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The Hon. Colonel James Hamilton Stanhope (1788–1825), was a British Army officer who fought in the
Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
and at the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
. He was a Member of Parliament for
Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...
, 1817–1818,
Fowey Fowey ( ; , meaning ''beech trees'') is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, ...
, 1818–1819, and Dartmouth, 1822–1825.


Biography

He was the third and youngest son of
Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope, aka Charles Mahon, 3rd Earl Stanhope, FRS (3 August 175315 December 1816), was a British statesman, inventor, and scientist. He was the father of Lady Hester Stanhope and brother-in-law of William Pitt the ...
and Louisa Grenville, niece of 2nd Earl Temple. He was the brother of the eccentric 4th Earl Stanhope and half brother to the more eccentric
Lady Hester Stanhope Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope (12 March 1776 – 23 June 1839) was a British adventurer, writer, antiquarian, and one of the most famous travellers of her age. Her excavation of Ascalon in 1815 is considered the first to use modern Archaeology ...
. He was raised at the family seat
Chevening Chevening House () is a large country house in the parish of Chevening in Kent, England. Built between 1617 and 1630 to a design reputedly by Inigo Jones and greatly extended after 1717, it is a Grade I listed building. The surrounding gardens, ...
with his five siblings. Stanhope was joined in the British Army at the age of 15, contrary to his father's wishes, but by the advice and influence of
William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...
; who was 3rd Earl's second cousin, by the marriage of his grandfather, the 1st Earl, to Lucy, sister of Robert Pitt of Boconnock (the Minister's grandfather). He entered the British Army as Ensign in the
1st Foot Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...
, 26 December 1805; was promoted Lieutenant and Captain, 14 January 1808; brevet Major, 21 June 1813; and Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel in the 1st Foot Guards, 25 July 1814. Stanhope served in Spain, Portugal, Flanders and France. He served as on the staff of General Sir John Moore as an '' aide-de-camp'' in 1809. He acted as extra ''aid-de-camp'' to
Lord Lynedoch Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch (19 October 174818 December 1843) was a Scottish aristocrat, politician and British Army officer. After his education at Oxford, he inherited a substantial estate in Scotland, married and settled down to a quiet ...
(1810–1814). In 1812 was appointed a Deputy Assistant Quarter Master General, and in 1813 as Assistant Quarter Master General in the Peninsula. During the storming of San Sebastian in late August early September 1813, Stanhope received a grape-shot wound in the spine. The opinion of the surgeons by whom he was attended, was that the ball could not, without imminent risk of fatal consequences, be extracted, so it remained lodged in place and caused him immense suffering for the rest of his life. He remained in the army and in 1815 served as an assistant adjacent to
Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...
during the
Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign, also known as the Belgian campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two War of the Seventh Coalition, Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied arm ...
and took part in the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
and the subsequent the march upon Paris. From 1815 until he died he was aid-de-camp to Prince Frederick. Stanhope was first elected to parliament in 1817; he was returned for Fowey at the general election in 1818, but was not re-chosen in 1820. In that year, by the will of
Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James Co ...
(his first cousin once-removed), he was appointed one of his four executors. Stanhope re-entered the House of Commons in early in 1822 as M.P. for Dartmouth, and continued so until his death.


Marriage and death

On 9 July 1820, Stanhope married Lady Frederica Louisa Murray, eldest daughter of David William Murray, 3rd Earl Mansfield and Frederica Markham at Kenwood House, performed by her uncle
Robert Markham Robert Markham is a pseudonym used by author Kingsley Amis to publish '' Colonel Sun'' in March 1968. The book was the first continuation James Bond novel following the death of Bond's creator, Ian Fleming. Kingsley Amis Following the death of Ia ...
,
Archdeacon of York An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of mos ...
. His wife gave birth to one son named James Stanhope in 1821, but she died on 14 January 1823. He built a large tomb and monument for her at Chevening Church by
Sir Francis Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...
at the cost of 1500 guineas. Greatly afflicted at the death of his wife Stanhope gave up his establishment in
South Audley Street South Audley Street is a major shopping street in Mayfair, London.'South Audley Street: Introduction', in Survey of London: Volume 40, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings), ed. F H W Sheppard (London, 1980), pp. 290–291. Bri ...
in London and moved into
Kenwood House Kenwood House (also known as the Iveagh Bequest) is a stately home in Hampstead, London, on the northern boundary of Hampstead Heath. The present house, built in the late 17th century, was remodelled in the 18th century for William Murray, 1st E ...
, the seat of his father-in-law. In 1825 Stanhope was still very depressed over the loss of his wife and continued to suffer physical discomfort from the wound he had received in Spain twelve years earlier. He had appeared very abstracted, and was in the habit of sitting a long time, as if in a state of stupor, and then he would suddenly start up, as if from sleep or upon an alarm. A few days before his death by suicide on 5 March, he had complained very much that be could get no sleep, in consequence of the pain he endured. Afflicted in his melancholy manner, whilst walking in the park at some distance from the house, he entered a shed, formed to shelter the cattle, and suspended himself with his braces from a beam. When he had missed Dinner, his father in law Lord Mansfield thought that he had some business in town, but he felt uneasy and ordered the carriage to town, his lordship made enquiries at every place he might visit to no avail, then the household being alarmed, and a general search by Lord Mansfield was carried out and then an under gardener said that he saw his son in law walking to the direction of the wood where the shed was, in which they then discovered his body some hours after. A Coroner's jury gave a verdict of "temporary insanity". In his will, he requested simple burial with his wife and child, he also left some bequest to his half-sisters, he left £1500 a year to
Lady Hester Stanhope Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope (12 March 1776 – 23 June 1839) was a British adventurer, writer, antiquarian, and one of the most famous travellers of her age. Her excavation of Ascalon in 1815 is considered the first to use modern Archaeology ...
, £500 a year to Lady Griselda, and £10,000 to Lady Lucy's child, and the remainder of his estate to his son, James Banks Stanhope.


Bibliography

* * Guscin, Mark (2021). ''The Life of James Hamilton Stanhope (1788-1825) Love, War and Tragedy.''


Notes


References

* ;Attribution *


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanhope, James Hamilton 1788 births 1825 deaths British politicians who died by suicide Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fowey Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Dartmouth UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826
James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...
Younger sons of earls Suicides by hanging in England Suicides in England People of the Battle of Waterloo