Edward Marcus Despard (1751–21 February 1803), was an
IrishIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
-born British colonel turned revolutionary, executed for
High TreasonHigh treason is criminal disloyalty to one's country. Participating in a war against one's country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps the...
.
He was born in
MountrathMountrath is a small town in County Laois, Ireland, on the N7 midway between Dublin and Limerick, exactly 96.5 km from both cities.In 2006 it had a population of 1,435...
,
Queens CountyCounty Laois is one of the traditional counties of Ireland and is located within the province of Leinster. Its name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix....
,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, in 1751.
In 1766 he entered the British
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
, was promoted to
lieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
in 1772, and stationed at
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, where he soon proved himself to have considerable
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
talent. He served in the West Indies with credit, being promoted captain after the
San Juan expeditionright|Route of the San Juan Expedition through UtahThe San Juan Expedition was a group of Mormon settlers intent on establishing a colony in what is now southeastern Utah, in the western United States...
(1780).
Edward Marcus Despard (1751–21 February 1803), was an
IrishIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
-born British colonel turned revolutionary, executed for
High TreasonHigh treason is criminal disloyalty to one's country. Participating in a war against one's country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps the...
.
He was born in
MountrathMountrath is a small town in County Laois, Ireland, on the N7 midway between Dublin and Limerick, exactly 96.5 km from both cities.In 2006 it had a population of 1,435...
,
Queens CountyCounty Laois is one of the traditional counties of Ireland and is located within the province of Leinster. Its name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix....
,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, in 1751.
In 1766 he entered the British
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
, was promoted to
lieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
in 1772, and stationed at
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, where he soon proved himself to have considerable
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
talent. He served in the West Indies with credit, being promoted captain after the
San Juan expeditionright|Route of the San Juan Expedition through UtahThe San Juan Expedition was a group of Mormon settlers intent on establishing a colony in what is now southeastern Utah, in the western United States...
(1780). In 1782 he commanded a successful expedition against the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
possessions on the
Black RiverBlack River is the capital of St. Elizabeth Parish, in southwestern Jamaica. It sits at the mouth of the river of the same name. Once a thriving sugar port, it is today a centre of environmental tourism and a gateway to the Treasure Beach resort area; Treasure Beach and Crane Beach are to the...
. He was subsequently made Superintendent of the Bay of Honduras on the
Mosquito CoastThe Caribbean Mosquito Coast historically consisted of an area along the Atlantic coast of present-day Nicaragua, named after its native Miskito Indians and long dominated by British interests...
(present-day
BelizeBelize , is a country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, composed of many cultures and speaking many languages. Although Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official language...
).
He administered this British enclave until 1790 when, upon frivolous charges, he was suspended by
Home SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Lord GrenvilleWilliam Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville PC was a British Whig statesman and Prime Minister.-Biography:Grenville studied at Eton, Christ Church, Oxford, and Lincoln's Inn...
and recalled to
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. From 1790 to 1792 these charges were investigated, and he was suspended on half pay with his expenses from the Bay of Honduras withheld. Pursued by a further law suit from his enemies in the Bay, he was arrested and confined in the King's Bench
debtor's prisonA debtors' prison is a prison for those who are unable to pay a debt.Prior to the mid 19th century debtors' prisons were a common way to deal with unpaid debt...
from 1792 to 1794.
On his release he joined the
London Corresponding SocietyLondon Corresponding Society was a moderate-radical body concentrating on reform of the Parliament of Great Britain in the 1790s.The London Corresponding Society was a corresponding society founded on 25 January 1792. The creators of the group were John Frost , an attorney, and Thomas Hardy, a...
. In 1798 was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the
Irish RebellionThe Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in the Kingdom of Ireland...
.
Habeas CorpusHabeas corpus is a legal action, or writ, through which a person can seek relief from the unlawful detention of him or herself, or of another person. It protects the individual from harming him or herself, or from being harmed by the judicial system...
had been suspended in 1794, and Despard was held without trial for nearly three years in a succession of prisons, notably
Coldbath Fields PrisonColdbath Fields Prison was a prison in the Clerkenwell area of London, originally built during the reign of King James I. It took its name from its historic location in fields near an important well or medicinal spring...
in
ClerkenwellClerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. Clerkenwell was once known as London's "Little Italy" because of the large number of Italians living in the area between the 1850s and the 1960s.-Clerks' Well:...
, until he was released without charge in 1801.
In late 1802 he was named by government informers and disaffected soldiers as a member of a conspiracy engaged in a plot to seize the
Tower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London , is a historic fortress and scheduled monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames...
and
Bank of EnglandThe Bank of England is, despite its name, the central bank of the whole of the United Kingdom and is the model on which most modern, large central banks have been based. It was established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and to this day it still acts as the banker for the UK...
and assassinate
George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
. The evidence was thin but Despard was arrested and prosecuted by
Attorney GeneralIn most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.-Usage:The term has traditionally...
Spencer PercevalSpencer Perceval, KC was a British statesman and Prime Minister. He is the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated. He is the only Solicitor General or Attorney General, and one of very few lawyers, to have been Prime Minister.The younger son of a minor nobleman, Perceval was...
, before
Lord EllenboroughEdward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough , English judge, was born at Great Salkeld, in Cumberland, of which place his father, Edmund Law , afterwards Bishop of Carlisle, was at the time rector....
, the Lord Chief Justice. Despite a dramatic appearance by
Lord NelsonVice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a British flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars...
as character witness on his behalf, Despard was found guilty by the jury of
high treasonUnder the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Sovereign amounting to an intention to undermine their authority or the actual attempt to do so...
, and sentenced, with six of his fellow-conspirators (John Wood and John Francis, both privates in the army, carpenter Thomas Broughton, shoemaker James Sedgwick Wratton, slater Arthur Graham, and John Macnamara), to be hanged, drawn and quartered. This sentencing of the conspirators was the last time in British history that anyone was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. Prior to execution the sentence was commuted to simple
hangingHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. It hurts a lot. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", although it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would...
and beheading, amid fears that the draconian punishment might spark public dissent. Despard was executed on the roof of the gatehouse at
Horsemonger Lane GaolHorsemonger Lane Gaol was a prison located close to modern-day Newington Causeway in Southwark, south London.-History:...
, in front of a crowd of at least 20,000 spectators, on 21 February 1803.