Harry Pulteney

Who was Harry Pulteney?

General Harry Pulteney was an English soldier and Member of Parliament.

He was the younger son of Colonel William Pulteney, of Misterton in Leicestershire, and Mary Floyd. His elder brother, William was one of the leading English statesmen of the 18th century and was eventually created Earl of Bath; he had inherited the family fortune including considerable estates in what is now central London, and also the parliamentary borough of Hedon in Yorkshire.

Harry entered Parliament in as member for Hedon in 1722. His brother William had already been its MP for 17 years, and had offered the second seat to his cousin, Daniel Pulteney; but as Daniel was also elected for the constituency of Preston, this left a vacancy which Harry was able to fill. He was MP for Hedon until 1734, and again from 1739 to 1741, and also represented Hull for three years from 1744, and was also for a period Governor of Hull.

In 1739 Pulteney became Colonel of the 13th Regiment of Foot, which as was the custom of the time was consequently referred to as Pulteney's Regiment. Under his command the regiment served at Dettingen, Fontenoy and during the Jacobite Rebellion at Falkirk and Culloden.