the accounts of the army in Spain, and in June 1713 he was appointed governor of Berwick.

References

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Historical Records of the British Army by Richard Cannon.

External links

• Belasyse, Sir Henry (1648–1717), army officer in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• BELASYSE, Sir Henry (c.1648-1717), of Potto, Yorks. and Brancepeth Castle, co. Dur. in The History of Parliament

Military offices
Preceded by Thomas Ashley	Colonel of Belasyse's Regiment of Foot 1678–1689	Succeeded by William Babington
Preceded by The Duke of Norfolk	Colonel of Belasyse's Regiment of Foot 1689–1701	Succeeded by William Selwyn
Preceded by William Selwyn	Colonel of the Queen Dowager's Regiment of Foot 1701–1703	Succeeded by The Earl of Portmore
Civic offices
Preceded by Arthur French	Mayor of Galway 1691–1692	Succeeded by Thomas Revett
Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by Oliver Martin John Kirwan	Member of Parliament for Galway with Nehemiah Donnellan 1692–1693	Succeeded by Richard St George Robert Ormsby
Parliament of England
Preceded by George Nicholas Roger Fenwick	Member of Parliament for Morpeth with George Nicholas 1695–1698 Philip Howard 1698–1700 Sir Richard Sandford 1701 1695–1701	Succeeded by Emanuel Scrope Howe Sir John Delaval
Preceded by Charles Montagu Thomas Conyers	Member of Parliament for Durham with Charles Montagu 1701–1702 Thomas Conyers 1702–1707 1701–1707	Succeeded by Parliament of Great Britain
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Parliament of England	Member of Parliament for Durham with Thomas Conyers 1707–1708	Succeeded by Thomas Conyers James Nicolson
Preceded by Thomas Conyers James Nicolson	Member of Parliament for Durham with Thomas Conyers 1710–1712	Succeeded by Thomas Conyers Robert Shafto
Preceded by Abraham Blackmore Richard Belasyse	Member of Parliament for Mitchell with John Statham 1713–1715	Succeeded by Nathaniel Blakiston Robert Molesworth