Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth


The Viscount Molesworth

Portrait of Molesworth
Born1680
Swords, Dublin
Died12 October 1758 (aged 77–78)
London, England
Buried
Kensington, London
Allegiance England
 Great Britain
Branch English Army
 British Army
Years of service1702–1758
RankField Marshal
CommandsCommander-in-Chief, Ireland
Battles / warsWar of the Spanish Succession
Jacobite rising of 1715

Field Marshal Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth, PC (Ire), FRS (1680 – 12 October 1758) was an Anglo-Irish army officer and politician. He fought in the Battle of Blenheim before being appointed aide-de-camp to the Duke of Marlborough during the War of the Spanish Succession. During the Battle of Ramillies, Molesworth offered Marlborough his own horse after Marlborough fell from the saddle. Molesworth then recovered his commander's charger and slipped away: by these actions he helped to save Marlborough's life. Molesworth went on Lieutenant of the Ordnance in Ireland and was wounded at the Battle of Preston during the Jacobite rising of 1715 before serving as Master-General of the Ordnance in Ireland and then Commander-in-Chief, Ireland.