Papers of Lord William H. Cavendish Bentinck (1774-1839), soldier, politician and...

During this period Lord William Bentinck served with the British Armies in the Peninsular War. From August 1808 he served on the staff of Sir Harry Burrard in Portugal and then went on a mission to encourage the junta in Spain. He commanded a brigade at the Battle of Coruna (1809), having taken part in the retreat to Coruna under Sir John Moore. The papers and correspondence provide a vivid description both of this action and the events preceding it. Subsequently, Bentinck commanded a division in Sir Arthur Wellesley's army and was then sent to Germany to raise a German contingent that was later employed in Sicily.