Colonel John Blossett was an Irish soldier who led the second

British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British Charitable organization, charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. ...

to aid

Simon Bolivar Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

in the

wars of independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Born in

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 ...

, the great-grandson of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

Brigadier-General Salomon Blosset de Loche who had assisted William of Orange in the taking of the

British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

in 1688, Blossett entered the British Army in 1798, serving in the

10th Foot The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regime ...

and rising to the level of captain in 1814 and major at the time of his discharge from the army in 1817. In 1819 Blossett was awarded the rank of colonel by

as leader of the British expedition to assist him in the war of independence, taking over from General

James Towers English James Towers English (22 February 1782 – 26 September 1819) was an Anglo-Irish commander of British Legions forces in the Spanish American wars of independence. Biography James Towers English was the son of a well-to-do Dublin merchant. He wen ...

.Dictionary of Irish Latin American Biography
/ref> Having fought a number of duels throughout his career Blossett was fatally shot by Colonel Power whilst on the expedition in South America. His granddaughter was the actress Ethel Lavenu, whose son Tyrone Power Sr. and grandson

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

were both famous actors.

References

External links

El motín de la Legión Británica
(The Mutiny of the British Legion) 1821 deaths Duelling fatalities Irish people of French descent Royal Lincolnshire Regiment officers People of the Spanish American wars of independence Power family Year of birth unknown {{UK-mil-bio-stub