Edmund Fielding

Lieutenant-General Edmund Fielding (29 January 1676 – 20 June 1741) was a British Army officer.

Edmund Fielding
Born	20 January 1676 Puddletown, Dorset
Died	20 June 1741
Allegiance	Kingdom of England (until 1707) Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1741)
Service / branch	English Army British Army
Years of service	1696–1741
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Commands	41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot
Battles / wars	War of the Spanish Succession Battle of Blenheim
Relations	Henry Fielding (son) Sarah Fielding (daughter)

Military career

Edmund Fielding was born 29 January 1676 in Puddletown, Dorset, the son of John Fielding, canon of Salisbury.^[1] Fielding joined the English Army as an ensign in the 1st Foot Guards on 15 December 1696. He was promoted to captain some time before 1704, serving in Webb's Regiment of Foot. Fighting under Lord Marlborough in the War of the Spanish Succession, Fielding was present at the Battle of Blenheim on 13 August 1704.^[2][3] He was then promoted to major on 12 April 1706, serving in Lord Tunbridge's Regiment of Foot, before in around 1709 he succeeded Colonel Brazier in command of his own regiment of foot. He was placed on half pay in 1713 before on 11 March 1719 he raised what came to be known as the 41st Regiment of Foot from independent companies of invalids.^[1][4]

Fielding was promoted to brigadier in 1727,^[5] major-general in 1735 and to lieutenant-general in 1739.^[6] He married Sarah Gould and they had two sons, Henry Fielding, who became an English novelist and dramatist, and Sir John Fielding, a magistrate, and four daughters including the writer Sarah Fielding.^[7] He died in 1741 in England.^[4]

References

1. "41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot". National Army Museum. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
2. Nichols (1812), p. 356.
3. Dalton (2006), pp. 42–43.
4. Dalton (2006), p. 43.
5. "No. 6572". The London Gazette. 11 April 1727. p. 3.
6. "No. 7823". The London Gazette. 14 July 1739. p. 1.
7. Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1889). "Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 18. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 416–423.

Sources

• Dalton, Charles (2006) [1899]. The Blenheim Roll. Uckfield, East Sussex: The Naval & Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84574-369-7.
• Nichols, John (1812). Literary anecdotes of the eighteenth century: comprising biographical memoirs of William Bowyer, Printer, FSA, and many of his learned friends. Nichols, Son and Bentley.