Edward Wolfe
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Lieutenant General Edward Wolfe (1685 – 26 March 1759) was a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
army officer who saw action in the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
, 1715 Jacobite rebellion and the
War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear was fought by Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and History of Spain (1700–1808), Spain between 1739 and 1748. The majority of the fighting took place in Viceroyalty of New Granada, New Granada and the Caribbean ...
. He is best known as the father of
James Wolfe Major-general James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of ...
, famous for his capture of Quebec in 1759.


Early life

Wolfe was born in 1685 in
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
. The family had moved to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
from
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and was of
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
ethnoreligious descent. They later converted to
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
. Wolfe acquired a commission as a
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
in 1700, rising quickly to
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
in 1705 and becoming a brigade major during the Flanders Campaign of the Duke of Marlborough. In 1715 he served with
General Wade Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer and politician who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Al ...
in the
Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...
, suppressing the Jacobite-supporting clans who had recently risen in rebellion. The
Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...
brought a long period of peace to Europe, limiting the opportunities for active service. In 1726, at All Saints' Church, Long Marston, he married Henrietta Thompson, the sister of MP Edward Thompson. In 1727 she gave birth to James Wolfe. Because of Edward's profession, James was immersed in military matters from a very young age. The family lived at
Westerham Westerham is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 3.4 miles east of Oxted and 6 miles west of Sevenoaks, adjacent to the Kent border with both Greater London and Surrey. I ...
in
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, at what is now Quebec House, but moved to
Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
in 1738 to be closer to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.


Cartagena

In 1739 with war with Spain looming, Wolfe prepared to return to active service. The declaration of the
War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear was fought by Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and History of Spain (1700–1808), Spain between 1739 and 1748. The majority of the fighting took place in Viceroyalty of New Granada, New Granada and the Caribbean ...
triggered an expansion of the British military, with several new regiments of marines being created. Wolfe was promoted to Colonel and appointed to command one of the new regiments. A major expedition was planned to sail for the Caribbean under Lord Cathcart to follow up the British victory at Porto Bello. In 1740 Wolfe and his travelled down to
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
and then on to the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
where the expedition was being assembled, bringing his son with him as a volunteer. James Wolfe hoped to take part in the expedition, gaining valuable experience of soldiering. However, he fell badly ill and had to return home to Greenwich. Although James had felt humiliated, it had probably saved his life. Edward Wolfe and his regiment took part in the expedition, which soon dissolved into a disaster. The British had decided to seize the port of Cartagena in South America, which was used to ship precious metals. However the British attacked during the
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and suffered around 18,000 casualties - almost entirely from disease. Abandoning the attack of Cartagena they then decided to attempt to capture
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
in Cuba, only to be frustrated there as well. The expedition then returned home.


Later career

Wolfe had been lucky to survive the Cartagena disaster, in which so many of his comrades had died. He was made Colonel of the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1745 and promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
in 1747. He had been too infirm to be considered for active service on the continent, once the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...
broke out. However, when the Jacobite rising broke out in 1745 Wolfe was sent to Berwick to command of a detachment of troops. As the Jacobites advanced into England using a different route he was not called into action.


Death

Edward Wolfe died on 26 March 1759 at the age of 74, while his son was crossing the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
to assault French forces in Canada. During the campaign at Quebec, James Wolfe wore a black armband in mourning for his father.McLynn p.201 His own death while leading his troops to victory on the
Plains of Abraham The Plains of Abraham () is a historic area within the Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was established on 17 March 1908. The land is the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, which took place on 13 September 1759, ...
meant that father and son had both died in the "Year of Victories".


References


Bibliography

* Brumwell, Stephen. ''Paths of Glory: The Life and Death of General James Wolfe''. Continuum Books, 2006. * McLynn, Frank. ''1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World''. Pimlico, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Edward 1685 births 1759 deaths British Army lieutenant generals British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession British Army personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745 British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession King's Regiment (Liverpool) officers People of the Jacobite rising of 1715 Military personnel from York