Joseph Bampfield | |
|---|---|
 Leeuwarden, where Bampfield died in 1685 | |
| Born | 1622 Devon |
| Died | 1685 (aged 62–63) Leeuwarden |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles / wars | Wars of the Three Kingdoms Yeovil; Sieges of Exeter, Dartmouth, Devon, Bramber Bridge, Arundel; Siege of Lyme Regis; Lostwithiel; Second Newbury; First Siege of Taunton; Second Anglo-Dutch War Franco-Dutch War Siege of Ameide |
| Relations | Catherine Sydenham (wife, 1643-1657) Anne Halkett (partner, 1648-1653) |
Joseph Bampfield (1622–1685) was an English soldier and spy, who served with the Royalist army in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, then became an intelligence agent for The Protectorate. Banished from England after the 1660 Stuart Restoration, he moved to the Dutch Republic and joined the Dutch States Army when the Second Anglo-Dutch War began in 1665. As a result he was convicted of treason by Parliament and never returned home.[1]
Bampfield was generally viewed as a competent soldier; even his critics agreed he was a 'man of wit and parts', who displayed energy and resourcefulness, included arranging the escape of James, Duke of York from his Parliamentarian guards in 1648. He clearly possessed the ability to impress his superiors, successively acting as a trusted messenger between Charles I of England and the Scots, an agent for Oliver Cromwell and expert advisor to Dutch Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt.
However, he seems to have lacked tact or political awareness, qualities which made him powerful enemies, in particular Charles II who never forgave him for suggesting he had not done enough to save his father from execution in 1649. This led to his dismissal from Royalist service in 1654 and exile in 1661 but how far his reputation for being untrustworthy was deserved is disputed.
Dismissed from the Dutch army by William of Orange in 1673, he retired to Leeuwarden where he died in 1685.