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Marcus Rainsford

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Marcus Rainsford
Rainsford (left)
Borncirca 1758[citation needed]
Kildare, Dublin, Ireland
Died4 November 1817(1817-11-04) (aged 58–59)
London, England
Resting placeSt Giles in the Fields, London, England
EducationTrinity College Dublin TCD
Occupation(s)Soldier, author, historian
Known forAuthor on the Haitian Revolution
Signature

Captain Marcus Rainsford (c. 1758 – 4 November 1817)[1] was a British Army officer who fought in the Battle of Camden in 1780, during the American Revolutionary War. He published An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti, London, in 1805.

Biography

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Rainsford was a younger son of Edward Rainsford of Sallins, Kildare, born c. 1750.[2] He was educated at Trinity College Dublin and obtained an MA in 1773. He joined the Irish Volunteers (18th century) in 1779.

The Dublin Volunteers 1778

He obtained a commission and saw service in the 105th regiment, commanded by Francis, lord Rawdon (afterwards second) Earl of Moira, during the American War of Independence. He took part in Siege of Charleston and the Battle of Camden in 1780. He then went to Jamaica with the Duke of Cumberland's Regiment.

In 1794 he served under the Duke of York in the Netherlands, during the Flanders Campaign and was afterwards employed in raising black troops in the West Indies.

In 1799 Rainsford visited St. Domingo, and had an interview with Toussaint L'Ouverture. He was subsequently arrested and condemned to death as a spy, but was reprieved and eventually set at liberty.

Rainsford died in November 1817 and is buried in St Giles in the Fields, London, England.

Works

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References

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  1. ^ Rainsford, Marcus (2013). Youngquist, Paul; Pierrot, Gregory (eds.). An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti. Durham: Duke University Press. pp. xi–xv. ISBN 9780822352785.
  2. ^ Rigg, James McMullen (1889). "Rainsford, Marcus" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 17. London: Smith, Elder & Co.