Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry

The war started with the Corunna Campaign (1808–1809), in which the British troops were commanded by Sir John Moore. In this campaign Charles Stewart commanded a brigade of cavalry, and played, together with Lord Paget, a prominent role in the cavalry clash of Benavente where the French General Lefebvre-Desnouettes was taken prisoner.[26][27] He suffered from ophthalmia during the latter stages of the retreat.[28] Moore sent him back to London carrying dispatches for Castlereagh and other leading figures[29] and he missed the climatic battle where British forces successfully managed to evacuate in the face of Marshal Soult's army at which Moore was killied in action.

When British troops returned to the Iberian Peninsula after the Corunna Campaign, they were commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington). Charles Stewart was appointed, in April 1809, Adjutant General to Wellesley. This was an administrative job and not much to his liking, especially as Wellesley never discussed his decisions with subordinates.[30] Nevertheless, he sometimes managed to see action and distinguished himself, particularly at the battle of Talavera (July 1809) for which he received the thanks of the Parliament on 2 February 1810 when he returned to England on sick leave.[31] He also excelled at Bussaco in September 1810 and at Fuentes de Oñoro (May 1811) where he took a French Colonel prisoner in single combat.[32]

He resigned his position as Adjutant General in February 1812. Some say due to bad health,[33][34] but others say that Wellington fired him. Wellington apparently appreciated him as a soldier but judged him a "sad brouillon and mischief-maker" among his staff.[35]

On 30 January 1813 he became a Knight Companion of the Bath,[36] which made him Sir Charles Stewart. On 20 November 1813, he was made Colonel of the 25th Light Dragoons, an honorary position.

From May 1813 until the end of the war, Sir Charles was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Berlin,[37] and was also Military Commissioner with the allied armies, being wounded at the Battle of Kulm in August 1813.

In 1814 he was also appointed Ambassador to Austria, a post he held for nine years (1814–1823). On 18 June 1814, to make him more acceptable in Vienna, Stewart was ennobled as Baron Stewart, of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal, by the Prince Regent.[38] In the same year, he received honorary degrees from Oxford and Cambridge, was admitted to the Privy Council, and was appointed a Lord of the Bedchamber to the King.

Lord Stewart, as he now was, attended the Congress of Vienna with his half-brother Lord Castlereagh as one of the British plenipotentiaries. He was not well regarded as he made a spectacle of himself with his loutish behaviour, was apparently rather often inebriated, frequented prostitutes quite openly.[39] He earned himself the sobriquet of Lord Pumpernickel after a loutish character in a play in fashion.[40]

Lady Frances Anne Tempest, daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Vane-Tempest, 2nd Baronet

Shield of arms of the Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, as shown on his Order of the Garter stall plate. The shield is quartered with his second wife's arms, the Vane's three gauntlets.

Before the end of his diplomatic career Lord Stewart had, on 3 April 1819, married his second wife, Lady Frances Anne Vane-Tempest, daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Vane-Tempest,[41] at her mother's house in Bruton Street, Mayfair, and took her surname of Vane, by Royal licence, as had been stipulated in her father's will.[42] He was henceforth known as Charles William Vane, whereas his son out of his first marriage remained Frederick Stewart.

Children by Frances Anne Emily Vane-Tempest:

1. George Henry Robert Charles William Vane-Tempest, 5th Marquess of Londonderry (1821–1884)
2. Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane (1822–1899); married John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough.
3. Lady Alexandrina Octavia Maria Vane (1823–1874), godchild of Alexander I of Russia; married Henry Dawson-Damer, 3rd Earl of Portarlington.
4. Lord Adolphus Frederick Charles William Vane-Tempest (1825–1864), politician; became insane, and had to be medically restrained.
5. Lady Adelaide Emelina Caroline Vane (c. 1830–1882); disgraced the family by eloping with her brother's tutor, Rev. Frederick Henry Law.
6. Lord Ernest McDonnell Vane-Tempest (1836–1885), fell in with a press-gang and had to be bought a commission in the army, from which he was subsequently cashiered.

Through his daughter Lady Frances, Lord Londonderry is a great-grandfather of Winston Churchill.

