CRAUFURD, John (c.1725-64).

As lieutenant-colonel of the 13th Ft. Craufurd served under General Pulteney, which may have played a part in his being selected for colonel of the regiment raised by Lord Bath for his son, Lord Pulteney; so may the connexion between his brother Patrick and Bute, to whom Craufurd reported on the progress of his recruiting for the regiment. Thus on 20 Aug. 1759Bute mss. when setting out for York

where I shall meet Lord Northumberland, and some others who are zealous to serve the infant corps. From thence I shall go to Newcastle, where I have some friends, and will carry with me proper recommendations to Sir Walter Blackett, Mr. Ridley and others.

There was another side to the northern recruiting tour—John Calcraft, regimental agent to the 85 Ft., wrote to Craufurd, 3 Sept.:Add. 17494, ff. 171-2.

I do mightily approve your Newcastle scheme as well as your Berwick intentions, and think with you secrecy is necessary there at present as to election intentions, though I would do all I could consistent therewith and avoiding for the present public declaration ...

You will do well to please the Berwick gentry by bespeaking the gaiters there; is there any other matter we can help them in?

On 10 Sept.:Ibid. f. 178. ‘Berwick looks well indeed. But you can’t have them too sure so I am by all means for the written invitation.’ And on 16 Sept. to a common friend:Ibid. f. 184. ‘Craufurd has by invitation from the mayor, burgesses and a majority of freemen secured his election for Berwick and declared himself a candidate.’See also Patrick Craufurd to Bute, 10 Sept., Bute mss; Argyll to Ld. Barrington, 13 Sept., Barrington mss.

That Craufurd took the established interests at Berwick by surprise appears from a letter Thomas Watson wrote to the Duke of Newcastle, 30 Sept. 1759,Add. 32986, ff. 182-3. reporting the defeat of his own friend for mayor by ‘the party that set Colonel Craufurd up’—‘the first election of any sort I lost for above 35 years I have been in the magistracy of this corporation’.

Calcraft wrote to Craufurd, 30 Aug. 1760:Add. 17495, f. 125.

My advice to you is to go [to Berwick] as soon as you can for in cases of this sort storms rise which with management might be prevented, and your plan should be if possible to prevent any contest, for any will be more or less troublesome and expensive even to you, single or joined. Then comes another question, whether to keep single or join somebody ... it is sometimes of as bad consequence to stand single against two, as to join a weak partner.

Craufurd decided to stand single:

Mr. Delaval [wrote W. Temple, collector of customs at Berwick, 16 Sept. 1760]Add. 32912, f. 61. proposed to join Colonel Craufurd against Mr. Watson, the Colonel declined it, but gave leave to his single votes to split and give their second votes to either of the other candidates.

In Parliament Craufurd adhered to Bute, and afterwards to Grenville—he could be trusted, whenever present, to vote with the Government; thus for the peace preliminaries in December 1762. The rest of Craufurd’s story appears in brief in Calcraft’s letterbooks. To Edward Cornwallis, governor of Gibraltar,Add. 17496, ff. 25, 32 and 34. 20 Nov. 1763: ‘Your old friend Craufurd lives ... in great ease’; 31 Jan. 1764: ‘Craufurd has never spoke in the House though often threatened the attempt’; and 23 Apr. 1764: ‘Craufurd is to be lieutenant governor of Berwick till Guise dies.’ And to Sir John Mordaunt, 18 June 1764:Ibid. f. 38. ‘General Craufurd goes to Minorca.’

Craufurd died in Minorca 2 Aug. 1764.