Isaac Gascoyne

Who was Isaac Gascoyne?

Isaac Gascoyne was a British Army officer and Tory politician. He was the son of Bamber Gascoyne and Mary Green and was educated at Felsted School.

On 8 February 1779, Gascoyne was commissioned as a British Army Officer, joining the 20th Regiment of Foot with the rank of Ensign. In July of the following year, still as an Ensign, he transferred to the Coldstream Guards. Gradually rising in rank, he became a Lieutenant on 18 August 1784 and Captain on 5 December 1792, and fought at the Battle of Lincelles in 1793, where he was wounded, but continued to hold various posts into the 1810s, becoming Lieutenant Colonel of the 16th Regiment of Foot on 7 June 1799, Major-General on 29 April 1802, Colonel of the 7th West India Regiment on 10 October 1805, Lieutenant-General on 25 April 1808, and was Colonel of the 54th Regiment of Foot from 1 June 1816.

In 1796, Gascoyne was elected as a member of parliament for Liverpool, succeeding his elder brother, Bamber Gascoyne. While there, he used his position to strongly oppose the abolition of the Slave Trade and the Reform Act 1832. He also opposed both the abolition of bull-baiting and Catholic Emancipation.