1695 to 1739 During the 1689 to 1691
Williamite War in Ireland, Blakeney remained at Mount Blakeney to defend his estates against raids by Irish irregulars or
Rapparees, while the rest of his family relocated to Castleblakeney. In 1692, he joined his uncle George Blakeney in
Flanders; serving as a volunteer, he was wounded at
Namur on 31 August 1695 during the attack on the Terra Nova earthwork which allegedly inspired the song '
The British Grenadiers'. In September 1695, he was commissioned as an
ensign in
The Royal Regiment of Foot, then placed on
half-pay after the 1697
Treaty of Ryswick. , 1704; Blakeney's regiment (left foreground) pursue the French as they retreat into the
Danube When the
War of the Spanish Succession began in 1701, he was reactivated and fought at the battles of
Schellenberg,
Blenheim and
Ramillies. He was promoted captain in April 1707. In March 1708, he was commissioned as a
lieutenant in the
Foot Guards, although only 16 of its nominal 24 companies were actually formed, and Blakeney remained with his original unit. Under the practice known as double-ranking, Guards officers held a second, higher army rank; for example, a Guards lieutenant ranked as an army major. In addition, such units were rarely disbanded and their officers given precedence when deciding promotions, making it a cheap way to reward competent but poor officers.
John Huske (1692–1761), one of Blakeney's colleagues during the
Jacobite rising of 1745, was commissioned in the Guards for similar reasons. Blakeney's regiment escaped disbandment after the 1713
Peace of Utrecht; when his uncle retired from the
31st Foot in 1718, he assigned his commission as
lieutenant colonel to his nephew. Blakeney retained this position for the next 20 years; some biographers suggest he was deliberately held back, but promotion in this period was slow for all officers. He became
colonel of the
27th Foot in 1737, with the support of the
Duke of Richmond.
1740 to 1748 ; British operations in the Caribbean, 1740-1742 When trade disputes with Spain led to the outbreak of the
War of Jenkins' Ear in 1739, Blakeney was appointed
brigadier general in the expeditionary force sent to reinforce
Admiral Vernon. His reputation for training was a factor in his selection, since the force included 3,000 newly recruited
American colonial militia. He took part in the disastrous attack of March 1741 on
Cartagena de Indias and the short-lived
occupation of Cuba. The
West Indies was a notoriously unhealthy posting, and simply surviving was an achievement. Between 1740 and 1742, British navy and army deaths from disease and combat were estimated as over 20,000, with death rates of 80–90% among land forces. With little to show for the investment of men and money, the survivors returned to Britain in October 1742. Blakeney was appointed
lieutenant governor of
Stirling Castle, an immensely strong position controlling access between the
Scottish Highlands and the
Lowlands. In September 1745, the
Jacobite army passed the castle en route to
Edinburgh, but lacked the equipment needed to take it. The Jacobites made a more serious attempt in the
Siege of Stirling Castle in January 1746, but progress was slow. Despite victory at
Falkirk Muir on 1 February, the Jacobites lifted the siege and withdrew to
Inverness when
Prince William, Duke of Cumberland began advancing north from Edinburgh. After the Rising ended at
Culloden in April 1746, Blakeney was promoted
lieutenant general and given military command of the Highlands.
1748 to 1761 , which Blakeney surrendered in June 1756 after holding out for 70 days In 1748, he was appointed lieutenant governor of
Menorca; captured by the British in 1708, the island was considered vital for control of the Western Mediterranean. However, it was also vulnerable; the Spanish deeply resented British occupation, while it was only two days sail from
Cádiz, and one from the French naval base at
Toulon. Since the nominal governor,
Baron Tyrawley, never visited Menorca, Blakeney was its effective ruler. He attempted to reduce local opposition by encouraging his troops to marry local women, and by controlling Catholic schools and institutions, but neither of these measures was successful. Tyrawley's absence was symptomatic of general neglect; in 1757, a Parliamentary committee noted the poor state of its defences, with crumbling walls and rotten gun platforms. In addition to Tyrawley, over 35 senior officers were absent from their posts, including the governor of Fort St Philip, and the colonels of all four regiments in its garrison. When the
Seven Years' War began in April 1756, the French quickly occupied the island and began the
Siege of Fort St Philip, which was commanded by Blakeney. An attempt by
Admiral John Byng to lift the siege
was repulsed in May, and Blakeney surrendered on 29 June. The garrison was given free passage to
Gibraltar, whose governor was
Thomas Fowke,
court-martialled but acquitted in 1746 for the defeat at
Prestonpans. In the inquiry that followed, Fowke was dismissed for failing to provide reinforcements from the Gibraltar garrison, while Byng was executed in March 1757. Blakeney's heavy drinking, which left him with "a paralytick disorder" and "nervous tremors", was portrayed as the pardonable trait of a simple soldier, but many considered his surrender premature. Although rewarded by being appointed to the
Order of the Bath and made 'Baron Blakeney' in the
Irish peerage, he was barely able to write his name due to hand tremors, and this ended his military career. He died on 20 September 1761 in Ireland and was later buried in the nave of
Westminster Abbey; the gravestone still exists, but the inscription is now very faint. ==Legacy==