Richard Townsend

Richard Townesend (as he spelt his name) was a soldier and politician in England. He was born in 1618 or 1619. Much research has been undertaken by various members of the Townsend family to trace Richard's origins but nothing is known about him before 1643 when he was appointed to command a company, as a captain, in Colonel Ceely's Regiment, which had been raised to garrison Lyme Regis. Richard was engaged in several skirmishes, most notably on 3 March 1643 when he surprised and routed 150 Royalist cavalry at Bridport. Later, he was present during the defence of Lyme Regis 20 April – 13 June 1644 where he distinguished himself and was promoted to Major ("he was shot in the head but still lives"). In 1645 he assumed command of Colonel Ceely's Regt when Colonel Ceely was returned to Parliament as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bridport. Richard took part in the siege of Pendennis Castle in August 1646 and afterwards wrote to Colonel Ceely to report on the siege and "to receive directions how to dispose of the regiment, and positively what employment and future maintenance we may expect". This letter is preserved in the Tanner MS in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Following the siege, Richard was made Colonel of a regiment of 1000 men, raised for service in Ireland, with Robert Phayre as his Lieutenant Colonel and they remained camped near Bath until 19 June 1647 when Parliament ordered that "Colonel Townesend and his regiment ... be transported to Ireland" to join the Parliamentary Army in Ireland under the command of Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin. Ireland On 13 November 1647, Richard commanded the main body of the infantry at the Battle of Knocknanauss, near Mallow under Lord Inchiquin against the Irish army led by Theobald Taaffe, 1st Earl of Carlingford. Subsequently, Richard and others, in dire need of fresh supplies, joined with Lord Inchiquin in a Declaration of Remonstrance, which was submitted to Parliament in early 1648. Shortly after this Lord Inchiquin renounced his allegiance to the English Parliament and joined forces with Lord Taaff.