Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth

The Viscount Molesworth
Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth
Born	1680 Swords, Dublin
Died	12 October 1758 (aged 77 or 78) London, England
Buried at	Kensington, London
Allegiance	Kingdom of England  Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	English Army  British Army
Years of service	1702–1758
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands held	Commander-in-Chief, Ireland
Battles/wars	War of the Spanish Succession Jacobite rising of 1715

Field Marshal Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth, PC (1680 – 12 October 1758), styled The Honourable Richard Molesworth from 1716 to 1726, was an Anglo-Irish military officer, politician and nobleman. He served with his regiment at the Battle of Blenheim before being appointed aide-de-camp to the Duke of Marlborough during the War of the Spanish Succession. During the Battle of Ramillies Molesworth offered Marlborough his own horse after Marlborough fell from the saddle. Molesworth then recovered his master's charger and slipped away: by these actions he saved his master's life. Molesworth went on Lieutenant of the Ordnance in Ireland and was wounded at the Battle of Preston during the Jacobite rising of 1715 before becoming Master-General of the Ordnance in Ireland and then Commander-in-Chief, Ireland.

Born the younger son of Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth and Letitia Molesworth (née Coote, daughter of Richard Coote, Lord Coloony), Molesworth abandoned his legal studies and was commissioned as an ensign in Orkney's Regiment on 14 April 1702.

Promoted to captain, Molesworth served with his regiment at the Battle of Blenheim in August 1704, before being appointed aide-de-camp to the Duke of Marlborough on 22 May 1706 during the War of the Spanish Succession. During the Battle of Ramillies, which took place the following day, Molesworth offered Marlborough his own horse after Marlborough fell from the saddle. Molesworth then recovered his master's charger and slipped away: by these actions he saved his master's life. Promoted to captain in the Coldstream Guards and lieutenant colonel in the Army on 5 May 1707, he was present at the relief of Brussels in 1708 and at the Battle of Malplaquet in September 1709 and was wounded by a mine at the Siege of Mons in October 1709. He commanded an infantry regiment in Catalonia under the Duke of Argyll from July 1710 until he returned to England in late 1712.