Lord Frederick Cavendish

Field Marshal Lord Frederick Cavendish was born in August 1729 and died on 21 October 1803. He was a British Army officer and a member of the Whig political party. He was the son of William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, and Catherine Cavendish (née Hoskins).

Cavendish was commissioned as an ensign in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards on 29 April 1749. He entered parliamentary politics as the Member of Parliament for Derbyshire in 1751. On 17 March 1752, he was promoted to lieutenant in the 2nd Regiment of Foot Guards and appointed as a captain in the Army. In 1754, he vacated his seat for his brother, George Cavendish, and was elected as MP for Derby.

In 1755, Cavendish served in Ireland alongside his brother William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, who was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He was promoted to captain in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards and to lieutenant-colonel in the Army on 1 June 1756. During the early stages of the Seven Years' War, in Summer 1757, he served as an aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cumberland in Germany.

He was promoted to colonel on 7 May 1758 and was appointed aide-de-camp to the King on 9 May 1758. That year, he served under Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, during the raid on St Malo in June 1758, and participated in the raid on Cherbourg in August 1758. Following the Battle of Saint Cast in September 1758, Cavendish commanded the rear-guard during the re-embarkation and was taken prisoner. While in captivity, he offered to remain as a prisoner due to his status as a Member of Parliament. He was released in October 1758 in an exchange for a French officer of equivalent rank.

In October 1759, Cavendish became colonel of the 67th Regiment of Foot, and in October 1760, he was appointed colonel of the 34th Regiment of Foot. On 7 March 1761, he was promoted to major-general and subsequently sailed to Germany, where Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick assigned him command of a brigade of chasseurs. He led these troops to victory at the Battle of Wilhelmsthal in June 1762. During the Siege of Kassel in October 1762, part of his brigade was ambushed.

He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 30 April 1770 but did not participate in the American Revolution due to his political sympathies. In 1780, he retired from his parliamentary seat, which was thereafter held by his nephew, Lord George Cavendish. He received promotions to full general on 20 November 1782 and to field marshal on 30 July 1796.

Lord Frederick Cavendish died at Twickenham Park and was interred in the family vault at Derby Cathedral. He was unmarried and had no children. Most of his estate was inherited by his nephew, Lord George Cavendish, who later became the 1st Earl of Burlington.