Edward Wolfe

Lieutenant General Edward Wolfe (1685–26 March 1759) was a British army officer who saw action in the War of the Spanish Succession, 1715 Jacobite Rebellion and the War of Jenkins Ear. He is best known as the father of James Wolfe, famous for his capture of Quebec in 1759.

Wolfe was born in 1685 in York, of Irish Catholic descent. The family had been active in Irish nationalist circles, which had forced them to flee the country and settle in England. The family later converted to Protestantism and served in the military.

Wolfe acquired a commission as a lieutenant in 1700, rising quickly to captain in 1705 and becoming a brigade major during the Flanders Campaign of the Duke of Marlborough. In 1715 he served with General Wade in the Scottish Highlands, suppressing the Jacobite-supporting clans who had recently risen in rebellion.

The Treaty of Utrecht brought a long period of peace to Europe, limiting the opportunities for active service. In 1726 he married Henrietta Thompson, the sister of an MP Edward Thompson. In 1727 she gave birth to James Wolfe. Because of Edward's profession, James was immersed in military matters from a very young age. The family lived at Westerham in Kent, at what is now Quebec House, but moved to Greenwich in 1738 to be closer to London.

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