Note 22 — REGIMENTAL LISTS.

Bn. 20th Aug., 1795. Eldest son of Wm. Beckwith, of Trimdon, co. Durham, by Caroline, dau. of John Nesham, of Houghton-le-Spring. Served in the Pa. with 16th Lt. Dgns. In 1831, as maj. of the 14th Lt. Dgns., greatly distinguished himself by the presence of mind and determination he showed in suppressing the Bristol riots. These riots were not suppressed until many of the ringleaders and their followers had perished, some being cut down by the cavalry when charging through the streets, but by far the greater number being burnt to death, when intoxicated, in the conflagration that devastated part of the city. Before the arrival of the squadron of the 14th Lt. Dgns. at Bristol the only available military force was a troop of the 3rd Dgn. Gds., which was ordered to protect the city gaol. The captain of this troop remained in his quarters, and allowed a cornet of only sixteen months’ service to command the troop on this special service. It is recorded of this young officer, Cornet Charles Kelson, that when riding with his troop through the slums of Bristol a burly blacksmith rushed out of his shop, sledge-hammer in hand, and aimed a blow at the officer’s head. As the smith bent his head with the weight of the hammer the subaltern’s sword flashed through the air, and the Goliath’s head rolled on the ground. Beckwith was a K.H., and at his death a Gen. and Col.-in-Chf. 14th Hussars. He m., 5th April, 1821, Priscilla Maria, dau. and heiress of Thos. Hopper, of Silksworth House, co. Durham, but d. s. p. 23rd Feb., 1871.