On 12 August 1822, his half-brother committed suicide[43] He succeeded his half-brother as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822. The following year Lord Londonderry was also created Earl Vane and Viscount Seaham, of Seaham in the County Palatine of Durham, with remainder to the heirs male of the body of his second wife.[44]

His half-brother's death also meant the end of his diplomatic career. He quit the diplomatic service in 1823. Queen Victoria had a low esteem of Londonderry's abilities as a civil servant. She said that he should, in her opinion, not be given any post of importance.[45]

Wynyard Park, c.1880

Lord Londonderry used his new bride's immense wealth to acquire the Seaham Hall estate in County Durham to developing the coalfields there. He also built the harbour at Seaham, to rival nearby Sunderland. He commissioned Benjamin Wyatt to build a mansion at Wynyard Park. It was completed by Philip Wyatt in 1841 and cost £130,000 (equivalent to £10,772,000 in 2016) to build and furnish. Unfortunately, just as the mansion was being completed, a fire broke out and gutted the house; it was later restored and remodelled by Ignatius Bonomi.

The family also used their newfound wealth to redecorate their country seat in Ireland, Mount Stewart, and bought Holdernesse House on London's Park Lane, which they renamed Londonderry House.

Londonderry led the opposition to the Mines and Collieries Act of 1842 in the House of Lords. He is reported to have raged madly against any attempt to deny the collieries the use of child labour.[46][47] Speaking on behalf of the Yorkshire Coal-Owners Association, Londonderry said "With respect to the age at which males should be admitted into mines, the members of this association have unanimously agreed to fix it at eight years... In the thin coal mines it is more especially requisite that boys, varying in age from eight to fourteen, should be employed; as the underground roads could not be made of sufficient height for taller persons without incurring an outlay so great as to render the working of such mines unprofitable".

By the time of the outbreak of the Great Irish Famine in 1845, Londonderry was one of the ten richest men in the United Kingdom. While many landlords made efforts to mitigate the worst effects of the famine on their tenants, Londonderry was criticised for meanness: he and his wife gave only £30 to the local relief committee but spent £150,000 (£13.6 million as of 2021) renovating Mount Stewart, their Irish home.[48] Nevertheless, Debbie Orme maintains that "the Marquis was held in high regard in the land for his attempts to alleviate suffering during the potato famine".[49] During the tenant right campaign of the early 1850s Londonderry insisted on his full rights and this alienated many of his tenants.[50] He was in disagreement over this question with his son and heir Frederick, who was more liberally inclined.

Portrait as Knight of the Garter

Back in England, Londonderry befriended Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (later Napoleon III) while the latter was exiled in London between 1836 and 1840. After Bonaparte had been elected president of France in 1851, Londonderry asked him to free Abd-el-Kader.[51]

Governor of County Londonderry from 1823, Londonderry was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Durham in 1842 and the following year became Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards. When Wellington, whom he admired greatly, died in 1852, his place as Knight of the Garter was given to Londonderry,[52] who was officially invested on 19 June 1853.[53]

Memorial statue by Raffaelle Monti in Durham

He died on 6 March 1854 at Londonderry House and was buried in Longnewtown, County Durham.[54] His widow honoured him by the Londonderry Equestrian Statue in Durham.[55] His son Frederick built Scrabo Tower near Newtownards as a monument to the memory of his father.

He was succeeded as Marquess of Londonderry by his eldest son, Frederick Stewart, the only child from his first marriage, and as Earl Vane by George Vane, the eldest son from his second marriage. At Charles's death Frederick, therefore, became the 4th Marquess of Londonderry, whereas George became the 2nd Earl Vane. George was later to become the 5th Marquess after his half-brother had died childless.

Charles was styled:

1. The Honourable Charles Stewart from 1789 until 1813 (because his father was created Baron Londonderry in 1789),
2. The Honourable Sir Charles Stewart from 1813 to 1814 (because he was made a Knight of the Bath),
3. The Right Honourable The Lord Stewart from 1814 to 1822 (because he was made a baron in his own right)
4. The Most Honourable The Marquess of Londonderry.

The 3rd Marquess was a prolific writer and editor. He wrote and published books about his own military and diplomatic career and published many of his half-brother's papers.

The following two books describe the Napoleonic War as he saw them happen. The first describes his experience of the Peninsular War. The second the War of the Sixth Coalition, which forced Napoleon to abdicate:

• Narrative of the Peninsular War (London: Henry Colburn, 1828) online at Internet Archive
• Narrative of the War in Germany and France: In 1813 and 1814 (London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1830) online at Internet Archive

The 3rd Marquess also compiled, edited, and published many of the papers left by his half-brother and published them in the following twelve volumes, divided in three series.

