Henry Withers
Henry Withers (c. 1651 – 1729) was a British army officer and politician, who began his career in 1674 during the Franco-Dutch War and reached the rank of Lieutenant General in 1707. A close associate of the Duke of Marlborough during the War of the Spanish Succession, he served in a number of actions, including the 1704 battles of Schellenberg, Blenheim, and Malplaquet in 1709. Personal details His background and origins are unknown, although his funeral monument states he was descended from a military family and gives his age as 78, which means he was born in 1651. He never married; his will divided his estate between his sister Elizabeth and his close friend, Colonel Henry Disney, with whom he shared a house in Greenwich and who arranged his burial in Westminster Abbey. His memorial contains lines reportedly written by the poet Alexander Pope, who was a friend of both men. Career He appears to have started his career as part of the British Brigade raised for French service during the 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch War, whose senior officers included Percy Kirke and John Churchill, later Duke of Marlborough. Although England left the war in February 1674, the Brigade fought