, lieutenant-general and K. B. was educated at Eton, and at King’s college,
, lieutenant-general and K. B.
was educated at Eton, and at King’s college, Cambridge;
and, preferring the military profession, went to the EastIndies in the company’s service; where, in 1760, he received the privilege of ranking as a colonel in the army,
with Lawrence and Clive, and returned home that year.
In 1761 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier in the
expedition to Belleisle. In 1763, he, with admiral Cornish, conducted the expedition against Manila. They
sailed from Madras Aug. 1, and anchored Sept. 27, in
Manila bay, where the inhabitants had no expectation of
the enemy. The fort surrendered Oct. 6, and was preserved from plunder by a ransom of four millions of dollars;
half to be paid immediately, and the other half in a time
agreed on. The Spanish governor drew on his court for
the first half, but payment was never made. The arguments of the Spanish court were clearly refuted by colonel
Draper in a letter to the earl of Halifax, then premier.
Succeeding administrations declined the prosecution of
this claim from reasons of state which were never divulged;
and the commander in chief lost for his share of the ransom 25,000l. The colours taken at this conquest were
presented to King’s college, Cambridge, and hung up in
their beautiful chapel, and the conqueror was rewarded
with a red ribband. Upon the reduction of the 79th regiment, which had served so gloriously in the East-Indies,
his majesty, unsolicited by him, gave him the 16th regiment of foot as an equivalent. This he resigned to colonel
Gisborne, for his half pay, 1200l. Irish annuity. In 1769
the colonel appeared, and with much credit, in a literacy
character, drawing his pen against that of Junius, in defence of his friend the marquis of Granby, which drew a
retort on himself, answered by him in a second letter to
Junius, on the refutations of the former charge against
him. On a republication of Junius’s first letter, sir William renewed his vindication of himself; and was answered
with great keenness by his famous antagonist. Here the
controversy dropped for the present, but he is supposed to
have entered the lists once more, under the signature of
Modestus, with that extraordinary and still concealed
writer, in defence of general Gansel, who had been arrested for debt, and was rescued by a party of soldiers. In
Oct. 1769 he retired to South Carolina, for the recovery
of his health, and took the opportunity to make the tour
of North America. That year he married miss de Lancy,
daughter of the chief justice of New York, who died in
July 1778, and by whom he had a daughter born Aug. 18,
1773. May 29, 1779, sir William, being then in rank a
lieutenant-general, was appointed lieutenant-governor of
Minorca, on the unfortunate surrender of which important
place he exhibited 29 charges against the late governor,
general Murray, Nov. 11, 1782. Of these 27 were deemed
frivolous and groundless and for the other two the governor was reprimanded. Sir William was then ordered to
make an apology to general Murray, for having instituted
the trial against him; in which he acquiesced. From this
time he appears to have lived in retirement at Bath till his
decease, which happened the 8th of January 1787. Many
particulars respecting his controversy with Junius, as well
as the controversy itself, may be seen in the splendid edition
of “Junius’s Letters,
” published by Mr. Woodfall in