Name Thomas Meredyth | ||
Lieutenant-General Thomas Meredyth (or Meredith) was an Irish officer of the British Army.
Biography
The second son of Arthur Meredyth of Dollardstown, county Meath, Meredyth was initially entered at Gray's Inn, but changed to a military career. He served under King William III as a cavalry officer in Flanders during the War of the Grand Alliance, and on 23 April 1691 he was promoted to the rank of captain in the 3rd Horse, later 2nd Dragoon Guards. He was afterwards rewarded with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and on 1 June 1701 was appointed Adjutant-General of the Forces with promotion to the brevet rank of colonel of Horse. On the augmentation of the army in the beginning of 1702, he was commissioned to raise a corps of infantry, later the 37th Regiment of Foot, of which he was appointed colonel. He accompanied his regiment to the Netherlands in 1703, served at the battles of Schellenberg and Blenheim in 1704, and was promoted to brigadier-general on 25 August 1704. He commanded a brigade under the Duke of Marlborough in 1705, in the expedition up the Moselle, and at the forcing of the French lines at Eliksem and Neer-Hespen. On 1 January 1707 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and on 1 January 1709 to that of lieutenant-general. He was appointed Governor of Tynemouth Castle on 20 February 1708 and on 1 May 1710 he was appointed colonel of the 21st Fusiliers. Meredyth was dismissed from his offices in December 1710 for his opposition to the Tory government, but he was reinstated in 1714, with appointments as Governor of Londonderry, member of the Irish Privy Council, and on 4 October, colonel of the 20th Regiment. He died on 19 June 1719.