The first series, consisting of four volumes, numbered 1 – 4, appeared in 1848 and 1849 under the title Memoirs and Correspondence. The volumes are not marked "first series on the title pages. They are:

• Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Volume 1 (London: Henry Colburn, 1848) online at Internet Archive - The Irish Rebellion
• Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Volume 2 (London: Henry Colburn, 1848) online at Internet Archive - Arrangements for a Union
• Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Volume 3 (London: Henry Colburn, 1849) online at Internet Archive - Completion of the Legislative Union
• Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Volume 4 (London, Henry Colburn, 1849) online at Internet Archive - Concessions to Catholics and Dessenters: Emmett's Insurrection

The second series, consisting of four volumes, appeared in 1851 under the title Correspondence, Despatches and Other Papers. The volume numbers continue, despite being marked "2nd series" and are therefore 4 to 8. They are:

• Correspondence Despatches and Other Papers of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Series 2, Volume 5 (London: William Shoberl, 1851) online at Internet Archive - Military and Miscellaneous
• Correspondence Despatches and Other Papers of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Series 2, Volume 6 (London: William Shoberl, 1851) online at Internet Archive - Military and Miscellaneous
• Correspondence Despatches and Other Papers of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Series 2, Volume 7 (London: William Shoberl, 1851) online at Internet Archive - Military and Miscellaneous
• Correspondence Despatches and Other Papers of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Series 2, Volume 8 (London: William Shoberl, 1851) online at Internet Archive - Military and Miscellaneous

The third series appeared in 1853. The four volumes have the same title as the second series. The volume numbering is irregular. They are:

• Correspondence Despatches and Other Papers of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Volume 9 (London: John Murray, 1853) online at Internet Archive - Military and Diplomatic
• Correspondence Despatches and Other Papers of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Volume 11 (London: John Murray, 1853) online at Hathi Trust
• Correspondence Despatches and Other Papers of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Series 3, Volume 3 (London: John Murray, 1853) online at Internet Archive - Military and Diplomatic
• Correspondence Despatches and Other Papers of Viscount Castlereagh, Second Marquess of Londonderry, Volume 12 (London: John Murray, 1853) online at Internet Archive

• Marquess of Londonderry – for his title
• Earl Camden – for his maternal grandfather's title
• Vane-Tempest baronets – for the title of his father-in-law Sir Henry Vane-Tempest

• Alison, Archibald (1861a), Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart the second and the third Marquesses of Londonderry, 1, Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons
• Alison, Archibald (1861b), Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart the second and the third Marquesses of Londonderry, 3, Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons
• Burke, Bernard (1869), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (31st ed.), London: Harrison
• Burke, Bernard (1949), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (99th ed.), London: Burke's Peerage Ltd.
• Cobden, John C. (1853), The White Slaves of England, Auburn [N.Y.] and Buffalo: Miller, Orton and Maulligan
• Cokayne, George Edward (1893), The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant, 5 (1st ed.), London: George Bell and Sons – L to M
• Debrett, John (1838), Courthope, William (ed.), Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (22nd ed.), London: F. C. and J. Rivington (later events)
• House of Commons (1878), "Members of Parliament", Parliamentary Papers, London: H. M. Stationery Office, 62
• Hugo, Abel (1838), France militaire: histoire des armées françaises de terre et de mer de 1792 à 1837 (in French), 4, Paris: Delloye
• Jennings, Louis J. (1885), The Croker Papers. The correspondence and Diary of the Late Right Honourable John Wilson Croker LL.D., FRS, Secretary to the Admiralty from 1809 to 1830, London: John Murray
• Kinealy, Christine (2013), Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland: The Kindness of the Strangers, London: Bloomsbury, ISBN 978-1441117588
• Kornitzer, Margaret (1952), Child Adoption in the Modern World, New York: Putnam, ISBN 9780802208859
• Lloyd, Ernest Marsh (1898), "Stewart, Charles William third Marquis of Londonderry", in Lee, Sidney (ed.), Dictionary of National Biography, 54 Stanhope–Stovin, London: Smith Elder & Co, pp. 278–281
• Lloyd, Ernest Marsh; Heesom, A. J. (2004), "Vane, Charles William, third marquess of Londonderry (1778–1854)", in Matthew, Colin; Harrison, Brian (eds.), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 56, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 95–98, ISBN 0-19-861406-3
• Oman, Charles (1913), Wellington's Army, 1809-1814, New York: Longmans, Green, and Co.
• Smyth, Constantine (1839), Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland, London: Henry Butterworth (for Table of reigns)
• Urquhart, Diane (2007), The Ladies of Londonderry: Women and Political Patronage, London: I. B. Tauris, ISBN 978-1-84511-410-7
• Vane, Charles William (1828), Narrative of the Peninsular War from 1808 to 1813, London: Henry Colburn
• Zamoyski, Adam (2007), Rites of Peace, the Fall of Napoleon & the Congress of Vienna, London: Harper Collins, ISBN 978-0007197576

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Marquess of Londonderry

Wikisource has the text of the 1885–1900 Dictionary of National Biography's article about Stewart, Charles William.